A high-stakes legal battle has erupted inside one of America’s most powerful financial institutions — and the man who fired the first shot has now been identified.
Chirayu Rana, 35, a former employee of JPMorgan Chase and current principal at New York investment firm Bregal Sagemount, is the individual behind a jaw-dropping lawsuit filed this week in New York County Supreme Court, according to multiple sources who spoke to The New York Post.
Rana did not put his name on the filing. He entered the courthouse record as “John Doe.”
The target of his complaint is Lorna Hajdini, 37, an executive director on JPMorgan’s leveraged finance team — a division that handles large-scale corporate mergers, acquisitions, and buyouts.
The lawsuit, submitted on Monday, April 27, levels extraordinary allegations against Hajdini. Rana claims she drugged him with Rohypnol and Viagra, coerced him into becoming her “sex slave,” and threatened to slash his compensation if he refused her advances.
The complaint went further, alleging that Hajdini arrived unannounced at his apartment on multiple occasions and forced him into sexual acts.
The Daily Mail published details from the court filing Wednesday evening. Those original documents were subsequently pulled from the record by attorneys, who cited the need for “corrections.”
Hajdini wasted no time responding. Speaking through her legal team, she delivered a categorical denial.
Her statement read: “Lorna categorically denies the allegations. She never engaged in any inappropriate conduct with this individual of any kind and has never even been to the location where the alleged sexual assault supposedly took place.”
JPMorgan launched its own internal review and arrived at the same conclusion — that the allegations against Hajdini hold no water.
The bank’s human resources department and in-house attorneys conducted the probe, combing through team phone records and internal email communications before closing the investigation without finding supporting evidence.
A JPMorgan spokesperson declared: “Following an investigation, we don’t believe there’s any merit to these claims. While numerous employees cooperated with the investigation, the complainant refused to participate and has declined to provide facts that would be central to support his allegations.”
That detail — Rana’s refusal to engage with his own employer’s investigation — stands out sharply against the severity of what he alleged in court.
Also standing out is the organizational reality inside JPMorgan’s leveraged finance team. Sources familiar with the bank’s internal structure told The Post that Rana and Hajdini were peers, not supervisor and subordinate.
Hajdini answered to managing director Brandon Graffeo. Rana reported to a separate managing director, Jon Wolter.
That chain of command directly undercuts one of the lawsuit’s central claims — that Hajdini wielded power over Rana’s annual bonus and used that threat as leverage against him.
Rana brought a formal internal grievance to JPMorgan in May 2025, accusing Hajdini of race- and gender-based harassment and abuse of power.
He also entered negotiations seeking a financial exit package from the bank worth “millions,” sources said.
The lawsuit names both Hajdini and JPMorgan Chase as defendants. Rana’s attorney of record, Daniel J. Kaiser, did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Rana himself has not replied to multiple outreach attempts.
A Rutgers University graduate and former basketball player, Rana spent years moving through the upper tiers of the finance world before landing at JPMorgan.
His resume includes stops at Houlihan Lokey, Credit Suisse, TCG Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley, and The Carlyle Group.
He now works at Bregal Sagemount, a firm led by Goldman Sachs alumnus Gene Yoon, focused on software, digital infrastructure, healthcare IT, and financial services.
Property records connect Rana to a Manhattan apartment in the Kips Bay neighborhood and a $1.7 million family residence in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Hajdini, meanwhile, remains on JPMorgan’s payroll. An NYU Stern School of Business graduate, she is described by colleagues as “a top performer.”
Outside the office, she volunteers with Minds Matter, a nonprofit supporting college access for underprivileged youth.
Those who know her did not hold back. “He has tarnished her with a complete fabrication,” said one person close to Hajdini, who was not authorized to speak publicly.
No trial date has been scheduled. Under U.S. law, court filings carry absolute privilege, which shields news organizations from defamation liability when accurately reporting their contents — regardless of whether the underlying claims are ultimately proven true or false.
