Threesome, a lie about father’s death? How ex-JPMorgan staffer Chirayu Rana’s story continues to unravel

The JPMorgan sexual abuse case continues to grab eyeballs with both sides — Chirayu Rana, the plaintiff, and Lorna Hajdini, the executive accused of sexual harassment — levelling allegations against one another.

Amid the claims and counter-claims, the JPMorgan case has acquired a new twist — Rana has been accused of lying about his father’s death to collect nearly three months of paid leave, as per a report in the New York Post.

So, what’s going on? We decode the latest in this case.

A claim of a dead father and his resurgence

Thirty-five-year-old Chirayu Rana, who alleged that Lorna Hajdini had sexually harassed him and even racially abused him, lied about his father’s well-being, claiming he had passed away, the New York Post reported.

According to the American newspaper, Rana, at the start of fall 2024, informed JPMorgan management that his father was seriously ill and requested work from home. He then completed his leave allowances between early March and May 2025 — the same time an initial draft complaint of sexual harassment was sent to the bank’s legal team.

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Then, around November 2024, Rana’s father reportedly passed away, and “he went to his parents’ house in Virginia,” said a source to the New York Post.

“The company thought he was working through something,” added the source.

Rana also reportedly collected three months of paid leave after telling his seniors that his father had died.

However, here comes the twist. The New York Post was able to get in touch with Rana’s family in Virginia and, surprisingly, spoke to his father, Chaintanya Rana. When asked about his son’s lawsuit, he responded, “I don’t know anything about it. He didn’t talk with us or anything.”

He, however, added, “He’s my son. He’s a good guy.”

People arrive at the JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York City. File image/Reuters

Rana’s new ‘threesome’ accusations against Hajdini

Amid this drama, Rana has also filed new evidence to support his claims of sexual harassment against JPMorgan executive, Lorna Hajdini.

Rana has added the witness statement from an anonymous friend who says he was invited to join a threesome with Hajdini. The witness, who is a family friend, states that he was staying at a New York City apartment when he was woken up in the middle of the night by Hajdini’s drunken behaviour. He claims that a “completely naked” Hajdini then woke him up, sat on the couch he was sleeping on, lit a cigarette, and began begging him to “join them” in the bedroom.

The witness added that he refused Hajdini several times, which prompted her to say, “you know I own, so you better come join”.

He further claims that Hajdini then returned to her bedroom from where Rana could be heard pleading, “No, no, you have to leave. I’m not going to do this. Please stop.”

The witness adds that Rana later outlined to him how Hajdini “constantly harassed him and forced him to engage in sexual behaviour with her on a number of occasions”.

Another witness, as per a New York Post report, recounted seeing Hajdini kissing Rana’s neck on the street sometime during the summer of 2024. Moreover, she heard them entering the apartment sometime in September 2024 and overheard Hajdini saying something that sounded like, “I own you Brownie.”

Hajdini and JPMorgan’s firm rejection of claims

JPMorgan has dismissed claims that the bank enabled the abuse, as claimed by Rana in his lawsuit. The bank states that a detailed probe of phone records and emails didn’t yield any proof of abuse.

“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,” a JPMorgan spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Moreover, investigations have revealed that while Rana accused Hajdini of using her position, he was not in her reporting line. According to the New York Post, the claim by Rana that she would “threaten his bonus” falls flat.

More suspicions have arisen after it was found that Rana allegedly sought guidance from an online legal-advice chatbot. “I was raped, secually assulted [sic], harassed, and forced to do drugs by my former boss at Morgan Stanley,’’ the user allegedly wrote during the chatbot conversation.

Hajdini has also denied the allegations with her lawyers, saying: “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.”

Rana, a Rutgers University graduate, exited employment at Bregal Sagemount on April 2, weeks before he levelled allegations against Hajdini. Bregal Sagemount confirmed Rana’s exit, stating, “Chiraya Rana was employed by Bregal Sagemount from October 20, 2025, to April 2, 2026. He is no longer an employee.”

With inputs from agencies