A former JPMorgan Chase banker, Chirayu Rana, has been put at the center of a scandal after allegedly lying to the company by saying his father had died in order to take about three months of paid leave from work.
According to reports from The New York Post, Rana, 35, announced in December 2024 that his father had passed away and that he needed to take time off work to care for his family. This allowed him to combine several forms of paid leave, including regular bereavement leave.
However, his father, Chaitanya Rana, is reportedly alive and told The New York Post that he was unaware of any legal conflicts involving his son. He was contacted at the family home in Virginia and said he had not had any communication with his son about the matter.
Rana, who later left JPMorgan, is also embroiled in a sensational lawsuit against a former Albanian colleague, Lorna Hajdini, and the bank itself, where he alleges serious workplace abuses, including sexual abuse.
However, US media reports say that some of these claims do not match the company's internal data and have been disputed by JPMorgan.
According to sources cited by the media, during his leave period he also prepared a legal claim against his former employer and colleague. JPMorgan's internal investigations, according to a bank spokesperson, have not found evidence to support his allegations.
The case has received significant attention in the US due to the combination of legal claims, suspected fraudulent work permit conduct, and the involvement of a major financial institution like JPMorgan. Investigations and legal proceedings into the matter are ongoing.