Yesterday marked the start of the Jerry Ramrattan trial in Queens, involving accusations by his ex, Seemona Sumasa. Sumasa’s not a household name, but the case has all the elements of classic tabloid fodder. She’s young (36), attractive, and a former analyst for Morgan Stanley, and the facts of the case are awfully tangled and tawdry. Sumasa originally accused her ex-boyfriend, Ramrattan, of rape. But, she says, Ramrattan then concocted a series of elaborate lies (inspired by watching shows like CSI) and enlisted a series of accusers, which resulted in Sumasa’s arrest for armed robbery, allegedly while dressed up as a police officer. He had the police convinced — until he didn’t. Prosecutors now say he made the whole thing up, and perjury and conspiracy have been added to the rape charge. Ramrattan is fighting it, though, pleading not guilty. His lawyers say the sexual encounter Sumasa tagged rape was consensual, and that the idea he’d concoct such an elaborate means of revenge is “preposterous.” And so the whole bizarre saga will be rehashed in exquisite detail in court.
Trial Begins for Man Charged With Falsely Accusing Ex-Girlfriend [NYT]
