The owner of celebrity hotspot Jue Lan Club is being sued for assault, battery and unpaid wages after allegedly unleashing a racially charged physical and verbal attack on an ex-employee, according to a lawsuit exclusively obtained by Page Six.
Jose Luis Toxqui, who is Mexican, claims in the complaint filed in New York on Sept. 15 that Naiome Ram berated and abused him for 20 minutes before firing him this past summer.
The plaintiff — who worked at the upscale Chinese restaurant frequented by celebs like 50 Cent and Travis Scott from 2017 to 2022 as a barback and then a bartender — alleges in the suit that Ram told him during an Aug. 18, 2022, dispute, “Little f–king Mexican illegal pieces of s–t like you shouldn’t f–k with people who f–king have money and f–king who know f–king s–t.”
Toxqui claims the riled-up restaurateur punched him “in the face and chest” during the heated argument.
Ram vehemently denies the allegations, telling Page Six she would never make such racist remarks because she is Guyanese and “just as much an immigrant as anybody in this country.”
However, Page Six exclusively obtained audio of Ram’s rage-filled rant.
She can be heard yelling at Toxqui and another male worker, “Somebody is going to go to f–king jail tonight, and it’s going to be you. … I will tell you right now, I will f–k you up right here. I will f–k your ass up in f–king immigration.”
What appears to be the sounds of loud punch-like, thumping sounds can then be heard in the clip as a second female says, “What you’re doing is wrong.”
Jue Lan manager Anya Argwello — who is believed to be the second female in the audio — is also named in the lawsuit for participating in “discriminatory harassment” toward Toxqui.
In the audio, Ram also says, “You ever been dragged into a f–king lawsuit, you piece of s–t? God as my f–king witness, I will f–k you up. You f–king disgusting piece of s–t.”
At one point in the clip, Toxqui attempts to speak, but the Jue Lan Club owner interjects with a threat: “Shut the f–k up. I will f–king murder your ass in here.”
“Shut the f–k up. I will f–king murder your ass in here,” Ram told Toxqui in audio obtained by Page Six.
In the lawsuit, Toxqui says his former boss went into a rage while accusing his wife, who also previously worked at Jue Lan Club, of “stealing recipes” and giving them to competitor Sei Less.
In the audio, Ram can be heard saying, “Who has been giving all of my recipes at the bar? Your wife don’t f–king work at Sei Less?”
A source tells Page Six the allegations that Toxqui or his wife “stole recipes” and gave them to Sei Less are “absolutely ridiculous and laughable.”
Jue Lan Club and Sei Less have been embroiled in their own lawsuit over claims of stolen recipes and hijacked celebrity clientele.
When asked about the allegations, Ram tells Page Six she and her partner and co-owner, Mohammad Ali Amanollahi, had “no idea” that Toxqui’s wife was working for Sei Less — despite the audio suggesting otherwise.
“Where does [Toxqui’s wife] work? … Sei Less, exactly,” she angrily says in the clip.
“You ever been to motherf–king ICE, motherf–ker? … I swear to f–king God. I will f–k you up. I will f–k you and your wife up. You don’t f–king know who I am. I will f–king go to the ends of the Earth to f–k you. Talk, you f–king ungrateful piece of s–t.”
Toxqui and another unidentified male colleague present during the argument are barely heard speaking in the 12-minute audio.
Ram says in the audio, as a smack is also heard in the background, “You little f–king Mexican, illegal pieces of s–t like you shouldn’t f–k with people who have f–king money.”
Police were eventually called. Ram admits to Page Six that there was a dispute on Aug. 18, 2022; however, she claims it was because she allegedly caught Toxqui and another male employee stealing money and bottles of liquor — not recipes.
Page Six obtained a copy of a New York City Police Department report filed by Ram that same day as proof of her claims. It notes that Toxqui was named as an “accomplice” in the grand larceny accusation against another worker.
Ram claimed, per the report, that the men stole $7,965 worth of liquor bottles.
A separate police report filed on Aug. 19, 2022, in which Toxqui accused Ram of harassment, showed Toxqui repeatedly denied the allegations.
Ram claims Toxqui’s lawsuit is being filed against her as retaliation and an effort to “smear” her establishment’s reputation.
She notes she had a long-standing friendship with Toxqui and his wife that included her writing letters of support for their immigration case and paying for the couple’s baby shower.
Page Six received copies and videos of both claims for corroboration. However, a source tells us that Ram only paid for “liquor and decorations” for the party and that Toxqui’s immigration attorney says they never received a letter of support from Ram.
“I financially helped them so many times,” Ram alleges to Page Six. “Unfortunately, people are willing to just pass anything good you’ve done for them, and, unfortunately, they let desperation and money come in the way.”
She adds, “There is no shred of evidence. It’s easy to accuse things, but produce a single piece of paper that shows I’m a racist.”
When asked about the audio we obtained, Ram would not confirm whether that was actually her voice and referred us to speak to her attorney for an official statement.
Her lawyer tells us in response on behalf of all the defendants, “Neither our office nor our clients have been provided with the purported audio recording, nor have we had the opportunity to listen to or verify it, and so we cannot comment on it. However, we intend to vigorously defend the litigation in the appropriate forum and not through the press.”
Toxqui claims in the lawsuit that he has suffered “severe emotional distress and significant psychological harm” as a result of the incident.
“When confronted with this outrageous, disrespectful and harmful behavior, he emotionally shut down,” his attorneys claim in the complaint. “He was stunned [and] in shock.”
Page Six obtained a copy of hospital paperwork that shows Toxqui was evaluated on Aug. 18, 2022 — the same day as the argument with Ram — and discharged about eight hours later.
Aside from suing for battery, assault and discrimination, Toxqui is also suing Ram, Amanollahi and Jade Farm LLC, the corporation that owns and operates Jue Lan Club, for unpaid wages, overtime violations and other claims.
Per the complaint, Toxqui filed the class-action lawsuit on behalf of several former employees — other than service managers — who also accuse the Jue Lan Club owners of improper workplace practices.
He claims he often worked more than 40 hours a week and upwards of 60 hours a week during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and was not properly compensated.
The lawsuit concludes, “Ram and Argwello’s conduct was cruel, despicable and beyond the bounds of decent behavior in a humane and functioning society.”
This is not the first time Ram’s apparent anger issues have been at the center of a lawsuit with one of her employees.
In April 2020, the restaurateur — who also owns Amadeus nightclub in Queens, NY — was sued after allegedly forcing a worker to wear Air Jordan sneakers and texting him, “Wear it or don’t come to work. Further more cut the bulls–t. Its basketball sneakers. Not high heels.”
The ex-employee claimed he had an ankle problem that was considered a protected disability. He also alleged there were discrepancies with his compensation.
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