Wey had sex with her, then fired her.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Swedish model Hanna Bouveng, 25, was awarded $18 million by a federal jury after suing her former employer, Wall Street CEO Benjamin Wey, for sexual harassment, retaliation, and defamation.
The Associated Press reported that Benjamin Wey, the chief executive officer of investing firm New York Global Group, was accused of using his authority to coerce Hanna Bouveng into having sex on four occasions before firing her six months later.
According to Bouveng, the firing occurred when Wey found another man in her $3,600-a-month Tribeca apartment that Wey had helped pay for.
Wey, 43, also sought to defame Bouveng by posting articles on his blog accusing Bouveng of being a “street walker,” a “loose woman” and an extortionist, her lawyers said.
A few months after firing her, Wey walked into a café in Stockholm where Bouveng was working. “The message was: ‘Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I am going to find you and I am going to get you,” attorney David Ratner told jurors, according to Fortune. “She used to be sociable. … Now she is afraid to tell people her last name,” he continued.
During the trial, Wey denied ever having sex with Bouveng and claimed he fired her because her social life was out of control. He said his former assistant was extorting him, but the jury did not agree.
Bouveng hasn’t commented on her big court win. But from her trial testimony, it sounds like it could be a hollow victory, according to the Washington Post.
“I lost a lot of friends and people don’t want to be around me anymore. I really don’t want to go out and see people either,” she said. “I have applied for jobs but I don’t feel as confident as I did before. It’s been a tough year,” she continued.