Giuliani allegedly hired Noelle Dunphy on the condition she satisfy his sexual advances, but withheld pay from her and did not provide severance pay.

Topline

A former associate of Rudy Giuliani filed a $10 million lawsuit against the ex-Trump attorney Monday over sexual assault and wage theft allegations during Giuliani’s time as the Trump’s personal lawyer—in the latest legal battle for the beleaguered former New York City mayor.

Former New York City mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani allegedly exposed himself and withheld … [+] pay from a female employee, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

Key Facts

Noelle Dunphy, who was hired as Giuliani’s director of business development on a $1 million yearly salary in January 2019, claimed Giuliani made sexual demands “an absolute requirement” of her job, and forced her to work at his house and in hotel rooms.

Among the allegations Dunphy levied against Giuliani are that he exposed his genitals to her and asked her to “take care of this.”

Dunphy also alleged that Giuliani only paid a tiny fraction of the salary she agreed to and kept her employment a secret during his “acrimonious divorce” from his ex-wife, Judith Giuliani.

During that time, Dunphy said Giuliani claimed his “‘crazy’ ex-wife” would “retaliate and attack” any female employee he hired.

Dunphy said she agreed to receive deferred payment in response to Giuliani’s threat of possible retaliation, but claimed she wasn’t paid in full, calling Giuliani’s “seemingly generous offers” for a lucrative salary and his offer of pro-bono legal consultation a “sham motivated by his secret desire to pursue a sexual relationship.”

After two years working for Giuliani, Dunphy only received $12,000 and was not reimbursed for all of her business expenses (Forbes reached out to Giuliani’s attorney Robert Costello).

Key Background

Giuliani allegedly sought out Dunphy, a Columbia University graduate who founded consulting firm Strategic Consulting in 2001, in 2016 after they met at Trump Tower in New York City. In January, she filed a suit against him in New York, alleging he created a “toxic and sexually-hostile work environment,” made bigoted comments targeting women, minorities, people who identify as LGBTQ and anyone else he “suspected of disloyalty. When Giuliani fired Dunphy in 2021, he didn’t provide a rationale for the decision, and didn’t offer a severance package, according to court papers.

Surprising Fact

Dunphy claims Giuliani hired her during a “highly vulnerable” time in her life, when she was in the midst of a domestic violence case against her ex-boyfriend and was “desperate for an opportunity to move on in a positive manner.” During that time, Giuliani allegedly offered her $300,000 “to end her domestic violence litigation because he felt it was interfering with his sex life” and agree to have sex with him “like crazy.”

Crucial Quote

“Ms. Dunphy worked under the constant threat that Giuliani might demand sex from her at any moment,” the complaint alleges. “Even when the Covid-19 pandemic halted Giuliani’s ability to physically assault her, he demanded that she disrobe during their work-related videoconferences.”

Tangent

The allegations against Giuliani, once affectionately called “America’s mayor,” represent his latest legal hurdle. Last July, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered him to testify in a Georgia grand jury investigation into former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Giuliani, who is also under investigation for espousing debunked voter fraud claims to state lawmakers in 2020, was later informed he’s a target of the grand jury probe, Costello told the New York Times. Giuliani also faced a separate federal investigation into potential lobbying violations made when searching for dirt on then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, prompting an FBI raid on his home in April 2021, though prosecutors in that probe did not present criminal charges against him.