Arthur ‘Artie’ Rabin, an apparel mogul and Democratic fundraiser who once owned a minority share of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, is being sued for assault and battery after allegedly performing oral sex on an incapacitated woman.
Attorneys working on behalf of plaintiff Brenda Ramirez filed the civil lawsuit in the Supreme Court of New York on Monday, accusing the 80-something Rabin of committing ‘violent sexual acts’ as she slipped in and out of consciousness in his hotel room.
As claimed in the filing obtained by Daily Mail, the two met years earlier aboard a flight and remained plutonic friends until December 27, 2024, when Ramirez agreed to have dinner with Rabin the W Hotel in South Beach, Florida. After she arrived, Rabin allegedly offered Ramirez champagne, pouring her a glass but not himself.
‘Ms. Ramirez alone drank the glass of champagne, noticing that it tasted flat,’ read the filing. ‘Almost immediately, Ms. Ramirez felt sleepy and disoriented. She closed her eyes for what felt like a moment, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself naked in bed, with Mr. Rabin performing oral sex on her. Ms. Ramirez could not move or speak, slipping in and out of consciousness.’
The filing accuses Rabin of assault and battery, as well as infliction of emotional distress, but does not specifically allege that he drugged Ramirez. She is seeking damages and a declaratory judgement in the case.
Rabin’s attorney, Larry Hutcher of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, denied all of Ramirez’s allegations during a phone call with Daily Mail on Monday afternoon.
Artie Rabin attends Prostate Cancer Research Foundation’s 25th New York Dinner in 2021
‘Mr. Rabin is shocked and dismayed that Brenda Ramirez is seeking to destroy Mr. Rabin’s well-deserved impeccable reputation by making the scurrilous allegations contained in the complaint,’ Hutcher told Daily Mail. ‘These were made solely for financial gain. Mr. Rabin vigorously denies that he acted improperly or in any wrongful manner at any time whatsoever.
‘Miss Ramirez voluntarily showed up at Mr. Rabin’s hotel room and anything that occurred was consensual. Mr. Rabin looks forward to vindicating his rights as we are confident that we will be able to do.
Despite being more than four decades his junior, Ramirez struck up a friendship with Rabin aboard a commercial flight from New York to Miami in January of 2022, according to the filing. The two began speaking by phone and soon Rabin was sending the single mother wire transfers and gifts for her son.
All gifts were unsolicited, according to her attorneys.
NBA great Dwyane Wade, Artie Rabin, Jason Rabin, Nicole Rabin, Jared Margolis and actress Gabrielle Union pose circa November 2010 in The Hamptons
Ramirez claimed she was invited by Rabin to have dinner at the W, where he told her the hotel provided them with dessert and champagne.
As claimed in the filing, Ramirez became unable to speak and lost consciousness after drinking the champagne. She ultimately awoke to find Rabin performing oral sex on her naked body before she passed out again, according to the lawsuit.
‘When Ms. Ramirez finally woke up, it was around 4 a.m., and she felt extremely sick,’ read the filing. ‘She ran to the bathroom and vomited excessively, including all over her naked body. Having no memory of how she became undressed or how she ended up in the bed, and remembering the one brief moment of consciousness during which Mr. Rabin performed a sex act on her, she panicked.’
Ramirez’s attorneys claimed in the filing that she frantically tried to clean herself before fleeing the hotel suite.
‘When she turned on the shower, Mr. Rabin began shouting towards the bathroom and asking what was going on,’ read the filing. ‘Ms. Ramirez repeatedly told him “I have to go,” and proceeded to grab her clothes and purse and run out of the suite as quickly as she could.’
Artie Rabin speaks onstage at the Accessories Council’s 21st Annual celebration of the ACE awards at Cipriani 42nd Street on August 7, 2017 in New York City.
Ramirez claimed in the filing that Rabin repeatedly tried calling her as she made her way to the car. She said she told him she was ‘fine and that she was sorry she got sick,’ according to the lawsuit.
‘In response, Mr. Rabin said, “You disappointed me” and “You passed out on me,”‘ the filing continued. ‘He went on to blame Ms. Ramirez for how she was feeling by saying, “You’re cut off. You can’t drink around me anymore.”‘
Ramirez’s attorneys claimed she blocked Rabin’s phone numbers to prevent any contact and the two have not spoken since May.
The co-founder of Wear Me Apparel LLC, Rabin and his late wife Selma were vital fundraisers for Hillary Clinton’s doomed 2016 Presidential campaign.
Rabin sold his stake in the Nets several years ago, according to online reports. Daily Mail has reached out to the team for an exact date.
