Worst Ex Ever Episode 2, ‘Betrayed by the Badge’, delves into the harrowing ordeal of Seemona Sumasar, who was framed by her abuser Jerry Ramrattan and dragged into a web of corruption that nearly destroyed an innocent woman’s life. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
While every case explored in the new true crime docu-series, from the crimes of Ben Foster to Mei Li and Rosa Hill, have proven to be frustrating for viewers at home, the injustices faced by Seemona have been particularly heart-wrenching to watch.
Seemona and Jerry had initially started dating in 2006, but after finding out he was married with kids, she broke things off with him. In 2009, he raped her. Seemona immediately went to the police, building a compelling case against him.
But rather than facing the consequences for his crime, Jerry created a plot to frame Seemona for a series of robberies. Despite his connection to the allegations, his motive, and Sumasar’s ironclad alibi, she spent months in jail as the life she had built for herself fell apart.
Seemona’s case against Nassau County
In December 2010, after the truth came to light, Sumasar was released from Nassau County Correctional Center, and a year later, she sued the county and the detectives involved in her false arrest for damages.
It wasn’t until January 2017, nearly seven years after her arrest, that Nassau County agreed to settle out of court. She was awarded $2 million in damages.
As for the NC police officers and detectives involved, according to court documents, they were:
- Lisa Charles
- Deborah Carter Bershad
- Joseph Brady
- Robert Nill
- Michael Knatz
Ultimately, the lawsuit claims that the defendants violated Seemona’s rights in several ways, including: false arrest and malicious prosecution; failing to give her a fair legal process; harming relationships with her family; conspiring to violate her civil rights; and negligence.
In its conclusion, it reveals that Seemona and her daughter, Chiara McDonald, agreed to voluntarily dismiss claims against all of the defendants listed above, aside from Detective Charles.
Charles is a prominent figure in the case, having been responsible for Seemona’s interrogation. “According to Sumasar, Detective Charles did not tell her anything about the charges against her, leaving her to guess why she had been arrested,” the court documents read.
“After several hours, Detective Charles finally indicated that Sumasar was suspected of participating in a robbery.”
Similarly to how she describes in Worst Ex Ever, Seemona claimed that from the moment she learned she was suspected of impersonating a police officer, she made it clear she believed Ramrattan was behind it.
“Sumasar told Detective Charles about Ramrattan and the pending rape trial; about Ramrattan’s tendency to impersonate police officers; that she had seen a bulletproof vest in the trunk of Ramrattan’s car; and that she had seen Ramrattan with a police shield and gun on many occasions,” it continued.
“In fact, it is undisputed that Ramrattan operated a security company and portrayed himself as former NYPD law enforcement on his company’s webpages.
“In addition, Detective Charles’s notes indicate that she learned from the Queens DA’s Office that ‘Jerry the Cop’ portrayed himself as a detective, though she later testified that she could not recall learning this information.”
Where is Seemona Sumasar now?
Following this horrifying ordeal, Sumasar moved into the aviation industry. According to her LinkedIn profile, she’s been working as a flight attendant for Frontier since 2014.
As she describes in Worst Ex Ever, after graduating from Queens University, Sumasar went on to work as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley on Wall Street. She saved up enough money to buy a Golden Krust restaurant in 2006.
After the incident with Ramrattan, she was embroiled in a lengthy battle for justice, eventually being awarded the $2 million settlement in 2017. This came three years after her career change.
Sumasar maintains a low profile online for herself and her daughter, but bravely came forward to share her story in the Netflix documentary.
Where is Jerry Ramrattan now?
As of August 2024, Ramrattan is serving his sentence at the Eastern NY Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Napanoch, New York.
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He was sentenced to 32 years behind bars on charges of rape, perjury, conspiracy, and tampering with a witness, and has served more than 12 years so far. He won’t be eligible for parole until April 2032.
As for Jerry’s co-conspirators, Rajive Mohanlal, Terrell Lovell, Luz Johnson, they were eventually flipped by the authorities to testify against him. They were all charged with perjury, with Lovell and Johnson sentenced to six months in jail plus four years probation.
If it hadn’t been for Jerry’s former partner, Sophia Lewis, Seemona could still be locked up for crimes she didn’t commit today. The case blew open when Sophia went to the Nassau County District’s Office, where she revealed that Jerry had told her about his plan to frame Seemona.
Rather than hide his secret, she went to the authorities and told him she didn’t want to be associated with him anymore. As soon as detectives interviewed Mohanlal, Lovell, and Johnson, Seemona’s attorney, Anthony Grandinette, says they “sang like canaries.”
Nassau County cops facing backlash
Since the release of Worst Ex Ever, viewers have been sharing their frustrations about the Nassau County police officers and detectives involved in Seemona’s case.
Taking to Reddit, one wrote, “All the cops and the DA in Nassau county in Episode 2 should be named, shamed and fired. Every last one of them. Sh*t like this is why nobody trusts cops anymore.”
“I just got done with the second episode and was looking to see if anyone else was as disturbed by that one,” said another. “I know she got paid but holy crap that’s a long time and I’d still be fuming.”
A third added, “Absolutely insane the police did her so dirty. I can’t believe this happened to her, it was so cut and dry but they were definitely working with that disgusting guy.”
Despite accusations police were conspiring with Jerry, this was never suggested during the legal proceedings. Instead, the lawsuit blames much of what happened on negligence.
Firstly, there was evidence of his motive, with Seemona having a “restraining order mandating that he [Jerry] not contact her,” which he broke. Then there was the rape case, and Jerry’s background, including allegations he had impersonated police officers – which he accused Seemona of.
“Detective Charles testified that she was familiar with Ramrattan before the interrogation as she had run his rap sheet the morning before,” the lawsuit states.
“The rap sheet revealed that Ramrattan had four felony charges, including two violent and one firearms charge. It also indicated that he had three convictions, including one felony and two misdemeanors.
“According to Sumasar, she saw that Detective Charles had a picture of Ramrattan clipped to the file she brought into the interrogation.
“Although she repeatedly told Detective Charles that the only possible explanation for these charges was that Ramrattan had set her up, Detective Charles allegedly told Sumasar that the charges had nothing to do with Ramrattan.”
After seeing how events played out in the Netflix docu-series, one viewer said, “Every cop involved in Seemona’s case should have quit or been fired.” Another wrote, “This show should be called Worst Ex Ever and the Incompetence of the Law Enforcement.”
At the end of the episode, text across the screen reads, “Nassau County Police declined to be interviewed about Jerry Ramrattan or Seemona Sumasar.”
Worst Ex Ever is streaming on Netflix now. If you enjoyed the docu-series, here are 10 shocking Netflix titles to watch next.
You can also read about why the Menendez prosecutor was under fire, why Vallejo PD was review-bombed after American Nightmare, and whether Vicky White was manipulated.