Former JPMorgan Executive Files Sweeping Federal Civil Rights Complaint Alleging Racism, Sexual Abuse and Retaliation Campaign

Complaint Includes Preserved JPMorgan Team Messages, Witness Corroboration and Allegations of Retaliation Across the Private Credit Industry

NEW YORK, July 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Joseph & Norinsberg LLC, an industry-leading law firm representing individuals in employment and civil-rights litigation, announced today that former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive Chirayu Rana has filed a sweeping federal civil-rights complaint alleging pervasive racial discrimination, sexual coercion and assault by his direct supervisor, and an escalating and sustained campaign of retaliation.

The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, names JPMorgan Chase & Co., Executive Director Lorna Hajdini, and Managing Directors Brandon Graffeo and Jon Wolter as defendants.

The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Rana was the highest-producing originator on JPMorgan's Leveraged Finance team and its only non-white, non-Christian banker. According to the complaint, colleagues and supervisors repeatedly turned Mr. Rana into a racist caricature, referring to him as "Brown Boy," "Brownie," "boy" and "monkey," mocking his Nepali heritage and reducing his senior role at the bank to a function of JPMorgan's internal diversity "point system." One JPMorgan vice president openly acknowledged the normalized racist conduct, allegedly stating, "We all call him Brown Boy at the office."

The lawsuit also alleges that defendant Hajdini used her supervisory authority over Mr. Rana's assignments, evaluations, compensation and advancement to subject him to repeated and unwanted sexual conduct and coerced sexual acts, while threatening to sabotage his career if he resisted. According to the filing, Hajdini told Mr. Rana that she "owned" him and repeatedly tied his advancement at JPMorgan to compliance with her sexual demands. The complaint alleges that she groped him at work-related events and in public settings, forced sexual contact over his objections, coerced him into sexual acts through threats of professional retaliation and, on one occasion, drugged him without his knowledge.

"For months, JPMorgan has fed the public a false and misleading narrative about this case," said Jon Norinsberg, Founding Partner of Joseph & Norinsberg LLC. "That ends today. This lawsuit seeks to hold the Defendants accountable for fostering a workplace where blatant racism was tolerated and discrimination was ignored. When Mr. Rana had the courage to report that misconduct, the defendants responded with flagrant, unlawful retaliation. We intend to hold the Defendants fully accountable in a court of law for the catastrophic harm they caused to Mr. Rana's career, reputation and life."

According to the complaint, Mr. Rana formally reported the alleged discrimination and sexual abuse in May 2025. Within weeks, JPMorgan removed him from the workplace, revoked his systems and building access, cut his pay and placed him on indefinite involuntary leave, while the employees he had accused continued working without interruption.

In a recorded conversation described in the complaint, a JPMorgan Employee Relations partner acknowledged that Mr. Rana had done nothing wrong but refused to explain why he was being removed.

The lawsuit further alleges that Mr. Rana and his family received anonymous racial threats using language and personal information known to members of his JPMorgan team. The messages included in the federal complaint allegedly called him "Brown Boy" and a "brown piece of shit," mocked his Nepali heritage, reiterated they "own" him, threatened to destroy his career and warned "drop everything and run …or we'll come for you and your family." According to the complaint, JPMorgan failed to conduct a meaningful investigation into the source of the threats despite repeated requests from Mr. Rana and his attorneys.

"Racism has no place in any workplace," said Bennitta L. Joseph, Founding Partner of Joseph & Norinsberg LLC. "Calling an employee 'monkey' and 'Brown Boy' is as offensive as it is outrageous. The evidence will show a level of racial misconduct that warrants the most substantial punitive damages the law permits. The Defendants should be punished to the fullest extent of the law to send an unmistakable message that this kind of blatant racism has no place in America."

The federal complaint is supported by preserved communications, recorded conversations, sworn witness accounts and evidence gathered through an extensive pre-suit investigation. The complaint substantially expands both the factual record and the legal claims originally brought in state court. It incorporates newly obtained text messages, internal group-chat communications, audio recordings, witness testimony, documentary evidence, and additional retaliatory acts uncovered during the investigation. It also asserts new federal causes of action, adds individual defendants whose personal involvement is supported by the evidence, and outlines a broader pattern of race discrimination, retaliation, interference with protected leave, hostile work environment, and post-complaint retaliation.

The complaint asserts 24 causes of action under federal, state and city law, including claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the New York State and City Human Rights Laws and the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law. It also asserts claims for retaliation, defamation, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, sexual assault and battery, wage violations and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Mr. Rana seeks back pay, front pay, lost benefits, compensatory and punitive damages, equitable relief, attorneys' fees and other relief available under the law. He has demanded a jury trial.

About Joseph & Norinsberg LLC
Joseph & Norinsberg LLC is a New York City-based employment law firm founded by Bennitta L. Joseph and Jon L. Norinsberg. The firm represents employees in workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, whistleblower and wrongful-termination matters across the country, with a focus on New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Learn more at www.employeejustice.com. 

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SOURCE Joseph & Norinsberg LLC