New York Mets owner Steve Cohen 'ridiculed' a female trader at his hedge fund, calling her 'stupid,' gender discrimination complaint claims

Steve Cohen, the new owner of the New York Mets, is the subject of a gender discrimination complaint filed in 2020 by a female former employee, whom he allegedly targeted with 'an abusive, expletive-ridden tirade,' it has been revealed.  

'Cohen ridiculed me, calling me an "idiot" and "incompetent,"' former Point72 Asset Management employee Sara Vavra said in the complaint filed to Connecticut's Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities last summer and obtained by The New York Times. 'He told me that I was "wrong about everything."'

According to Vavra, Cohen also said that he 'should fire because she so stupid' during their alleged 2019 exchange.

Steve Cohen, the new owner of the New York Mets, is the subject of a gender discrimination complaint filed in 2020 by a female former employee, whom he allegedly targeted with 'an abusive, expletive-ridden tirade,' it has been revealed

Vavra was fired by Point72 in 2019, prompting her to file the complaint last summer

The 64-year-old Cohen is currently enjoying a grace period with Mets fans, who appear happy to have a wealthy owner willing to spend on free agents after the famously frugal Wilpon family sold their shares of the team. Cohen, a former Mets minority owner, bought a controlling stake of the club for $2.4 billion in November.

Vavra was fired by the Connecticut-based hedge fund in 2019, prompting her to file the complaint last summer. She says she faced a double-standard at the company, but a firm spokesperson denied that claim in a statement. 

'We determined that Ms. Vavra made numerous misrepresentations during her employment about things big and small and the same is true about her complaint, including the particularly offensive accusation that Steve used vulgar language when addressing her,' Tiffany Galvin-Cohen, a Point72 spokeswoman, told The New York Times. 'Steve emphatically denies making this comment to Ms. Vavra at any time.'

Prior to her dismissal, Vavra was named one of the '50 leading women in hedge funds' by an industry publication, prompting Point72 to congratulate her on social media.

Vavra's complaint became public, according to the Times, because she requested that the commission release its jurisdiction in the matter, which would allow her to sue in court.

Neither Vavra nor her attorney have commented publicly about her complaint against Cohen.

Major League Baseball has declined to address the accusations against Cohen.

Prior to her dismissal, Vavra was named one of the '50 leading women in hedge funds' by an industry publication, prompting Point72 to congratulate her on social media. Vavra was fired less than a month after this tweet from Point72 Asset Management 

In her affidavit of illegal discriminatory practice, Vavra claims that Cohen criticized her for months in 2019, verbally berating her with profanities despite the success of her trading group, according to the Times. She also claims to have received a positive performance review from Cohen in December of 2018, and was even given a performance bonus from the billionaire for her hard work.

Vavra also claims that Cohen's habit of berating female assistants was so bad, that the firm was forced to move them 'to a different wing of the building so they could not overhear' his complaints.

In a response to the Times' story, Point72 specifically disputed Vavra's claims about the way Cohen treats assistants.

Another former Point72 employee, Lauren Bonner , sued the company in 2018 for fostering a hostile workplace, but she has since reached a settlement with the fund, according to court filings obtained by DailyMail.com

Cohen has not been convicted of a crime, but another of his hedge funds, SAC Capital Investors, pleaded guilty to securities and wire fraud in 2013, ultimately agreeing to pay $1.8 billion in fines.

The Securities and Exchange Commission banned Cohen from managing outside money for two years. Traders within the company were charged with insider trading from 2011 until 2014, and a portfolio manager was convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud in 2014.

Another former Point72 employee, Lauren Bonner, sued the company in 2018 for fostering a hostile workplace, but she has since reached a settlement with the fund, according to court filings obtained by DailyMail.com.

Although Bonner never accused Cohen of yelling profanities, she did say he wrote the word 'p****' on a whiteboard hanging in his office, according to a letter in the case filed by her attorneys. Bonner also claimed male executives had meetings where 'no girls allowed' and refused to hire some women because of supposed complaints from their wives.

'Not surprisingly, given these abhorrent behaviors by men in leadership positions at Point 72, tangible inequalities for women have resulted in the areas of compensation, positions and leadership roles,' read the letter from Bonner's attorneys at Wigdor LLP.

A photograph of the Point72 Asset Management hedge fund in Stamford, Connecticut