Boutique investment bank Moelis has placed a senior banker on leave after a video circulated online appearing to show him punching a woman
Tom Szczerbowski/Getty
- Investment bank Moelis & Co. is investigating a "serious incident" involving one of its employees.
- On Sunday, a video showing a man appearing to punch a woman in Brooklyn, New York, surfaced online.
- The employee has been placed on leave, the bank told Business Insider on Monday.
A senior banker at boutique investment firm Moelis & Co. has been placed on leave after a "serious incident" over the weekend in Brooklyn, New York.
On Sunday, a video circulated online appearing to show a man punching a woman in the face in the street. The video's uploader identified the man as a senior Moelis banker.
"We are aware that one of our employees was involved in a serious incident in Brooklyn on June 8," a Moelis spokesperson told Business Insider.
"We take this matter very seriously, and this employee is on leave as we continue to conduct our investigation."
The statement came after a nine-second clip was shared on X, appearing to show a man throwing a punch at a woman, who subsequently falls into the road.
"This guy punched me in the face today and broke my nose and busted up my friends arm," reads the text on the video.
The video also shows a second individual lying on the road. What occurred before the filmed incident is unclear.
"She fucking threw shit all over me," the man can be heard saying in the clip as he walks away. An apparent stain can be seen on the back of his pale blazer.
"You are an asshole, you are a horrible person," one onlooker says to the man.
At the time of publication, the post had over 12 million views on X.
The user who posted the video on X said the incident took place on Saturday during Brooklyn Pride. They also identified the man as Jonathan Kaye, a managing director and partner at Moelis.
Moelis confirmed to BI that the employee placed on leave was Kaye.
Kaye attended Duke University School of Law and has worked in the investment banking industry for 20 years, according to his company profile.
He joined Moelis from Citi in 2013 and currently runs the firm's global business services franchise.
Kaye had taken down his LinkedIn page and did not immediately reply to a request for comment from BI.
In April, Moelis reported revenues of $217.5 million for the first quarter of 2024, up 17% from the same period in 2023, and announced it had hired four new managing directors, three in the Energy sector and one in the credit fund space.
Do you know more about the incident? Contact this reporter at pthompson@businessinsider.com.