Gina Strum Sues Former Milwaukee Bucks Owner Marc Lasry for $100 Million: Allegations of Sexual Misconduct, Retaliation, Smear Campaign—and a Disturbing Night Inside Bill Clinton’s Inner Circle
NEW YORK, — Attorneys for Gina Strum, who has sued Marc Lasry for years of sexual harassment and retaliation, issued the following statement regarding the ongoing litigation:
Gina Strum, a prominent private equity executive and attorney, filed a $100 million lawsuit today in New York Supreme Court against billionaire investor Marc Lasry, alleging in the complaint a years-long pattern of sexual misconduct, retaliation, and a coordinated smear campaign aimed at destroying her reputation and career. The lawsuit also names Avenue Capital Group and co-founder Sonia Gardner.
According to the complaint, 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 complaint alleges 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. The complaint further maintains that Lasry orchestrated a deliberate scheme to defraud investors by concealing co-founder Sonia Gardner’s life-threatening cancer diagnosis—a material fact underlying the firm’s asset sales and divestitures at Avenue Capital.
“The complaint describes a disturbing pattern of physical and emotional misconduct,” said Richard Roth, Strum’s attorney and managing partner of The Roth Law Firm. “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.”
The complaint alleges that Lasry used Ms. Strum as an emotional escape from his wife precisely because she was part of his professional world, turning their work relationship into a surrogate for the intimacy and connection he lacked at home. It further asserts that Mr. Lasry regularly forced unwelcome kissing and hugging, groped her body, and deliberately pressed and rubbed his body against her backside—conduct that was sexual in nature, spanned more than 15 years, and created a predatory environment fueled by grooming, manipulation, and abuse of power.
The complaint also recounts a prior incident that exemplifies the predatory dynamic and illustrates how far back Lasry’s grooming and boundary violations extended. It describes an incident in London, alleging that Lasry pressured Ms. Strum and other young women to remain out into the early morning hours at Claridge’s Hotel with members of former President Bill Clinton’s inner circle while he socialized with the president. According to the complaint, Lasry later escorted Ms. Strum to one of the men’s hotel rooms and attempted to pressure her to lie on the bed. The complaint further alleges that, later that evening en route to Lasry’s private plane, he returned Ms. Strum’s phone by placing it up her skirt, thereby sexually assaulting her. Although the incident occurred more than a decade ago and is not part of the legal claims due to a prior release, the complaint asserts that it provides critical context for the longstanding power dynamics that continued into the events giving rise to this lawsuit.
“Marc Lasry used his power, money, and influence to blur personal and professional boundaries, entangle me emotionally, and control my financial future,” Strum said, describing the allegations in her lawsuit. “When I refused to tolerate Lasry’s misconduct, he didn’t stop—he escalated. He tried to destroy my career, ruin my reputation, and silence me with false claims in court and the media. This lawsuit is my stand against that abuse of power.”
The complaint alleges that Marc Lasry, aided by his attorneys, orchestrated a calculated scheme to entrap Gina Strum—fabricating regulatory concerns, pressuring her to abandon her ownership in their joint venture, and coercing her into an internal role where he could exert personal control. According to the filing, Lasry pretended to negotiate in good faith while secretly creating a false record to accuse Strum of extortion, urging her not to hire legal counsel, and manipulating their interactions to weaponize against her in court and the media.
Strum’s attorney said: “This case shines a harsh light on the toxic power dynamics inside Avenue Capital—and the extraordinary lengths Mr. Lasry went to punish a woman who refused to play by his rules.”
“Lasry weaponized his influence in finance and media to try to silence Gina Strum, but she refuses to be silenced,” Roth added. “This lawsuit seeks accountability—not just for her, but for every woman who’s been bullied into silence by powerful men.”
In an October 24 statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Avenue Capital explicitly admitted the lawsuit was filed in response to Ms. Strum’s sexual harassment and misconduct claims, stating: “These categorically false and vindictive claims by Ms. Strum… are the reasons why Mr. Lasry, Ms. Gardner, and Avenue on October 18 filed a lawsuit against her for defamation.” The complaint alleges their own words—both in the press and in court filings—make clear that the lawsuit was not about correcting a falsehood, but about silencing Ms. Strum’s protected complaints of sexual harassment, assault, and fiduciary misconduct. By publicly tying their lawsuit to Strum’s claims, Defendants exposed their true intent: to weaponize the legal system to punish her for speaking out.
Victims of sexual harassment or abuse are encouraged to contact local law enforcement to report any crimes. To speak with someone who is trained to help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or chat online at online.rainn.org.
Additional resources can be found here:
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)
RAINN | The nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization
National Women’s Law Center
SOURCE Roth Law Firm
CONTACT: Richard Roth