Lorna Hajdini has filed a defamation lawsuit in New York Supreme Court denying allegations of sexual assault and racial discrimination made by a former colleague, saying the claims were invented and meant to extort millions. The original anonymous complaint—am
Lorna Hajdini’s counterpunch arrived in a New York courtroom on Tuesday—after weeks when her name was plastered across finance meme pages and headlines, accompanied by AI-generated images and videos.
In a suit filed in the New York Supreme Court. the JPMorgan banker “categorically and unequivocally” denied allegations of sexual abuse and racial discrimination brought by a former colleague in a lawsuit filed late last month. In her filing. she said the allegations were invented and described them as part of a broader pattern in which the accuser repeatedly advanced knowingly false and deeply offensive accusations for personal gain.
Hajdini’s complaint goes further: it says the accusations were intended to ruin her reputation and “to extort millions of dollars” from both her and JPMorgan.
The original case was filed by a John Doe plaintiff and quickly traveled far beyond the courtroom. The suit dominated finance meme pages and headlines for weeks. with AI-generated images and videos of Hajdini appearing on social media referencing many of the sexual assault allegations. In her defamation lawsuit, Hajdini said she and some family members were “mocked, ridiculed, and harassed” in the aftermath.
Hajdini ties the harm to a timeline that begins inside JPMorgan. She said that when her accuser first made his accusations internally to JPMorgan last May. her life became “a daily. living nightmare. ” according to the suit. She also said she sought mental health treatment “to manage the severe emotional distress.”.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for economic damages, along with damages for “emotional distress, personal dignity, humiliation,” and “mental anguish,” among other things.
Her lawyers paired the legal filings with a message aimed at the core accusation itself. “Lorna will let her counterclaims speak for themselves,” Hajdini’s lawyers said in a statement.
JPMorgan, which Hajdini joined in 2011, has stood behind her throughout the ordeal. A spokesperson for the bank said: “We fully support Lorna and her right to defend herself and protect her reputation. As we’ve said from the outset, we don’t believe the allegations against her or the firm have merit.”.
The accuser’s original lawsuit was filed anonymously, and a lawyer for the accuser did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
JPMorgan Lorna Hajdini defamation lawsuit New York Supreme Court sexual assault allegations racial discrimination claims John Doe lawsuit AI-generated images extort millions harassment mental anguish