Former Brooklyn Nets co-owner sexually assaulted single mom, suit claims

A former co-owner of the Brooklyn Nets drugged and sexually assaulted a single mom flight attendant, according to a new court filing. 

Arthur Rabin, a co-founder of Wear Me Apparel who sold his interest in the Brooklyn basketball team a few years ago, allegedly drugged the single mom, Brenda Ramirez, in a South Beach hotel room in late 2024, the lawsuit claims. 

Rabin “engaged in conduct toward Plaintiff that is  extreme and outrageous so as to exceed the bounds of decency in a civilized society,” claims the suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

After drinking a “flat” glass of champagne inside his hotel room, Ramirez claims she passed out “almost immediately.” 

She awoke, frozen, to find Rabin — 40 years her senior — performing oral sex on her before she passed out again, the shocking suit alleges.

She finally got out of bed at 4 a.m. feeling sick, and “ran to the bathroom and vomited excessively, including all over her naked body,” her suit states, with no recollection of what happened aside from briefly observing Rabin’s sex act. 

The pair first met on a Miami-bound flight in 2022 and had struck up an unlikely but seemingly platonic friendship, with Rabin offering to send the new mom clothes for her son. 

But their friendship — which included Rabin sending the promised clothes, unsolicited wire transfers of cash and hundreds of phone calls — was really a ruse, her attorney says.  

“Mr. Rabin spent years fostering Ms. Ramirez’s trust, weaponizing his wealth and influence to camouflage his manipulation as the support of a caring friend,” said Meredith A. Firetog, partner at Wigdor LL

“Last year, he violated that trust in despicable fashion when he sexually assaulted Ms. Ramirez while she was incapacitated and unable to consent. No amount of business success gives someone permission to exploit another’s vulnerabilities.”

Reps for Ramirez did not immediately confirm if she has also filed a police report.

Rabin was also a former major donor to Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and once sued Citibank over $300,000 worth of “lost” credit card points.

Rabin’s attorney Larry Hutcher denies the claims, and said that Ramirez “voluntarily showed up at mr rabins hotel room bearing two mixed drinks that she secured from the bar and anything that occurred was clearly consensual.”

“Mr. Rabin is shocked and dismayed that this woman is seeking to destroy his well deserved impeccable reputation by this scurrilous allegation which was made solely for financial gain,” Hutcher told The Post.

The suit alleges that while the friendship mostly took place over the phone, the pair did meet up in person a handful of times. 

During a 2022 lunch in Miami, Rabin was supportive of Ramirez when she discussed a potential breast-reduction surgery, telling her he would help pay for the procedure, the suit claims.

And in 2023, Ramirez had a work flight layover in Los Angeles and agreed to meet Rabin for dinner, according to court documents.  

Rabin “became furious” when she declined an invitation to his hotel room afterwards, and “was so angry with her that he did not speak to her again for several months,” the suit says.

On the night of the alleged Miami assault, Ramirez said in her suit that once she showered and fled his room, Rabin began calling her “repeatedly,” making comments like “you disappointed me,” and “you passed out on me.”

“You’re cut off,” he allegedly said. “You can’t drink around me anymore.”