Indian-Origin Banker Alleges Sexual Torture by Woman ED

A married Indian-origin banker, charged his senior colleague at JP Morgan Chase in New York with sexual misconduct. In an unusual case, the Indian-origin man, identified as John Doe, alleged that a woman executive director at the bank, Lorna Hajdini, 37, was involved in sexual misconduct, racial harassment and coercion in the workplace with him. John Doe is Hajdini’s junior male colleague.

According to the complaint filed in the New York County Supreme Court by an anonymous plaintiff, Hajdini misused her senior position to force the married Indian-origin banker into non-consensual sexual acts over the last few months, since 2024.

The plaintiff said that Hajdini’s interaction with her junior male colleague began as professional conversation but escalated into undesired sexual advances and gradually into threats.

The plaintiff, who joined the firm as a Senior Vice President, claimed that Hajdini leveraged her authority over his career and promotions and forced him to follow her fancies.

The high-profile lawsuit against Hajdini also mentions of racial slurs, inappropriate physical contact, verbal abuse and threats related to employment security. She threatened to ruin Doe if he didn’t comply. She also used “substances” during the interaction to get the plaintiff’s consent.

Hajdini verbal abuse included derogatory racial slurs. She allegedly used the terms like Brown boy, Arab boy toy and Brown boy Indian. During the sexual act, she made offensive remarks about his ethnicity and insulted his wife too with racial slurs. Unable to bear the torture, Doe pleaded Hajdini to stop her misconduct but she threatened to sabotage his career, if he did not please her.

The plaintiff sought compensation for his emotional distress, reputational harm, and threats to his career.

However, JP Morgan Chase refuted the allegations, saying that an investigation has been conducted and they could not find any evidence to support the sexual harassment claims. John Doe reportedly filed the complaint in 2025.

In response, the bank authorities placed him on involuntary leave and his professional reputation was targeted. While the accused is still working at the bank, the plaintiff’s career suffered a setback.

A graduate of NYU’s Stern School of Business, Hajdini is associated with JP Morgan’s Leveraged Finance division in New York. She spent nearly a decade at JP Morgan Chase Harvard Business School. Her role involved overseeing complex financings for private equity and tech clients. She has considerable influence over the evaluations and bonuses of junior staff.

The charges against Hajdini raise questions about the safety of male subordinates in the corporate sector.