Wigdor LLP has filed an assault and battery complaint against entrepreneur Arthur Rabin on behalf of our client, Brenda Ramirez. Ms. Ramirez is a 39-year-old single mother who works two public-facing jobs. As alleged in the complaint (linked below), a few years ago, she first met Mr. Rabin, the multi-millionaire former co-owner of the Brooklyn Nets and co-founder of Wear Me Apparel LLC, a leading designer, marketer and seller of young men’s and children’s apparel that manages a prominent portfolio of licensed brands.
Ms. Ramirez met Mr. Rabin, an octogenarian more than four decades her senior, on a commercial flight from New York to Miami in January 2022, where the two traded pleasantries. The two began a platonic friendship primarily consisting of phone calls. At some point, Mr. Rabin called Ms. Ramirez extremely frequently – even daily – and the two occasionally met in person. While Ms. Ramirez was grateful for support from someone whom she considered a friend, Mr. Rabin’s gifts of clothing for her son and sporadic wire transfers were entirely unsolicited.
On December 27, 2024, Mr. Rabin invited Ms. Ramirez to dinner at the W Hotel in South Beach, Florida where they would be dining on room service in his suite. He told her the hotel had provided a dessert and bottle of champagne for them to share, and Ms. Ramirez agreed to drink a glass. Mr. Rabin did not pour any champagne for himself, and when Ms. Ramirez tasted her drink, she noticed that it was flat. Almost immediately, Ms. Ramirez felt sleepy and disoriented. She thought she only closed her eyes for a brief moment; but when she opened them, she found herself naked in Mr. Rabin’s bed, with him performing oral sex on her. She had no control over her body and was going in and out of consciousness, unable to speak. When Ms. Ramirez finally woke up, it was around 4 a.m., and she felt extremely sick. She ran to the bathroom and vomited excessively, including all over her naked body. She showered to clean up, continuing to panic as she realized that something horrible had happened without her consent. She left the hotel room as quickly as she could and spent the subsequent days attempting to process what happened. Since the incident, Mr. Rabin has continued to try to call her, but Ms. Ramirez cannot bring herself to speak with him, as revisiting the attack has caused her profound anxiety that manifests in physical pain, difficulty sleeping, and a loss of appetite.
The full complaint for Ramirez v. Rabin may be found here.
ON RECORD
Quote from Meredith A. Firetog (Partner at Wigdor LLP):
“Mr. Rabin spent years fostering Ms. Ramirez’s trust, weaponizing his wealth and influence to camouflage his manipulation as the support of a caring friend. Last year, he violated that trust in despicable fashion when he sexually assaulted Ms. Ramirez while she was incapacitated and unable to consent. No amount of business success gives someone permission to exploit another’s vulnerabilities.” Please reach out to Wigdor LLP Partner Meredith A. Firetog (mfiretog@wigdorlaw.com) or Director of Marketing Tess Neudeck (tneudeck@wigdorlaw.com) with any questions