Goldman Sachs has reached a settlement with a former intern who accused the investment banking firm of fostering a 'fraternity culture'

Goldman Sachs and a former intern have settled, according to court filings from Thursday.
The intern accused the company of fostering a culture that promotes hazing and violence.
He says he suffered bleeding to the brain after an adviser punched him and headlocked him.

Goldman Sachs has reached a settlement with a former intern who accused the investment firm of fostering a "fraternity culture" that promoted hazing and violence.

Patrick Blumenthal was a Drexel University student who interned for Goldman Sachs in San Francisco beginning in September 2017.

Court filings say Blumenthal was assigned to work with a group that called itself "Team 007" and was led by wealth adviser Julius Erukhimov.

A complaint alleges that the bank "fostered a fraternity culture" complete with derogatory name-calling, physical altercations, and "rampant" drinking. It says Blumenthal was pressured to drink within his first week at Goldman despite being underage and was repeatedly warned early on that he would "take an infinite amount of shit from people." The filing says Erukhimov called the plaintiff a "pussy" for not drinking enough and even told Blumenthal to take Adderall so he could drink more.

The settlement, filed Thursday in the San Francisco Superior Court, does not reveal the specific terms of the agreement.

Perhaps the most damning incident in the lawsuit says Blumenthal was "forced to drink by his managers" during a "First Friday" bar event. The filing accuses Erukhimov of telling Blumenthal that he would "teach him how to drink" before punching him in his stomach and telling him to punch his manager back.

When Blumenthal said no, the complaint filing says, Erukhimov wrestled with him and shoved him from the bar to the outdoor patio. The adviser then allegedly choked Blumenthal for so long that he passed out and urinated on himself. Blumenthal came away from the incident with an injured head, the filing says.

He went to the emergency room days later, according to the complaint, where doctors told him he had bleeding to the brain.

Multiple Goldman employees witnessed the event, Blumenthal's lawyers say in the complaint filing. And they let Erukhimov drive Blumenthal to Erukhimov's home, where he took four pain relievers. At the adviser's apartment, Erukhimov allegedly threatened him, saying a relative would kill him if Blumenthal disclosed the events of the night to management.

Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking for the details of the settlement.

Insider's Ben Winck contributed to this report.

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