JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) shares edged lower in pre-market trading on Thursday, April 30, as a lawsuit accusing one of the bank’s executives of misconduct drew attention online.
The complaint, reportedly filed on April 27 in New York County Supreme Court, alleges that a junior employee was drugged, racially abused, and threatened professionally after rejecting advances from a superior, Lorna Hajdini.
JPMorgan has denied that the claims have any merit, and added that an internal investigation found no evidence substantiating the allegations, according to a Daily Mail report citing the civil lawsuit.
At the time the allegations began to surface, JPMorgan shares were down 0.41% in pre-market trading, extending a 0.71% decline from the previous session. However, there is no clear evidence that JPM stock move was directly caused by the lawsuit itself.
Currently, JPMorgan shares are down approximately 1.5% in the last five days and nearly 5% on the year-to-date (YTD) chart.
JPMorgan refutes the allegations
The lawsuit, together with JPMorgan’s coincidental share price correction, has generated significant buzz on social media, as the public dissected the case as an example of power abuse in the workplace.
“Following an investigation, we don’t believe there’s any merit to these claims,” the bank’s spokesman specifically told Daily Mail.
Likewise, with the legal proceedings still in the early stages, the case is expected to attract further attention in the coming weeks.
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