Former Avenue employee accused of ‘blackmailing’ billionaire Marc Lasry countersues, claiming sexual harassment including forced kissing, groping, and comments about her body

Billionaire Marc Lasry has run Avenue Capital for nearly 30 years.

In response to Avenue Capital’s lawsuit against her, former fundraiser Gina Strum has countersued, accusing her former bosses, including billionaire Marc Lasry, of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Lasry, the cofounder of Avenue Capital, is named in the suit along with his sister, Sonia Gardner, who started the firm with her brother in 1995. Strum’s attorneys are New York-based employment lawyer Daniel Kaiser and civil rights attorney CK Hoffler, who has represented the Rev. Jesse Jackson, among others.

In Strum’s suit, filed in New York state court, she claims Lasry — the former owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and a megadonor to Democrats — would forcibly kiss her, fondle her breasts, and make sexually charged comments about her in front of coworkers and clients.

For example, the suit states, that at a January meeting between the two of them, Lasry “pulled up pictures of Strum on Instagram and took particular interest in one in which Strum was wearing a bikini.”

“Lasry licked his lips and said that Strum looked like a supermodel and continued to make inappropriate comments regarding Strum’s body,” the suit reads.

A spokesperson for Avenue said: “Ms. Strum’s allegations are completely false and represent her further attempt to malign the reputations of Mr. Lasry, Ms. Gardner, and Avenue for financial gain.”

“These categorically false and vindictive claims by Ms. Strum — and her repeated threats to smear their reputations and maliciously destroy them personally and their business if she was not paid $50 million — are the reasons why Mr. Lasry, Ms. Gardner, and Avenue on October 18 filed a lawsuit against her for defamation.”

Strum started at Avenue in 2009 before leaving in 2013, saying she was “physically ill and ravaged by the effects of such traumatic treatment,” though she continued to work with Avenue as an external consultant. She states in her suit that she and Avenue were discussing a settlement related to the breakdown of a new fund that Strum was working on this year with Lasry.

After the two sides disagreed on the structure of the new fund, Strum’s attorneys sent Lasry and his team their list of legal claims in September with the hopes of “an amicable resolution.” Lasry’s lawyers, her suit claims, “expressed interest.”

“Instead of continuing those discussions, as counsel represented would occur, Lasry ran to court to file a frivolous and malicious lawsuit against Strum,” her suit states.

Unlike Lasry’s suit, which accused Strum of “blackmailing” him, Strum’s lawsuit does not include extensive written evidence, such as texts or emails of the harassment.

She does, however, name several witnesses to the harassment and discrimination as well as several John and Jane Does who she said were present for some of Lasry’s comments. For instance, the suit states that Martin Gantz, the former director of fixed income for the New York City Comptroller, told Lasry that he would only work with Strum after the account was taken away from her as retaliation for refusing Lasry’s advances.

Other eye-catching bits of Strum’s suit include accusations that Lasry:

• “… told Strum that he fantasized about women having sex with Black men, and used a racial slur to refer to the African-American gentleman that Lasry knew Strum was dating.”

• “… told Strum the Epstein case was a witch hunt and the accusing women were lying,” the suit said, in reference to late billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

• “… would follow Strum around the office and would become visibly upset if she spent any time in any other male employee’s office.”

• After “… complaining to Strum that Lasry was in a loveless and sexless marriage, Lasry called Strum and said: ‘You know how much I care about you. If you think it’s discrimination, sue me. Good luck.'”