SORDID SACHS SUIT
Affair-report axing
Goldman Sachs staged a sham investigation to cover up a top lawyer’s steamy office affair — and then pushed out an attorney who tried to blow the whistle, an explosive lawsuit claims.
Goldman former Vice President Marla Crawford alleged in a Monday lawsuit that the Wall Street powerhouse punished her for speaking out against its global head of litigation, Darrell Cafasso, whom she claims carried on an affair with a younger subordinate in violation of the bank’s rules — and under the protection of his boss and friend, Goldman general counsel Karen Seymour.
Cafasso became “infatuated” with the junior lawyer, identified as Jane Doe, upon arriving at Goldman in 2018, Crawford’s complaint alleges. Doe confided to Crawford that Cafasso had told her, “I think I’m falling in love with you” and “I have feelings for you I have never had for anyone else but my wife,” the suit says.
Meanwhile, it was “hardly a secret” that Cafasso “frequently drank to excess” at company events, the suit alleges. He invited the junior lawyer out to drinks and had regular one-on-one meetings with her, promising that if she acquiesced to his advances, he would “return the favor” professionally, the suit claims.
An affair began, and Cafasso appeared to make good on his offer, giving her high marks on performance reviews where she had been struggling, according to the suit.
In October 2019, Cafasso’s wife, having learned of the affair, called Jane Doe and told her she was “praying for her,” according to the suit. Cafasso then turned on his paramour, telling her, “You’re a temptress” and “You’re the devil’s pawn,” blaming her for his own conduct, the suit claims. Eventually the junior lawyer received a call from Cafasso and his wife alerting her that the affair was over, according to court papers.
The lawsuit alleges that Doe quit Goldman in embarrassment, then hired Gloria Allred, the famed litigator who has represented many of Bill Cosby’s victims. She “was likely paid a sum of money and forced out of the bank,” according to the suit.
Goldman’s chief counsel, Seymour, tapped white-shoe law firm Weil Gotshal to conduct an internal investigation into Cafasso’s behavior, but Crawford and other potential witnesses weren’t interviewed, the suit alleges. According to the suit, Seymour “told another senior lawyer that it was a ‘sticky situation,’ adding, ‘Let’s try to put this genie back in the bottle.’ ”
Cafasso took just two weeks off before returning to work. When Crawford complained, Cafasso turned on her, giving her poor marks on her annual review, the suit says. In September 2020, Crawford allegedly was notified her job as associate general counsel was moving to Dallas and she could move there and take a pay cut to keep it. She claims she was forced to quit, as she is caring for her 83-year-old mother.
Cafasso and Seymour declined to comment through a Goldman spokesperson.
“We conducted a review of the allegations in this complaint and found that they were completely without merit,” a Goldman spokesperson said in a statement.