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Marc Lasry's reps refute 'malicious campaign' in sexual misconduct suit

Fri May 9 6:11pm ET
Field Level Media

Former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry has refuted the latest statements made by an ex-employee who maintains the billionaire subjected her to years of sexual harassment and a smear campaign.

Lasry was hit by a countersuit seeking $100 million on Thursday from Gina Strum, an attorney and executive. Strum filed the suit in New York Supreme Court, with Lasry's Avenue Capital Group and its co-founder, Sonia Gardner (Lasry's sister), also named as defendants.

Strum maintains that "Lasry exploited his position as CEO of Avenue Capital to manipulate, harass, and retaliate against Strum after she refused his advances and reported misconduct."

The countersuit states that "Lasry engaged in a pattern of grooming and predatory behavior, using his authority, personal disclosures, and emotional manipulation to erode professional boundaries and cultivate inappropriate dependence. Strum asserts claims for, among others, sexual harassment, sexual assault, defamation, retaliation, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud."

A statement issued Friday by Kekst CNC, which said it represents Lasry and Avenue Capital Group, said the "repackaging of the lawsuit with an amended complaint demanding $100 million is an attempt to create new headlines.

"Ms. Strum continues to attempt to use the media as part of her malicious campaign to ruin the reputations of Avenue, Marc Lasry, and Sonia Gardner for financial gain. Her new press release is one of several that she has issued in her efforts to generate publicity," the statement read.

"Further, it is important to note that the amended complaint Ms. Strum filed yesterday is essentially the same lawsuit that she filed on October 23, 2024. Since that time, she has cycled through multiple law firms and is now on her seventh law firm. As Avenue explained in prior court filings, ‘Ms. Strum's lawyers are either quitting to avoid sanctions, or are being fired by Ms. Strum for refusing to propagate her vicious falsehoods. Her rapid and repeated changes in counsel confirm that there is something fundamentally wrong with Ms. Strum's claims, threats, tactics and gamesmanship.' One of Ms. Strum's prior counsel in this matter ‘filed a ‘noisy' withdrawal citing ethical concerns.'"

In October, Lasry, Avenue Capital and Gardner sued Strum, accusing her of using harassment and blackmail in an attempt to gain $50 million. Strum denied the allegations.

Richard Roth, Strum's attorney and managing partner of The Roth Law Firm, said Thursday in a statement, "The complaint describes a disturbing pattern of physical and emotional misconduct. It asserts that Mr. Lasry exploited years of personal disclosures about his wife and daughters to foster an inappropriate emotional attachment, blurring professional boundaries and positioning Ms. Strum as an emotional surrogate.

"According to the complaint, this manipulation escalated into unwanted touching and ultimately a quid pro quo sexual harassment dynamic -- where Ms. Strum's professional opportunities and financial future were conditioned on tolerating Lasry's personal demands, misconduct, and predatory behavior. The complaint states that Ms. Strum reasonably believed that accepting his pressure to join Avenue internally would inevitably require her to submit to physical sexual demands."

Avenue's statement on Friday said the October countersuit is not a retaliation but, rather, it "lay bare Ms. Strum's long course of inappropriate and threatening conduct," and called it "a direct and appropriate response to hold her accountable for her defamatory actions."

The statement added that Avenue, Mr. Lasry and Ms. Gardner will be pressing their own claims as part of the litigation process.

"Mr. Lasry has never engaged in any inappropriate conduct towards Ms. Strum, and there was no abuse or sexual harassment by Mr. Lasry, as she claims," it read. "As Mr. Lasry's lawsuit against Ms. Strum makes clear, it was Ms. Strum who engaged in repeated inappropriate conduct towards Mr. Lasry. He has refused to give in to Ms. Strum's outrageous demands, choosing instead to litigate in court.

"Additionally, Ms. Strum spitefully sought to harm Ms. Gardner by publishing false information about her health -- statements by Ms. Strum that simply are not true. Ms. Gardner has always worked full time and is in fact in excellent health. Ms. Gardner, a lifelong advocate of women, and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Capital Development Fund for Gender Equality in Access to Finance, stated: ‘Ms. Strum's allegations of harassment at Avenue, and her lies about my health, have been fabricated as a vindictive and strategic response to being told that her proposed business opportunity was not feasible. Her false claims undermine the legitimate claims of those women in other workplaces who have suffered abuse.'"

Lasry, 65, was part of the Bucks' ownership group from 2014-2023. Earlier this week, Sportico reported that Lasry and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan are working to purchase a stake in the New York Giants.