Manhattan lawyer sued after asking young paralegal to 'be his third wife'

Sabrina Rafi says boss James R. Ray, 50, sexually harassed her and boasted of his multiple wives

Rafi also alleges the law firm founder forced her to feed him with chopsticks in a Korean restaurant

An employee at a New York City law firm with a swanky address has named her boss in a suit that alleges he asked her to be ‘his third wife’ and sexually harassed her for weeks.



Sabrina Rafi, 27, began as a paralegal at Ray and Associates in December and says she began to be harassed by the firm’s founder, James R. Ray, shortly thereafter.



Filed April 11 in Manhattan Federal Court, Rafi’s suit goes into lurid detail about her boss’s alleged fascination with polygamy. Ray has not publicly commented on the case.



Stunned: Sabrina Rafi, 27, filed suit against former boss James R. Ray, 50, alleging he 'urged her' to try polygamy and sexually harassed her for weeks

According to a New York Post report , the suit states that Ray first suggested Rafi try ‘the polygamist lifestyle,’ on January 7, early in her short time with his firm.



Rafi also claims in the suit that Ray frequently bragged about being ‘married to multiple women’ and about his many sexual partners.

‘He was describing his sexual encounters with women. How he would say he met this woman at a club and she was from a Middle Eastern country,’ Rafi told the Post. ‘He said, “You’re from a middle eastern background too.”’

The recent law school grad said she was afraid to rebuff Ray’s advances because another female employee was fired for doing that very thing and she feared having a similar fate.



Besides, Rafi said, it seemed to begin as a joke. She told the Post, ‘At the beginning, I laughed it off.’

Polygamist? Rafi's suit claims Ray boasted of his multiple wives while she was his paralegal and once even forced her to feed him with chopsticks

However, Rafi claims things quickly became more serious and that she ‘got pretty scared.’



On January 15, Rafi says Ray demanded she dine with him at Korean Palace, a restaurant near their office.



Afraid for her livelihood, Rafi says she complied and immediately regretted it.



She says Ray insisted on talking about porn, calling it ‘key to a successful relationship.’

Rafi says Ray ignored her when she told him she had a boyfriend and refused to eat unless she fed him with chopsticks in front of other patrons, which she describes as ‘humiliating.’



‘I’m picking up the chopsticks and my hands are shaking,’ she said. ‘I think I dropped the shrimp at one point. I picked it up again with the chopsticks and then he opens his mouth and closes his eyes as if he was in love with me.’



At one point, according to court documents, Rafi ran from the restaurant as Ray pursued her.



Misguided: Rafi claims Ray told her his myriad sexual encounters included a woman from a Middle Eastern country and said 'your from a Middle Eastern background, too.'



Thereafter, Rafi says she began covering herself at the office by dressing in layers and even wearing coats indoors.

The suit claims Rafi’s clothing incensed Ray and eventually led him to fire her in February, which was for the best if you ask Rafi.

‘I actually felt sick working him for him,’ she said.



Ray has not commented publicly on the case.



A website for Manhattan’s Law Firm of Ray & Associates lists its founder as James Ray, Esq. ‘a former boxing promoter, restaurant owner, and college professor.'

Mr. Ray brings considerable knowledge and perspective to each case or transaction he gets involved in,' reads the site. 'Mr. Ray is currently writing a book entitled Entrepreneurship: Paradigm for Success.’

Suing: Rafi filed suit against Ray April 11 in Manhattan Federal Court



