A Wall Street banker lost out on a job from a top insurer after he was slapped with criminal charges that he raped a 25-year-old woman in New York City last month,
Mark Harris, a 38-year-old infrastructure and energy finance
specialist, was set to start a new job on April 7 with Global Atlantic
Financial Group, which is owned by the private equity giant KKR, according to
company insiders.
Harris signed the deal to join the firm on March 4, just two
days before his arrest over the accusations which he has vigorously denied,
Global Atlantic sources said.
But the KKR-owned insurer and private credit provider axed
the six-figure contract offer after The Post broke the news of the charges in
Manhattan Criminal Court, according to Harris’s lawyer Jason Goldman.
“Mr. Harris has not been indicted on these outlandish and
demonstrably false allegations,” Goldman said, noting that prosecutors haven’t
yet laid out a case to a grand jury.
“It’s beyond unfortunate that someone of Mr. Harris’
character can even be arrested, subjected to recklessly sanctionable articles,
and have his job rescinded based on a fictitious rape claim. We expect this
matter to soon be dismissed,” the defense attorney added.
A spokesperson for Global Atlantic declined to comment.The
Post first reported how prosecutors accused the ex-Investec financier of raping
the woman at her Midtown Manhattan apartment while allegedly calling her a
“f–king bitch” and telling her that she “had this coming.”
Harris allegedly pulled the victim’s pants down before he
held her down against a mattress and raped her, according to New York
prosecutors.
The woman then tried fighting off the alleged sexual
predator by repeatedly pleading for him to stop before she was able to kick him
off of her, according to a criminal complaint.
Harris, who denies the allegations, paid a $150,000 bail
bond when he first appeared in court on March 6 on two charges of rape and one
of sexual abuse.
He is due back in court on May 1 where the case is being
brought by the New York County district attorney, legal filings show. The
woman’s identity has not been revealed.
The banker left Investec in November last year, and his
broker profile with US regulator FINRA shows he is no longer registered with
any firm. A spokeswoman for his former employer declined to comment.
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