A senior JPMorgan Chase executive has been accused of subjecting a married Indian junior male colleague to months of sexual abuse, racial harassment and coercion, including allegedly drugging him and forcing him to perform humiliating sex acts, according to a lawsuit filed in New York.
Lorna Hajdini, 37, an executive director in the bank’s Leveraged Finance division, is named as the accused in the complaint filed on Monday in the New York County Supreme Court. The plaintiff, an Asian banker who joined JPMorgan as a Senior Vice President/Director in March 2024, is proceeding anonymously as John Doe to protect himself and his family after receiving threats.
The lawsuit alleges that Lorna Hajdini used her superior position to coerce Doe into non-consensual sex acts shortly after she joined the team in April 2024. It claims she made repeated sexual advances, threatened his career if he refused, and subjected him to racial slurs while forcing him to engage in oral sex and other degrading acts, during which he allegedly cried and begged her to stop.
According to the court papers, the alleged abuse began in early May 2024 when Hajdini dropped a pen near Mr Doe’s desk, rubbed his leg and squeezed his calf while commenting on liking “basketball players”. She later invited him for drinks, which he declined, and allegedly threatened to ruin him if he did not comply. The filing claims she twice propositioned him for oral sex in the office, using phrases such as “Birthday BJ for the brown boy? My little brown boy” and “You’re gonna need to earn it, my little Arab boy toy.”
In the summer of 2024, Lorna Hajdini allegedly turned up unannounced at the man’s apartment, removed her shirt, fondled her breasts and made derogatory remarks about his wife, saying: “I bet your little Asian, fish head, wife doesn’t have these cannons.”
The lawsuit states she then removed his pants and forcibly performed oral sex on him against his will, during which he cried. She is alleged to have berated him for failing to maintain an erection, saying: “Stop f***ing crying. You think anyone would ever believe you? You’re a f***ing douche bag who thinks he’s hot st, but you can’t even get your dk hard for me? What the f*** is this?” He was then ordered to perform oral sex on her.
A second alleged assault that month reportedly involved her ordering him to suck her toes, pushing him to the ground, sitting on his face and making further racist comments about his genitals not tasting like curry. The filing claims Hajdini admitted to drugging the man with “date-rape drug” Rohypnol (“roofies”) and an erection-enhancing drug Viagra on multiple occasions to facilitate the encounters. It also alleges she used her executive access to monitor his bank account and track his movements.
Later that year, in late September 2024, she is said to have yelled at the John Doe for not bringing in enough business and threatened to sabotage his promotion, telling him: “Do you want to get promoted at year end or not? … I f***ing own you! I will make you pay.” Racial remarks about his suitability for leadership were also allegedly made.
She allegedly said. ‘You really think [management]… want some Brown boy Indian leading Originations?… If you don’t f*** my brains out tonight, I’m going to sabotage your promotion.’
The man claims he began seeking employment elsewhere and, in May 2025, submitted a detailed written complaint to JPMorgan outlining the alleged severe sexual abuse, racial and gender-based discrimination and harassment. Following the complaint, he says he received threatening anonymous calls, including one on 9 June referencing his skin colour and threatening to contact immigration authorities (ICE). He was subsequently placed on involuntary leave, had his systems locked and claims the bank conspired to damage his reputation with negative references.
Two witnesses are said to corroborate aspects of his account, having overheard protests during one encounter and being in an adjoining room during another.
The victim man is seeking damages for lost earnings, emotional distress, reputational harm and punitive damages, as well as changes to bank practices. His lawyer, Daniel J Kaiser, described the allegations as “horrendous and disturbing”. He said the victim had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was struggling financially because of damage to his reputation and inability to find new work.
JPMorgan Chase said in a statement that it had conducted a thorough internal investigation involving numerous employees and found no evidence to support the accusations. The bank noted that the complainant had refused to participate in the investigation or provide key facts. “Following an investigation, we don’t believe there’s any merit to these claims,” a spokesman said.
Hajdini remains employed by the bank and has not responded publicly or to requests for comment from the media.
