New Lawsuit Accuses Aaron Sells of “Facilitating” Sexual Assault Outside 1928 Beacon Hill

Aaron Sells, the Boston dealmaker profiled by this magazine last October, is named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit alleging that his conduct helped facilitate the rape of a woman outside 1928 Beacon Hill—the restaurant he and his fiancée have long insisted he has no role in.

The complaint, filed February 20 in Suffolk Superior Court and now under seal, alleges that Sells and a co-defendant, Brandon Ambris of Elkhart, Indiana, orchestrated a “sham” business meeting at the restaurant on March 4, 2023 designed to intoxicate the plaintiff and “isolate her while impaired.” The plaintiff, who is identified in the complaint but not named in this story to protect her privacy, alleges Ambris then sexually assaulted her in an alleyway near the restaurant.

Sells is not accused of committing or participating in the assault. But the lawsuit alleges that his “actions and omissions”—including communicating with Ambris about plaintiff’s  intoxication, failing to stop the alcohol service despite awareness of her “impaired condition,” and failing to prevent her from leaving the restaurant with Ambris, all while exercising “operational authority” over business at 1928, including alcohol service—“substantially assisted, facilitated, or enabled the circumstances that allowed the assault to occur.”

The allegations of the filing directly contradict statements that Sells and his fiancée, restaurateur Kristin Jenkins, have made to creditors and to this magazine about Sells’ alleged role at the restaurant. After Sells filed for bankruptcy in 2022, his ex-wife alleged in a court filing  that he held an “undisclosed beneficial interest” in 1928. Sells and Jenkins both denied this under oath during the bankruptcy proceedings, with Jenkins also telling Boston that Sells “does not play a role in any of my businesses.”

The complaint alleges otherwise. The plaintiff claims Sells “exercised involvement in or influence over alcohol service practices, staffing decisions, and/or restaurant operations” at 1928.

The plaintiff, a Massachusetts woman who says she attended the meeting to discuss “a potential business relationship and sales opportunity in her position selling commercial energy,” alleges she was served wine and three to four mixed drinks, with Ambris encouraging her to keep drinking. The complaint says that despite visible signs of her impairment, alcohol continued to be served. It also alleges that Sells and Ambris “communicated during the evening regarding [her] intoxication and continued presence at the restaurant.” After she became incapacitated, the complaint alleges, Ambris “removed” her from the restaurant to a nearby alleyway, where he “ripped the Plaintiff’s underwear from her body” and raped her “both digitally and with his penis.”

The lawsuit includes claims for “civil conspiracy” and “aiding and abetting,” alleging that Sells and Ambris “reached an express or tacit agreement” to cause the plaintiff to “consume excessive alcohol and to isolate her while impaired,” and that “by permitting continued alcohol service and failing to intervene,” Sells “substantially assisted and facilitated” Ambris’s conduct.  Boston obtained a copy of the complaint from the court before the case was sealed.

The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages for alleged severe emotional distress, psychological trauma, medical and therapy expenses, and lost wages. She has requested a jury trial.

E. Steven Coren, an attorney representing both Ambris and Sells, declined to comment on the sealed case. Thomas Flaws, an attorney representing the plaintiff, also declined to comment on the civil filing or a prior criminal investigation conducted by Boston Police. But in a statement to Boston magazine, Jenkins said her staff at 1928 cooperated with a Boston Police investigation three years ago.

1928 Beacon Hill LLC is also named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit, facing claims of negligence and dram shop liability for allegedly serving alcohol to a visibly intoxicated patron. “1928 willingly provided relevant information, video footage, and point of sale data to Boston Police when they inquired about this allegation,” Jenkins said. She added that she condemns “in the strongest possible terms any and all violence against women, and would be the first to accept responsibility for such an act if 1928 bore any responsibility.” Jenkins also reasserted that Sells is not a staff member of the restaurant. “Aaron Sells has never been an employee of 1928,” she said.

Criminal charges were never filed against Sells or Ambris, according to a Suffolk County DA’s office spokesperson. The civil case is ongoing.

Previously

• How to Win Friends and Lose Millions: The Aaron Sells Story