Monday, September 15, 2014

Former UBS Intern Alleges Her Boss Sexually Harassed Her In $5 Million Lawsuit

A UBS vice president attempted to offer designer shoes and bags in exchange for sex, a former intern alleges in a sexual harassment suit.

Christian Hartmann / Reuters / Reuters

What started as a financial adviser hitting on a college student bartender in a Long Island Irish pub has turned into a sordid sexual harassment suit against the adviser and the company he worked for, Swiss-based financial giant UBS.

Samantha Lambui, a 25-year-old former intern at UBS who is now a fitness instructor, sued James Collins, a former vice president at the bank, in federal court in New York earlier this month, alleging that he had sexually harassed her when she worked as his intern.

Lambui also sued three other UBS employees and the bank for sexual harassment, retaliation, discrimination, battery, assault, and wrongful imprisonment. The suit was first reported by Fund Fire, an industry publication. The suit seeks monetary damages of $5 million and legal fees.

Gregg Rosenberg, a spokesman for UBS, said in an emailed statement, "We do not comment on allegations in pending litigation other than we believe the claims against the firm to be without merit."

Collins has yet to respond to the claims in court and his attorney David Gehn did not respond to a request for comment. He told Investment News, "It's the free and open court system, and we're prepared to address the allegations in the court and not in the press."

Collins, who now works at Oppenheimer, worked at several financial firms in his career, and left UBS last August, according to FINRA, the financial industry self-regulator. Stefan Prelog, an outside spokesperson for Oppenheimer, declined to comment.

Before filing the suit, Lambui filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights in October of last year, and a director at the Office of Sexual Harassment Issues found there was probable cause that Collins, his superiors, and UBS have "engaged in or are engaging in the unlawful discriminatory practice" that Lambui alleged. In response to her complaint in New York state, UBS said Collins and Lambui had "exchanged text messages inviting each other to meet up" and that she had "transmitted a racy photo of herself and two friends."

The Human Rights Division found in its report, attached as an exhibit to the initial complaint, that "Mr. Collins admitted that he made sexual overtures" to Lambui and that the "racy photo" was actually posted on social media. The case in front of the Human Rights Division was dismissed so that Lambui could sue in federal court.

Lambui alleges in the suit that Collins recruited Lambui in November 2012 to work as his assistant at UBS after meeting her when she worked as a bartender Katie Mc's Irish Pub in Huntington, New York. The suit says Collins would have "friendly, but never romantic" conversations over four months and that Collins would often visit the bar when Lambui was working there. Lambui was still a college student.

The advances, Lambui said, began in early 2013, when Collins invited her to lunch in Manhattan to celebrate her being hired to work with him in UBS's Melville, New York, office and then tried to kiss her after the meal. She was 23.

Lambui rejected him and the next day texted Collins to see if her professional future would be jeopardized. Collins told her, according to the complaint, "Hey im a sensitive good looking guy who wears his heart on his sleeve..." and, later "That's why ur still working for me fool. I can easily find another bimbo with short hair that looks great in platform shoes..." Collins would continue to text her, telling her, "I'll get a second chance...watch." A few days later, the complaint says Collins told Lambui that she could get Christian Louboutin shoes as bonuses in an email signed "Mr. Boss Man."