BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – Runyan said Raykhinshteyn allegedly told her, “I’m a man after all; I have needs.”
The women, identified as Jane Does in the lawsuit filed last summer (June 2024), alleged that Raykhinshteyn lured them in with job offers, often through Instagram messages, only to subject them to a hostile and predatory work environment.
A “Predatory Scheme”
Attorney Todd Flood, managing partner at Flood Law, described the case as a systematic pattern of abuse, traumatizing some women just out of high school.
“What they quickly realized is Gary didn’t really have a business,” Flood said. “He didn’t sell anything. He didn’t have any clients.”
Once hired, the women claimed Raykhinshteyn coerced them into sexual situations, degraded them with insults, and used intimidation tactics, including threats of connections to the Russian mafia to keep them silent.
This included a “6’6” muscular man named John,” according to Jane Doe #4’s attorney, Zachary Runyan.
Accounts of harassment and assault
According to the lawsuit, Raykhinshteyn would use the company’s Instagram and LinkedIn accounts to send inappropriate messages, including requests for nude photos.
He also allegedly used the accounts to arrange meetings with prostitutes in Europe.
One particularly disturbing claim involves Jane Doe #4, who was a teenager at the time.
Runyan said she was offered a “business opportunity” in Florida, only to find out, upon arrival, that Raykhinshteyn had only booked one hotel room and “couldn’t afford” another room for her.
“He got into her bed, started grabbing her, telling her he wanted to have sex with her,” Runyan said. “My client objected, and Gary admitted she screamed ‘no, no, no.’”
Runyan said, Raykhinshteyn allegedly told her, “I’m a man after all, I have needs.”
Raykhinshteyn, according to the complaint, then began masturbating in front of her, telling her she could either “watch or leave.”
But Runyan says the woman did not have time before he “took his pants off.”
The lawsuit also details how the women who rejected Raykhinshteyn’s advances were verbally abused, often being called “w****s,” “fat,” “ugly,” and “the C-word.”
The women’s attorneys argue that Raykhinshteyn’s behavior wasn’t isolated incidents — it was a calculated pattern of control.
“He doesn’t treat women like humans,” Runyan said.
One woman claimed that after she threatened to expose him, he warned her to “remember my friend, John,” referring, once again, to his Russian connections.
Raykhinshteyn’s Defense
Raykhinshteyn declined to appear on camera and dismissed the lawsuit as “bull****,” claiming there was “no evidence.”
“They’re just too stupid,” he said “If someone masturbates in front of you, you don’t go back to work there. You get a job at McDonald’s.”
He also referred to his accusers as “w*****, c****, and stupid b*****s,” adding that he never liked working with women because “it’s all drama.”
Raykhinshteyn admitted to receiving oral sex from one woman before hiring her but claimed the case was driven by juror sympathy.
“The accusations are ridiculous. It’s all disgusting, and it’s nonsense,” Raykhinshteyn said. “I look good, and they think I have millions of dollars. You put these women on the stand, and she cries, and a jury feels bad.”
The Alleged Evidence
“It was so overwhelming — It was an avalanche of evidence,” Flood said. “It was in writing. The text messages. The videos. He even sent a message that said, ‘Our next victim.’”
Flood and Runyan hope the verdict will inspire other victims to come forward and at least one victims is pursuing criminal charges against Raykhinshteyn.
“One of the victims said, ‘One of the main reasons we’re here is to stop the Garys of the world,’” Flood said.
Despite the verdict, Raykhinshteyn plans to counter-sue. His business remains open.
