JPMorgan has urged a federal judge to dismiss a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former leveraged finance banker Chirayu Rana, arguing that his continued misconduct warrants dismissal. The bank's filing on Monday said Rana pushed his friend Allan Flott and sister Chandani Rana to share false sworn testimonies.
According to the Oct. 26 court filing, Chandani Rana stated: 'My brother asked me to speak with his attorney. He told me what to say and wrote it down for me beforehand. He was in the room during my conversation with the attorney, and he passed me written notes and whispered to me about what to say.' She added that she had never seen his former boss, executive director Lorna Hajdini, 'engage in any inappropriate, sexual, harassing, threatening, or intoxicated conduct toward my brother or anyone else.'
Rana filed the lawsuit in April accusing Hajdini of drugging him, insulting him with racial slurs, and forcing him to act as her 'sex slave' after he joined her team in 2024. Hajdini and JPMorgan have strongly denied the allegations, and Hajdini has countersued for defamation.
The development comes as Sheharyar Ali Law Group filed a motion to withdraw as Rana's counsel on Oct. 23, less than 24 hours after filing a motion for appearance. The firm said 'underlying facts and circumstances of this litigation came to our attention' after agreeing to take the case, and that 'the circumstances materially differ from our initial understanding.'
Two other law firms previously sought to withdraw: Jon Norinsberg of Joseph & Norinsberg LLC cited 'irreconcilable differences' in an Oct. 14 filing, and Daniel Kaiser of Kaiser, Saurborn & Mair sought to withdraw in May. Rana could not be reached for comment. JPMorgan declined Fortune's request for comment.