Former Citi Executive Sues Bank, Alleging Sexual Harassment

The lawsuit says the bank’s culture reduced her to being perceived as a sex object.

A former Citigroup executive sued the bank Monday, alleging one of its top executives sexually harassed her and that its human resources department was “weaponized” against her in the aftermath.

A Citi spokesman said the suit has no merit.

The suit was filed in Manhattan federal court by Julia Carreon, who worked in Citi’s wealth management division until 2024. It alleges Andy Sieg, Citi’s head of wealth, publicly displayed sexually charged conduct toward her and failed to refute rumors that they were having an inappropriate relationship.

In a statement, a Citi spokesman said the lawsuit “has absolutely no merit and we will demonstrate that through the legal process.”

Carreon in the lawsuit accuses Citi of fostering a decadeslong culture of sexual harassment that reduced her to being perceived as a sex object. Citi Chief Executive Jane Fraser is one of the finance world’s few female CEOs.

Sieg was poached by Citi in 2023 to revive its wealth-management business and saw his remit expanded late last year. Carreon said in her lawsuit she was hired in 2021 to transform the wealth management unit’s digital experience but was harassed when she succeeded at her job because she ruffled the feathers of male colleagues.

Carreon alleges in her lawsuit that she was sidelined for her initial two years of employment, but was encouraged after Sieg joined and she was named Citi’s global head of platform and experiences.

Carreon alleges in the lawsuit that Sieg called and texted her multiple times a week including at night, insinuated in front of others that the two were intimate and had her sit near him in meetings, despite her not being his direct report. She alleges other employees falsely assumed that she was promoted for having an affair with Sieg, who she says didn’t refute the suspicions.

The suit says Carreon became aware she was the subject of a human resources investigation in 2024 for two separate allegations—that she was a bully and that she had gotten ahead because of her special access to Sieg.

Regarding the latter allegation, Carreon said in the lawsuit that HR representatives appeared to pose questions as predetermined conclusions when they interviewed her.

In an interview Monday, she said it became clear to her that they “intended to bury me and this is just not something they do to men.”

Write to Candice Choi at candice.choi@wsj.com