The 34-page complaint, revealing dire financial straits, also features claims that Bank of America is "un-American" and color photos of Alex and Ani jewelry and executives, including founder Carolyn Rafaelian, who it says has a "deep reverence for powerful and sacred symbols that inspire awareness, and express empowerment and inner beauty."

Alex and Ani says it is in a "death spiral" heading toward bankruptcy caused by the "gender bias and greed" of lender Bank of America and is seeking $1.2 billion in damages in a discrimination lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday.

"The endgame is clear: Bank of America wants the women out of power at Alex and Ani," the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, reads. "Bank of America has been both driving Alex and Ani towards bankruptcy and milking it for literally tens of millions of dollars in fees."

Alex and Ani's argument: Bank of America wrongly placed the jewelry maker in default on a $170-million loan and froze a $50-million revolving line of credit because of age and gender discrimination.

The 34-page complaint features claims that Bank of America is "un-American" and color photos of Alex and Ani jewelry and executives, including founder Carolyn Rafaelian, who it says has a "deep reverence for powerful and sacred symbols that inspire awareness, and express empowerment and inner beauty."

Alex and Ani is represented in the suit by attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon, Republican national committeewoman for California. She's recently filed high-profile suits against the University of California at Berkeley for canceling an Ann Coulter speech and Google on behalf of an engineer who said he was fired for expressing conservative views.

But the suit also paints a bleak portrait of the financial straits facing Alex and Ani, which shot to prominence a decade ago selling charm bangles but has seen sales fall and a number of executives leave on bad terms.

Alex and Ani's valuation "has dropped by nine figures, and continues to fall," the suit says.

The company has slashed $19 million a year in payroll, plus another $4.5 million "through consolidation and contract negotiation."

It has $16 million in late payments to vendors.

And lenders have called for the hiring of an outside restructuring officer to take control and execute a turnaround plan.

"Bank of America’s actions over the past few months — starting with a made-up default and culminating in a deliberate plan to starve Alex and Ani of credit from any source — have sent a once-thriving American success story into a death spiral, with 1,500 jobs potentially in the balance," the suit says. "Alex and Ani has already lost several hundred million dollars in value as a result of Bank of America’s wrongful actions."

Questions about the company's financial future left with a receptionist at company headquarters in Cranston were not returned.

Bank of America spokesman Bill Halldin said BOA serves as administrative agent for a group of seven banks that extended credit to Alex and Ani and, despite being singled out, has "taken the appropriate steps to enforce the terms of the agreement."

"As the complaint notes, the company has faced serious financial challenges for nearly two years and the banks have worked closely with them during that time," he said. "Bank of America has a demonstrated record of support for diverse businesses that is well noted and widely recognized."

To support its claim of gender bias, the suit lists previous discrimination lawsuit settlements and the timing of the default notice, which came after Alex and Ani hired Andrea Ruda as CFO to replace a man Alex and Ani blames for the initial downturn in its business. Bank of America executives commented on the 26-year-old Ruda's relative inexperience in restructuring companies, the suit said.

"Ruda is a woman, which (despite its market-facing messaging) Bank of America considers to be a problem," the suit says. "In fact, despite Bank of America’s woke advertising, the company is decidedly retrograde in its views toward women."