Who is Naiome Ram? CFO at NYC celebrity hotspot Jue Lan Club sued for alleged racist rant against ex-employee
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Naiome Ram, the CFO of Jue Lan Club, has been sued by an ex-employee allegedly for a racist rant, physical and verbal attack, and unpaid wages, according to a lawsuit. The incident took place at the Jue Lan Club located at 9 W 20th Street, New York, a place frequented by celebrities.
According to Page Six, the Mexican ex-employee named Jose Luis Toxqui was fired in the summer of 2022. Toxqui has sued Ram for battery, assault, and unpaid wages following her racist attack on him, 20 minutes before he was fired, as per the lawsuit obtained by the news outlet. The complaint was filed on September 15, 2022, in New York.
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Who is Naiome Ram?
Naiome Ram, the owner of the upscale Chinese restaurant and celebrity hotspot Jue Lan Club, also owns Amadeus nightclub in Queens. The restauranteur opened Jue Lan Club in 2015 in New York. Celebrities like Travis Scott, 50 Cent, Angela Simmons, Busta Rhymes, Cardi B, Omari Hardwick, and others have reportedly been spotted dining at the club.
Though a much-happening place, the club, and Ram have been in news before for similar allegations from ex-employees. According to the Daily Mail, former server Admir Cuturic filed a complaint against Ram in April 2020 alleging disability discrimination and risking the staff by letting NBA stars smoke marijuana in the club. She was not served a lawsuit. Ram vehemently denied the accusations mentioned in response to the complaint from Cuturic's attorney.
Toxqui worked at the restaurant as a barback and then as a bartender from 2017 to 2022. The dispute reportedly took place on August 18, 2022, when Ram racially abused Toxqui by saying, “Little f*****g Mexican illegal pieces of s***t like you shouldn’t f***k with people who f*****g have money and f*****g who know f*****g s***t”, as per Page Six.
The plaintiff claims in the complaint that during the argument Ram hit him “in the face and chest”. Ram denied the allegations stating that she is "just as much an immigrant as anybody in this country" as she is Guyanese and said that she could not pass racist remarks or abuse.
In contradiction to Ram's denial of the allegations, Page Six obtained an audio clip of her racist tirade, where she can be heard yelling, “Somebody is going to go to f–king jail tonight, and it’s going to be you. … I will tell you right now, I will f–k you up right here. I will f–k your a**s up in f–king immigration."
She continued telling Toxqui and another male employee, “You ever been dragged into a f–king lawsuit, you piece of s–t? God as my f–king witness, I will f–k you up. You f–king disgusting piece of s–t.” She can be heard further threatening the employees, “Shut the f–k up. I will f–king murder your a** in here,” while the plaintiff attempts to talk.
“You ever been to motherf–king ICE, motherf–ker? … I swear to f–king God. I will f–k you up. I will f–k you and your wife up. You don’t f–king know who I am. I will f–king go to the ends of the Earth to f–k you. Talk, you f–king ungrateful piece of s–t,” Ram rants in the 12-minute audio clip.
Ram admitted to Page Six of a dispute on August 18, 2022. According to a complaint filed at the New York Police Department, Toxqui has been named an 'accomplice' in theft with another employee. Ram said she allegedly caught the other male employee and Toxqui for stealing money and liquor bottles worth $7,965. He repeatedly denied the allegation.
Ram claimed that Toxqui filed a complaint to defame her establishment and is a counterattack to her accusations of the men being involved in the theft.
“I financially helped them so many times. Unfortunately, people are willing to just pass anything good you’ve done for them, and, unfortunately, they let desperation and money come in the way,” Ram told Page Six. “There is no shred of evidence. It’s easy to accuse things, but produce a single piece of paper that shows I’m a racist,” she further added.
She claimed that she paid for Toxqui and his wife's baby shower and has written letters of support for the couple's immigration case, explaining that she had a good long-standing relationship with them. However, these claims have been proven otherwise in the copies and videos obtained by Page Six which show that only 'liquor and decorations' were paid for by Ram. It also states that no letter of support from Ram was ever received by Toxqui's attorney.
Responding to Page Six's question on whether the audio was Ram's, her lawyers commented, “Neither our office nor our clients have been provided with the purported audio recording, nor have we had the opportunity to listen to or verify it, and so we cannot comment on it. However, we intend to vigorously defend the litigation in the appropriate forum and not through the press.”.
The corporation that owns and operates Jue Lan Club is being sued by Toxqui for overtime violations, unpaid wages, overtime violations, and other claims as well. Accusing the executives of improper workplace practices on behalf of many other ex-employees other than service managers, Toxqui filed the class-action lawsuit.