DuBose Says Letitia James’s Staff Drugged and Restrained Her Before Assault in Official Vehicle

For nearly 11 years, her account has drawn little traction.

Angel S. DuBose, a former outreach coordinator in the New York City Public Advocate’s Office, alleges that then–Public Advocate Letitia James, her chief of staff, Ibrahim Khan, and others—including two male staffers who she says shoved her into James’s car—drugged, abducted, and sexually assaulted her after a Dec. 22, 2014 office holiday party.

DuBose alleges the assault began at Woodrow’s Bar & Grill on Murray Street in Manhattan, continued in James’s Lincoln Town Car—a city-issued vehicle—and ended at a nearby location.

She says she was semi-conscious when a woman led what she described as a “ritualistic” assault, reciting chants. DuBose says that, though semi-conscious, she believes as many as a dozen people surrounded her and assaulted her.

Exam missed drugs often used in assaults

DuBose provided Frank Report with preliminary records from a sexual-assault forensic exam on Dec. 23, 2014—about 14–16 hours after the party. The hospital toxicology screen was negative for commonly screened drugs and showed no detectable alcohol at the time of testing; given the delay, that does not establish whether she drank the night before. She acknowledges having one or two drinks. The panel did not include targeted tests for several drug-facilitated assault agents (e.g., GHB, certain benzodiazepines) or laudanum.

DuBose says drink spiked, then forced into James’s car

DuBose says she believes Khan tried to spike her drink when he called her over to the end of the bar at Woodrow’s keeping his hand strangely hovering over her drink while he stared at her and engaged in awkward conversation. He was her boss and she had to comply. But she took only a sip. Later, she alleges as she walked outside for a smoke James’s staffers Wayne Collins and Christopher Marshall restrained her – just as James pulled up in her Lincoln; she recalls one man placing an arm across her face and a liquid she believes may have been laudanum being used, after which she drifted in and out of consciousness and, she says, was shoved into James’s car.

DuBose says her plea for justice was rewritten into a lie

On Jan. 5, 2015—less than two weeks after the party—DuBose submitted a detailed, four-page EEO complaint to the Public Advocate’s Office. She says her supervisor, Laura Acosta, and the office’s legal counsel, Jennifer Levy, reduced it to a 1.5-page version reframing the incident as a “lost-purse” matter and pressured her to sign it, implying her job was at risk if she refused.

Frank Report has obtained and reviewed both versions and confirmed material differences. Readers may do so also:

Original report: 

Altered version:

DuBose says DOI closed the matter four business days after intake and relied on the shortened filing.

Her memories came in pieces; her resolve never left

Despite DOI closing the matter without action, DuBose says she remained at the Public Advocate’s Office because she needed the job. She did not file a civil lawsuit, saying she only wanted answers about what happened. She says involuntarily administered drugs left her semi-conscious and disrupted her ability to form clear memories of the hours that followed; some details, she says, surfaced later as fragments.

Prosecutors erased James’s name—DuBose says she lost her job

In 2017, DuBose filed a criminal complaint with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The office reviewed her claims and declined to prosecute. DuBose says prosecutors replaced James’s name in the paperwork with “an unidentified woman” who asked, “Is she out?”

Following DuBose filing a criminal complaint with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office; she says James fired her.

Her story made headlines—James called it a lie

She spoke to the New York Post, which published her account in September 2017 naming Ibrahim Khan but not James as a perpetrator. At the time, a spokesperson for James denied the allegation, calling it “an outright lie.” No criminal charges followed. In 2018, James ran for and won election as New York Attorney General.

Letitia James when she was NY City Public Advocate.

Her story was erased from the Post without a trace

In December 2022, the New York Post removed its September 2017 article about DuBose—without a public notice. The Washington Post later reported the takedown; the New York Post said it removed the story because DuBose “had not actually identified Khan … and … had no memory of who the attacker was.” A screenshot of the 2017 article, cited by Frank Report, shows DuBose named Khan, creating a discrepancy that warrants clarification.

As DuBose’s story vanished, Khan resigned in scandal

In 2022, in the same month the New York Post removed its 2017 article about DuBose, James’s chief of staff, Ibrahim Khan, resigned amid an outside investigation into unrelated sexual-harassment allegations by former deputy press secretary Sofia Quintanar.

The suit alleges James’s office misled the media by saying Khan was “on vacation” or “with a sick relative” during the election season, and that James delayed public disclosure until after the election.

James’s office disputes the lawsuit’s allegations.

Law firm confirmed harassment—after the election was over

James said she retained the law firm Littler Mendelson on Oct. 4, 2022; the firm later substantiated Quintanar’s harassment allegation, with its finding issued after the Nov. 2022 election. Quintanar alleges James knew of her complaint before retaining Littler and notes that a Littler attorney had previously worked for James’s office. (We have not independently verified that employment connection.)

Quintanar alleges that at a campaign event in 2022, Khan asked her to step outside to talk privately, then forcibly kissed her, followed her back inside and continued unwanted contact, making her uncomfortable. James’s office disputes the lawsuit’s claims.

Now, in 2025, DuBose continues to press her claims.

DOJ eyes James over alleged mortgage fraud

Separately—and unrelated to DuBose’s allegations—published reports indicate that the DOJ is reviewing potential mortgage-fraud issues involving James, prompted by forensic accountant Sam Antar and filmmaker Joel Gilbert.

DOJ Probe branded partisan; James says baseless

Since May 2025, Ed Martin, now serving as a Justice Department official, has been investigating New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud as part of the department’s “Weaponization Working Group.”

Democrats have sharply criticized the probe as partisan, accusing Martin and Attorney General Pam Bondi of using their positions to target President Trump’s political rivals.

James’s lawyer Abbe Lowell calls the mortgage fraud allegations “baseless” and politically motivated.

Martin has called for James’s resignation. The DOJ has not filed charges.

To date, the DOJ has not announced any investigation into DuBose’s allegations. If her account were substantiated, the conduct she describes could implicate serious federal and state offenses of James and her alleged coconspirators, including kidnapping (18 U.S.C. § 1201), sexual assault, obstruction of justice, conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371), and potentially racketeering under RICO (18 U.S.C. § 1962).

James has categorically denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Frank Parlato

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.

Frank Parlato

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.

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