According to Lindsey’s suit, Singh wore down her initial resistance to engaging in a relationship with over-the-top displays of affection but that he quickly became manipulative and abusive. She claims he often threatened her with physical violence and also to use his more senior position to hurt her career. According to her suit, Lindsey remained with Singh for years because she was afraid of him.
Lindsey says Citigroup was forced to act after she complained about Singh’s “deranged” texts. But she claims the bank covered up his misconduct, allowing him to resign, characterizing his departure as entirely his decision and saying Citigroup was “sorry to see him go.”
The suit also describes Singh and other Citi executives frequently denigrating women, including ranking them by appearance. Lindsey claims Singh told her in a text, “You barely top 10 and [t]hat[’]s for a trading floor.” According to her suit, a desk head in 2017 used a book of first-year analysts’ headshots to rank them by “hotness.”
‘Boy’s Club’
Singh and other Citigroup executives also allegedly frequently pressured her to attend strip club outings, Lindsey alleges. Following one of these purported trips, Lindsey claims a client told her he was horrified by the Citigroup executives’ behavior.
“If you ever need a witness, I’ll be your witness,” she says the client said. She didn’t identify the client.
Despite facing a “boy’s club” environment, Lindsey says she achieved success at Citigroup. According to her suit, she was identified as a top performer and assigned to handle some of the bank’s most significant accounts even as a junior employee. She was promoted to managing director in 2021 and was told she was under consideration to be future head of the cash execution division.
Lindsey is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, saying that the abuse she’s suffered has left her unable to work and suffering from traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major neurocognitive disorder. She said the alleged abuse has led to a “24-point drop in IQ and an alarming decline in her memory, executive function, and attention span.”
She also said in her suit that she is taking advantage of a 2022 federal law that invalidates employment agreements requiring private arbitration of sexual assault and harassment claims.
The case is Lindsey v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., 23-cv-10166, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.