Lorna Hajdini, the JPMorgan banker who was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit that swept the internet, has sued her accuser.
In a suit filed in the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, Hajdini “categorically and unequivocally” denied the allegations of lurid sexual abuse and racial discrimination made by a former colleague in a lawsuit filed late last month.
Those allegations, according to the filing, were invented and appear to be “part of a broader pattern and scheme in which he has repeatedly advanced knowingly false and deeply offensive accusations for personal gain.”
The filing states that the plaintiff’s accusations were aimed at ruining Hajdini’s reputation and “to extort millions of dollars” from both her and JPMorgan.
The original suit, filed by a John Doe plaintiff, dominated finance meme pages and headlines for weeks, with AI-generated images and videos of Hajdini popping up on social media referencing many of the sexual assault allegations. Hajdini’s suit said she and some family members have been “mocked, ridiculed, and harassed” in the aftermath.
Since the accuser first made his accusations internally to JPMorgan last May, Hajdini’s life has been “a daily, living nightmare,” according to the suit, and she has sought mental health treatment “to manage the severe emotional distress.”
In addition to compensation for economic damages, Hajdini is also seeking damages for “emotional distress, personal dignity, humiliation,” and “mental anguish,” among other things.
“Lorna will let her counterclaims speak for themselves,” Hajdini’s lawyers said in a statement. JPMorgan has stood behind Hajdini, who joined the bank in 2011, throughout the ordeal.
“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,” a spokesperson for the bank said in a statement.
A lawyer for the accuser, who filed the original lawsuit anonymously, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
