ON BACKGROUND
Wigdor LLP has filed a complaint against Tianrui Xiao and SharingPlus, Inc. on behalf of Xinru Wen, alleging sexual assault and failure to pay wages. Ms. Wen began working at SharingPlus in June 2024, as a UX/Visual Designer. Her employment was pitched as an “unpaid internship” to offer professional growth and development. In fact, an uncompensated role that is not tied to school credit or other special circumstances is unlawful in New York.
However, Ms. Wen’s issues at SharingPlus went far beyond the financial. As alleged in the complaint (below), Mr. Xiao forcibly kissed Ms. Wen, repeatedly, in April 2025. Later that month, Mr. Xiao invited Ms. Wen to dinner, which she believed to be non-romantic in nature. After dinner, Mr. Xiao suggested drinks and her memories become fragmented soon thereafter. As stated in the Complaint, she later allegedly woke up in Mr. Xiao’s apartment, where he proceeded to force himself upon her. Ms. Wen asked multiple times why Mr. Xiao did not get her consent, to which he replied, “Can I continue now?” and “No man could resist/control himself in that situation.”
Due to Mr. Xiao’s alleged actions, which are in direct violation of the Gender Motivated Violence Act (GMVA), Ms. Wen continues to experience physical pain as well as severe emotional distress and anxiety.
The full complaint for Xinru Wen v. Tianrui Xiao and SharingPlus, Inc. may be found here.
Please reach out to Wigdor LLP Partner Lawrence Pearson (lpearson@wigdorlaw.com) or Director of Marketing Tess Neudeck (tneudeck@wigdorlaw.com) with any questions.