Posted June 17, 2015 8:18 PM ET; Last updated August 12, 2015 6:07 PM ET
Benjamin Wey and Hanna Bouveng
[From article]
A Swedish woman who was awarded $18 million in damages after being sexually harassed and coerced into sex by her former Wall Street executive boss has revealed that she is considering moving and changing her identity - and the identity of her family – because the experience has left battling an almost-constant feeling of paranoia.
In an $850 million lawsuit, Hanna Bouveng, 25, accused Benjamin Wey, 43, of using his power as the owner of New York Global Group to coerce her into four sexual encounters, before firing her after discovering that she had a boyfriend. She also claimed he controlled and manipulated her during his relentless harassment following her hiring as a marketing intern in 2013.
'My former boss took away my peace of mind,' Hanna wrote in a personal essay appearing in the August issue of Cosmopolitan. 'I wonder whether my relatives and I should get new identities and move somewhere new. I think I will forever feel paranoid.'
[. . .]
Because Hanna’s job meant she was meeting high-profile people, including Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, he told her she needed an apartment that reflected her role in the company.
Hanna said he showed her a $3,300 apartment, and when she told him she would need a raise to afford it, he told her he would 'take care of it'. She said she thought he meant a raise and moved into the new place, however, instead of giving her a better salary, Benjamin told her he could ask him for cash when he needed it.
[. . .]
After a business dinner in January, Hanna said Benjamin walked her home and pulled out a box of condoms, pressuring her to have sex.
'I felt blurry from drinks at dinner and worn down by his aggression, as if he had peeled away my identity. I had lost myself,' she said. 'This time, he got his way.
'I felt like I left my body. I felt useless and devastated, like I was not worth anything.'
Hanna said that Benjamin coerced into sex a few more times, and she became determined to release herself from his tight grasp. She no longer cared about losing her job or her visa, but she said had started to fear Benjamin.
Although Hanna said Benjamin was constantly calling and texting her and showing up at her apartment unannounced, she made an effort to reconnect with friends. She started seeing James Chauvet, a guy she had met the summer before, and their relationship began to blossom – without Benjamin’s knowledge.
[. . .]
Hanna said she returned to Sweden and filed a sexual-harassment lawsuit in federal court, but Benjamin continued to harass her, as well as her friends and family, online, posting images of her face next to pictures of pornography and drug use on Facebook. She noted that he created 11 new websites using her name to bully her.
You shouldn't feel ashamed when someone wrongs you
And while a judge warned Benjamin about his conduct in August, he wouldn't stop, and later that month he showed up in her hometown in Sweden and found her working at a café in Stockholm, prompting her to call the police.
[. . .]
Hanna joined the Swedish National Committee for UN Women and said she plans on working with them on future projects.
'I have learned that it's okay to admit that you are vulnerable. It's not okay for someone to prey on that,' she explained. 'You shouldn't feel ashamed when someone wrongs you.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3193692/Swedish-woman-25-awarded-18-million-sexually-harassed-boss-says-behavior-left-paranoid-wants-change-identity.html
Swedish woman, 25, who was awarded $18 million after being sexually harassed by her boss says his behavior left her so 'paranoid' she wants to change her identity
Hanna Bouveng accused Benjamin Wey, the 43-year-old owner of New York Global Group of coercing her into four sexual encounters
In her $850 million lawsuit, she claimed he relentlessly harassed her after hiring her as a marketing intern in 2013
Benjamin fired her after discovering that she had a boyfriend, and continued to harass her friends and family
Hanna has opened up about her experience in personal essay that appears in the August issue of Cosmopolitan
By Erica Tempesta For Dailymail.com
Published: 10:43 EST, 11 August 2015 | Updated: 21:03 EST, 11 August 2015
* * *
Updated June 30, 2015 9:03 PM ET
[From article]
Bouveng landed $500,000 for sexual harassment that ranged from Wey openly panting over her at the office to pressuring her to sleep with him. When she finally fell into bed with him, he lasted just 2 minutes, she said.
Jurors handed Bouveng another $1.5 million for defamation, which included Wey smearing her on his Webzine after their break-up and e-mailing her father a vicious note when he found another man in her bed.
“I saw a 6-foot-tall homeless black man named James lying on her bed. The man was totally naked, dirty, totally drunk and perhaps on illegal drugs,” Wey wrote to Bouveng’s father, Nils Sundqvist, in one e-mail entered into evidence.
The jury awarded Bouveng $1 for the retaliation she suffered after she called it quits with Wey and he fired her. And then they deliberated several more hours over punitive damages before awarding another $1 6 million.
http://nypost.com/2015/06/29/underling-awarded-at-least-2m-as-horndog-ceo-loses-suit/
Wall Street CEO will have to pay up for slut-shaming intern
By Josh Saul
New York Post
June 29, 2015 | 12:34pm
* * *
[From article]
A Wall Street financier who's on trial for sexually harassing a Swedish former model lasted just two minutes the first time they slept together, the woman's lawyer said on Monday.
Hanna Bouveng, 25, is suing the CEO of New York Global Group Benjamin Wey, 43, for $850million, claiming he sexually harassed her, pressured her to dress provocatively and forced her to have sex in December 2013.
Bouveng said she was hired by Wey in July 2013 - despite a lack of experience - as the company's marketing chief.
[. . .]
She was fired in April 2014, Wey's reason being that her love of nightclubs was becoming an issue, Wey's attorney Glen Colton said.
Bouveng didn't report the sexual attacks until after Wey fired her, Colton said, adding that Wey called her complaints 'extortion'.
'She said she would go to law-enforcement and report the rape if he didn't settle the case,' said Colton.
Wey, a Columbia University graduate who holds two Master's degrees, then continued to spread lies about Bouveng on a website he runs called The Blot Magazine, according to the model.
'He puts on the blog that she's a prostitute, that she hangs out with cocaine dealers. Every day after the complaint was filed there were articles about Hanna Bouveng and what a terrible person she is,' Ratner said in court.
[. . .]
Bouveng said in December that Wey contacted her family members after she was fired and accused her of cheating on him.
'He contacted my father, brother, aunt, all my closest friends, business acquaintances, former employers, possible employers,' Bouveng said in December, according to the Daily News.
Ratner said his client got scared after receiving a voicemail in which Wey allegedly said 'you cheated on me!' and said detectives were investigating her.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3125923/Wall-Street-financier-Benjamin-Wey-sued-850m-sexually-harassing-underling-pressured-bed.html
Wall Street financier, 43, is sued for $850m for sexually harassing model, 25, who he hired, 'pressured into bed' and then branded a prostitute on his blog
Hanna Bouveng, 25, is suing the CEO of New York Global Group Benjamin Wey, 43, for $850million
Wey had hired her as his company's marketing chief in July 2013 and paid for the rent on her $3,600 Tribeca apartment
The Swedish former model claims he sexually harassed her, pressured her to dress provocatively and forced her to have sex in December 2013
The pair had sex 'several' times, and the first time only lasted two minutes
Wey fired Bouveng in April 2014, after which Bouveng reported the sexual attacks
He then spread lies about his former employee online, claiming she was a 'prostitute' that 'hangs out with cocaine dealers', her attorney said
By KELLY MCLAUGHLIN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 01:00 EST, 16 June 2015 | UPDATED: 02:52 EST, 16 June 2015
* * *
[From article]
Wey took Bouveng on business trips, always talking up the professional aspect of the trip. But when the naive brunette got to their hotel, she was surprised to find that Wey had booked them both into the same room, Ratner said.
“Her dream was to work on Wall Street,” Ratner told the jury at the end of his openings.
“Now she’s working in a cafe.”
Defense attorney Glen Colton said Bouveng — who speaks five languages — didn’t tell anybody about the sexual incidents until after she was fired, and called her initial complaint to Wey “extortion.”
“She said she would go to law enforcement and report the rape if he didn’t settle the case,” Colton said.
http://nypost.com/2
015/06/15/financier-lasted-two-minutes-with-underling-he-pressured-into-sex-lawyer/
Financier bedded sexy staffer after ‘relentless’ pursuit: lawyer
By Josh Saul
New York Post
June 15, 2015 | 7:26pm
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