Former JPMorgan Chase banker who sued his female boss after claiming she turned him into her office sex slave turned down a $1 million settlement

Chirayu Rana, 35, is suing his former senior colleague Lorna Hajdini, 37, accusing her of using her position to sexually and racially abuse him and alleging she drugged him

Hajdini denies the allegations and an internal investigation by JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) found no evidence of wrongdoing on her part

Despite their dismissal of his claims, JPMC reportedly extended an offer of $1 million to settle the case, which Rana declined, countering instead with a proposal of $11.7 million

‘We did try to reach an agreement to avoid the time and expense of litigation and to support an employee who was being threatened with the very reputational harm now unfolding’ – JPMC

The bank maintains that they ‘continue to believe these allegations have no merit and new information raised as a result of the public filing only reinforces that conclusion’ 

JPMorgan Chase whistleblower Chirayu Rana, [photo], reportedly was offered a $1 million settlement from the bank in lieu of going public – which he turned down. He then sued a senior female banker accusing her of sexual and racist harassment as well as roofieing him

A former JPMorgan Chase employee who sued a senior female banker after claiming she turned him into her office sex slave reportedly turned down a $1 million settlement from his employer to quash the issue.
Chirayu Rana, 35, filed a civil lawsuit against Lorna Hajdini, 37, accusing her of using her position to sexually and racially abuse him. He further alleged that she drugged him several times.
Rana enjoined the his employer, who he accused of enabling the antics of his alleged tormentor.
Hajdini denies the allegations and an internal investigation by JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) found no evidence of wrongdoing on her part. 
Rana reportedly was offered a $1 million payoff by his former employer, equivalent to two years of his earnings at the bank, as they would rather avoid the inevitable media circus ensuing, if and when Rana filed a lawsuit.
Declining the JPMorgan offer, Rana allegedly countered with a demand of $11.7 million to settle his grievance.
In response to the the latest exposé, JPMorgan has issued the following statement: ‘We did try to reach an agreement to avoid the time and expense of litigation and to support an employee who was being threatened with the very reputational harm now unfolding. 
‘We continue to believe these allegations have no merit and new information raised as a result of the public filing only reinforces that conclusion.’ 

Rana’s lawsuit accused Lorna Hajdini,[photo], an executive director in JPMorgan Chase’s leveraged finance division, of coercing a colleague on a lower rung into ‘non-consensual and humiliating sex acts’. Allegations she denies and the bank describes as fabricated and unsubstantiated

News of the alleged settlement offer emerged after Rana re-filed his lawsuit on Monday with updated claims, including alleging that Hajdini, an executive director in bank’s Leveraged Finance division, tried to coerce him into a threesome.
Hajdini was accused in the filing of coercing Rana into ‘non-consensual and humiliating sex acts’ over several months, despite his pleas for her to stop. The alleged serial harassment according to Rana’s complaint, started almost immediately after the pair began working together in the spring of 2024, last months until he was compelled to leave.
Ran in his lawsuit claims Hajdini she threatened his career if he did not comply with her demands, – allegedly threatening to ruin his career when he refused her advances.
In other allegations the claimant cites an occasion when Hajdini allegedly turned up at his apartment demanding sex.  He also alleges that Hajdini drugged him with the date rape drug Rohypnol as well as Viagra and, during one encounter, rebuked him when he cried as she performed a sex act on him against his will. She also subjected him to racist abuse he alleges.
The lawsuit enjoins JPMC, accused of condoning the alleged abuse and retaliating against the plaintiff after he reported the harassment. The Bank he said, placed him on involuntary leave, destroyed his reputation and allowed threats against him to continue while Hajdini and others went unpunished. 
JPMC denied any form of complicity in the harassment or persecution alleged in the Rana’s lawsuit.
A thorough internal investigation according to the bank, found no evidence to support those claims. 

The claimant, Rana [photo], alleges that the abuse began a few months after he joined as a senior VP and director in March 2024

Hajdini outranked Rana in the JPMC structure. However, according to the bank the pair reported to different managing directors.
Rana joined JPMC as a senior VP and director in March 2024. Hajdini was appointed to lead the team the following month. 
In early May 2024, Rana alleges Hajdini dropped her pen on the floor next to his desk and, while bending to pick it up, rubbed his leg and squeezed his calf.
From there, Rana alleges the advances grew more explicit and frequent.
Later that May, Rana said in the complaint that Hajdini invited him out for drinks, which he declined. 
In response, she is alleged to have said: ‘If you don’t f*** me soon, I’m going to ruin you, never forget, I f***ing own you.’
Twice, Rana claims that Hajdini propositioned him for oral sex in the office.
While Rana claims he continued to resist her advances, Hajdini allegedly threatened professional retribution, telling him if he wanted to be promoted to executive director, he would need to start ‘pleasing’ her, according to the lawsuit.

Sources have questioned the lawsuit’s accusations and expressed sympathy for Hajdini on account of the public scrutiny she’s been facing and the potential damage to her reputation

After Rana initially filed his lawsuit last week, the filing was taken off the court docket before his attorneys re-filed the action with updated allegations, including two unnamed witnesses who claimed they saw Rana and the executive together. 
In a statement issued through her lawyers, Hajdini has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. 
However, the alleged victim is sticking to his guns. Rana’s lawyer insists his client was a victim of ‘horrific sexual abuse’ and therefore reserved the right to file his allegations anonymously.
‘As to Ms Hajdini’s predictable denials, I look forward to discovery and, in particular, her deposition,’ said his lawyer, Daniel Kaiser. ‘The abuse occurred and we will prove it.’
The lawsuit was removed from court records last Thursday because it hadn’t been submitted with the proper papers and was returned to his office to be amended, Kaiser said.
On Monday, it was refiled along with two sworn witness statements which claim they witnessed Hajdini behaving intimately with Rana in public and in one case, inviting another person into a sexual encounter with them while naked in Rana’s apartment.
The names of those witnesses, same as the plaintiff, though redacted for their own protection, have been revealed to parties in the case.

Rana filed the lawsuit anonymously on the grounds that he and his family had received threats. However, his identity has since been outed by more than one source at the bank

One statement alleges that the witness was staying at an apartment with Rana in September 2024, then e woken in the night by a woman who was ‘clearly intoxicated and speaking loudly’. Rana later identified the woman as Hajdini, according to the statement.
‘A short while later, I was awoken by Ms Hajdini, who was completely naked,’ the witness wrote.
‘Ms Hajdini sat on the couch and lit a cigarette. She then asked me to come to the bedroom with her and “join them”. I told her no. She said, “Come join, come join”. I again told her no.’
The witness said Hajdini then told them, ‘You know, I own [Rana], so you’d better come join.’
That witness again refused, and Hajdini returned to the bedroom and closed the door, according to the filing. the witness claims hearing the pair arguing with Rana ‘loudly pleading’ with Hajdini ‘to stop, and to leave’.

Rana in his lawsuit alleged the existence of a culture within his team driven by racism and antipathy towards Asians, accusations which America’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase strongly denies

‘It became quiet. Then, sometime later, [Hajdini] came out of the bedroom and left the apartment,’ the witness said in the filing.
The second statement claims this witness was told by Rana in mid-2024 that a woman in the office was ‘making his life hell’. This same witness also alleges later seeing Hajdini grabbing and kissing the neck of Rana who appeared uncomfortable.
Additional new exhibits include an affidavit in which Rana says he was diagnosed with PTSD in October 2025, which he attributes to the alleged assaults, plus a letter from his counselor confirming he had been treated for PTSD.