A wolf of Wall Street has to cough up $18 million for sexually harassing and then trashing his pretty Swedish underling, a Manhattan jury found Monday.
Plaintiff Hanna Bouveng, 25, scored the massive payday after filing suit against her married former boss, Benjamin Wey, the 43-year-old CEO of New York Global Group.
Bouveng landed $500,000 for sexual harassment that ranged from Wey openly panting over her at the office to pressuring her to sleep with him. When she finally fell into bed with him, he lasted just 2 minutes, she said.
Jurors handed Bouveng another $1.5 million for defamation, which included Wey smearing her on his Webzine after their break-up and e-mailing her father a vicious note when he found another man in her bed.
“I saw a 6-foot-tall homeless black man named James lying on her bed. The man was totally naked, dirty, totally drunk and perhaps on illegal drugs,” Wey wrote to Bouveng’s father, Nils Sundqvist, in one e-mail entered into evidence.
The jury awarded Bouveng $1 for the retaliation she suffered after she called it quits with Wey and he fired her. And then they deliberated several more hours over punitive damages before awarding another $16 million.
Bouveng’s suit sought a total of $850 million.
The pretty brunette gave a small smile to her lawyers as the initial verdict was read.
Also in court was the other man she’d been in bed with, James Chauvet. The pair shared a long hug after the verdict.
“I think it was a good verdict,’’ Chauvet later said.
Wey, who had been in court every day for the trial with his wife, was not in the courtroom.
His lawyer, Glenn Coltin, declined comment.
One of Bouveng’s lawyers, David Ratner, bashed Wey for not showing up to hear the verdict.
“He’s got b—s when he’s hiding behind his stupid magazine, but when it comes to facing the jurors, he doesn’t show up,” Ratner said.
“The jury said yes, she was sexually harassed, yes, she suffered retaliation, yes, she suffered defamation – and they rejected everything Wey had to say,’’ the lawyer said. “She’s ecstatic, and we are very, very pleased.”
