CHELSEA co-owner Hansjorg Wyss has been accused of sexual harassment after allegedly groping a young employee, a lawsuit claimed.
It has also been claimed the 89-year-old suggested a foursome to the female staff member, 30.
The alleged harassment took place at a winery he owns in Paso Robles, California, called Halter Ranch.
Wyss is accused of making unwanted advances to Madison Busby, who worked at the site.
The winery was managed by her now-husband Bryce Mullins.
The lawsuit stated: “While Ms Busby cooked at the stove, Mr Wyss, then in his mid-eighties and married, deliberately placed his hand on Ms Busby’s butt and groped her.”
Wyss also allegedly asked Mr Mullins if he had any sexual photographs of Ms Busby on his phone.
A spokesperson from Halter Ranch strongly denied all allegations.
“We intend to vigorously advance the facts that surround their time at the winery and their departure,” a statement said.
The lawsuit stated how Ms Busby moved into the winery with her now-husband in 2020 and became a staff member in 2021.
During the stay, it is alleged Wyss made “several sexual propositions” towards the 30-year-old employee.
He is also accused of sharing explicit sexual stories with the couple and sharing tales of affairs.
Once Ms Busby became an official employee, the lawsuit also claims Wyss pushed for threesomes with herself and Mr Mullins – as well as other people.
She did not make any complaints at the time over fears they would lose their jobs, it is claimed.
The 30-year-old left the winery in 2024 and has since filed the lawsuit.
In a statement denying the allegations, Halter Ranch added: “For almost five years, starting in 2019, Mr Mullins and his current wife voluntarily made themselves part of the Halter Winery community and took advantage of its owner’s generosity.
“This included deciding to become employees of the winery, choosing to live at the winery rent free for years, frequently travelling with the owner to Europe, the Caribbean and elsewhere at the owner’s expense, asking the owner and his wife to host their wedding party and inviting the owner to serve as best man.
“Through all these years, they never complained about the owner’s conduct, or simply declined to spend so much time with him, until after they voluntarily left their employment at the winery in 2024.”
Wyss has an estimated net worth of £4.2 billion according to Forbes.
He is the founder of Synthes USA, the world’s largest medical device manufacturer making internal screws and plates for broken bones.
They manufactured the company’s devices and exported them to the US which led to the billionaire opening up his first manufacturing plant in Colorado.
Under Wyss’ guidance, the American division sales team expanded and trained surgeons on how to use its products such as plates and internal screws.
This helped him to officially became Synthes’ worldwide CEO and chairman until HR decided in 2007 that he would only want to represent as the chairman before Johnson & Johnson acquired Synthes in 2012.
Wyss sold Synthes for a staggering amount of £14.7bn in cash and stocks where he would go on to purchase stakes in a publicly-traded biotech companies NovoCure and Molecular.
In 2022, Wyss was part of the consortium that bought Chelsea after sanctions were imposed on the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea FC were contacted for comment.
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