Explosive sexual harassment claims against a high-ranking female JPMorgan executive were reportedly “fabricated,” according to an exclusive from the New York Post.

On Wednesday, the Daily Mail broke a story about a lawsuit with allegations of sexual harassment against Lorna Hajdini, a high-ranking executive with JPMorgan, from one of her male subordinates after he joined the leveraged finance team in the spring of 2024. Identified in the suit only as “John Doe,” he claimed, among other things, that Hajdini turned him into her “sex slave,” would frequently threaten his career advancement if he rejected her sexual overtures, and would regularly subject him to racial abuse.

The New York Post later identified the male staffer as Chirayu Rana, now a principal at investment firm Bregal Sagemount, adding that a previous internal investigation by JPMorgan found no evidence of wrongdoing by Hajdini prior to the lawsuit being filed.

“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,” an attorney for Hajdini said in a statement.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan said that an internal probe by the HR department and in-house lawyers did a thorough review of team phone records and emails, finding no evidence to support the claims.

“Following an investigation, we don’t believe there’s any merit to these claims,” the spokesperson said. “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.”

Rana also reportedly “did not report to Hajdini,” according to the NY Post, adding that “the two were simply colleagues on the leveraged finance team, which works on large corporate acquisitions, mergers, and buyouts.”:

People familiar with the matter said Hajdini reported to managing director Brandon Graffeo, while Rana was supervised by another managing director, Jon Wolter. It means she would have no sway over the size of his annual bonus.

One colleague described Rana, a former basketball player and Rutgers graduate, as “socially awkward” but someone who “met the requirements” to remain at the bank.

No trial date has been set. The lawsuit remains reportable because court filings in the United States enjoy absolute privilege against defamation claims, shielding media outlets from liability as long as they fairly and accurately describe the allegations.

At least one close friend of Hajdini told the Post that the accusations have “tarnished” the executive.