Owner of Sacramento real estate company faces third lawsuit accusing him of sexual battery
A third woman has filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County against Ethan G. Conrad, accusing the head of a prominent Northern California real estate company of sexually assaulting her.
The civil lawsuit was filed Monday in Sacramento Superior Court on behalf of a woman who was seeking a job with Conrad’s company early last year. This was the third lawsuit filed in the past three months by a woman who accuses Conrad of committing sexual battery.
The lawsuit alleges that Conrad committed sexual battery and sexual harassment, along with inflicting emotional distress and violating business and professions during four job interviews over the past year. The plaintiff suing Conrad is identified as “Jamie Doe” in filed court documents.
Conrad’s company, Ethan Conrad Properties, has properties across the region, including the Renaissance Tower, one of Sacramento’s tallest buildings, which he won with a $21 million auction bid in October.
In an emailed written statement sent to The Sacramento Bee on Friday, Conrad denied the allegations listed in the latest lawsuit filed against. He said he “trusts the legal process to resolve these matters” and remains committed to defending himself against what he called “baseless claims.”
“I understand there may be questions regarding the recent accusations against me. Let me be absolutely clear: these allegations are completely false and are nothing more than an attempt to extort money from me,” Conrad said in his written statement. “The only thing I’m guilty of is working hard and being successful. It’s truly unfortunate that when people achieve success through hard work, others sometimes attempt to tear them down rather than focusing on achieving their own goals through their own efforts.”
Conrad said he was strongly advised by his attorneys and public relations team not to make any other comments about the latest lawsuit.
Plaintiff’s attorney responds
Ognian Gavrilov, the Sacramento-based attorney who filed the latest lawsuit, said Conrad’s statement to media accuses him and his client of extortion, which is “defamatory” and false, and he sent a letter to Conrad’s attorney a cease and desist letter asking Conrad to retract that statement.
Gavrilov said nobody is extorting anyone, he is simply doing his job by filing a lawsuit on behalf of his client who was victimized. He called Conrad’s statement an attempt to launch personal attacks “that reek of desperation.”
“It’s not going to work. Just because you’re being sued, you can’t claim you’re being extorted. Then every other civil lawsuit would be considered extortion,” Gavrilov told The Bee. “Nobody has called me an extortionist before, so I’m pretty blown away. That crossed the line.
Gavrilov alleges that his client last month sent a text message to Conrad that accused him of sexually assaulting her and causing physical and emotional pain. The plaintiff’s attorney also alleges that Conrad responded to the accusations with text messages emphasizing he was actively working on getting her a job with his company in “a desperate attempt to silence” her.
“This is not how a normal person reacts to sexual assault allegations,” Gavrilov said in the lawsuit. “If defendant had not sexually battered plaintiff (which he will likely claim to save face), then he would not have responded to plaintiffs’ allegations by begging his accuser to work for him.”
Two other lawsuits against Conrad
Last month, news reports revealed two other women had separately filed lawsuits against Conrad. Both those pending lawsuits list sexual battery and assault as alleged complaints against Conrad.
One woman he met online alleges he sexually assaulted her at his home, and a woman he was in a relationship with alleges Conrad was abusive and attacked her when she questioned him about sexual encounters he had with other women.
In December, Conrad’s attorney Glenn Peterson filed a countersuit that argues the sexual assault allegations in the lawsuit filed by the woman Conrad met online are false and made in an attempt to extort “hush money” from Conrad after having “consensual sexual relations” with a woman at his home.
Conrad has told The Bee the allegations in the second lawsuit also are untrue and were made by an ex-girlfriend upset over the end of their relationship.
“There’s no truth to any of these allegations,” Conrad told The Bee in December about the first two lawsuits filed against him. “I would hope that anyone who reads about this sees that I’m completely innocent of these charges.”
Ethan Conrad Properties, Inc. is a prominent company based in Sacramento with its blue-and-yellow real estate signs marking property throughout the region.
In December, his company closed escrow on the purchase of the 28-story Renaissance Tower office building in downtown Sacramento. With the addition of the high rise, Ethan Conrad Properties now controls roughly 600,000 square feet of office and retail space within a single block including buildings at 630 K St. and 770 L St.
First job interview
Jamie Doe was seeking a job with Conrad’s company last January when he responded with a text message asking her if she was free to meet with him that night at his office. Her attorney said she was eager to discuss “the prospect of working for one of the largest commercial real estate” companies in California.
The lawsuit alleges the job interview began in a conference room with Conrad advice on how to be successful in real estate and her interest in working for him, before he gave her alcohol and began kissing her. The lawsuit also claims Conrad had sex with Jamie Doe in the conference room, but the meeting ended with Conrad saying he could not offer her a job due to lack of experience.
A few months later, she sent Conrad a text message about having recently reached out to other real estate companies for work. The lawsuit says Conrad responded with “Oh yes, we still need to talk about that. I can try to call you tonight or if you want to get together Wednesday or Thursday, I could do that as well. Also, please send me your resume.”
She emailed her resume to Conrad on March 24. The lawsuit alleges Conrad responded the following day with this email: “Thanks for your email. When we meet on Wednesday, I’ll give you my suggestions as far as not only where I would apply for, in terms of commercial real estate brokerages, including potentially our company, but also, my suggestions on your resume, so that recipients will be the most receptive to it.”
Second job interview
She met with Conrad on April 3 at his office, and he again invited her into his conference room, where he offered her alcohol and alluded to a job offer, according to the lawsuit.
She asked Conrad to explain why he didn’t hire her after the January job interview. The lawsuit alleges that Conrad responded by saying hiring her is still a possibility, and his company may have an opportunity depending on a couple of factors.
Conrad encouraged her not to take a job offer from another real estate company and encouraged her to explore other job opportunities, according to the lawsuit. He told her his company would consider hiring her in the near future, but he had to give it more thought but emphasized a job there was not guaranteed.
The lawsuit alleges Conrad than solicited her for sex, but she refused his sexual advances by telling him: “Don’t do that,” “I’m not gonna do that,” “That’s it,” “Stop,” and “No!”
“In spite of this unequivocal refusal, (Conrad) ignored (Jamie Doe), continued to kiss plaintiff and tried to have sex with plaintiff,” Gavrilov said in the lawsuit.
The attorney alleges that Conrad pushed his client’s head down and tried to coerce her into oral sex, but she then left feeling “frustrated and humiliated.”
Early last month, eight months after the April meeting, Conrad sent an email to Jamie Doe. The lawsuit alleges Conrad said in the email: “It is good to see that you have done a significant amount of deals and therefore have reasonably good experience and have gotten such good reviews. I’ll look forward to meeting you tonight…”
That same day, Conrad sent email with a copy of an employee agreement to her. The lawsuit alleges Conrad told Jamie Doe in the email: “I assume that if you were to join our team, this is the agreement that I’d be providing to you.”
The plaintiff’s attorney said the employee agreement offered favorable terms about commission and benefits. Gavrilov said his client then believed the next job interview with Conrad would likely result in him offering her a job.
Alleged sexual assault
On Dec. 2, Jamie Doe arrived for the job interview and was greeted by Conrad with congratulatory remarks about her recent successes in commercial real estate and a discussion about prospective employment.
“Then, (Conrad) got (Jamie Doe) drunk and began to unclothe so that they could have sex,” Gavrilov said in the lawsuit.
She then heard another person in the building who must’ve been working late, according to the plaintiff’s attorney, before Conrad told that employee to leave.
The lawsuit alleges Conrad and Jamie Doe then began to have sex, before Conrad “without warning or consent” forced her into anal sex. Her attorney said his client “screamed out in pain” while Conrad continued to hold onto her body until he finished.
“(Jamie Doe) was in pain for several days after,” Gavrilov said in the lawsuit. “After experiencing this violent and traumatic sexual act, plaintiff hoped that at the very least there would be an opportunity to progress plaintiff’s career and provide for plaintiff’s family.”
Conrad didn’t offer her a job then. He instead told Jamie Doe to meet with lower-ranking employees for a fourth and final job interview that he said was a necessary part of the process, according to the lawsuit. She met with three employees for the interview on Dec. 9.
“Defendant Conrad had robbed (Jamie Doe) of bodily autonomy, dignity and a sense of self-worth,” Gavrilov said in the lawsuit. “While plaintiff was still being interviewed, the weight of (Conrad’s) actions hit plaintiff like a wave, and they burst out in tears.”
The attorney said his client made up an excuse for crying and moved forward with the job interview “desperate to still secure a livelihood.” The employees told her the interview went well, but she was informed six days later by one of the employees the company was hiring someone else for the job.
On Dec. 18, Conrad sent an email to Jamie Doe telling her that there was another job available and offered to have another lower-level employee meet with her for another job interview.
“(Jamie Doe) could not believe that after all he had done, (Conrad) was continuing to string plaintiff along with job offers,” Gavrilov said in the lawsuit.
The attorney said his client was “fed up” with Conrad’s ongoing sexual advances in exchange for possible job offer, and it was not worth the cost of Conrad’s “predatory behavior.”
Jamie Doe’s lawsuit is scheduled for a case management conference hearing early next year. The other two pending lawsuits against Conrad are scheduled to for similar hearings later this year.
