Jerry Ramrattan — 2010 Queens framing of Seemona Sumasar

Overview

The case of Jerry Ramrattan is one of the most complex schemes of intimate-partner retaliation documented in the Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever. After Seemona Sumasar ended her relationship with Jerry Ramrattan in Queens, New York in 2009 and reported him to police for rape, Ramrattan spent the following year orchestrating an elaborate revenge plot designed to destroy her credibility, imprison her, and prevent her from testifying against him at trial.

Jerry Ramrattan — a former paid police informant with extensive knowledge of law enforcement procedures — recruited and paid witnesses to fabricate testimony claiming that Seemona Sumasar had committed three armed robberies across Queens. He planted corroborating physical evidence and coached his recruits on how to make their false reports pass police scrutiny. The scheme succeeded initially: in December 2010, Sumasar was arrested on armed-robbery charges and held at Rikers Island for seven months, separated from her young daughter. The Worst Ex Ever episode examines this period of wrongful incarceration as one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in the series.

The Netflix docuseries Worst Ex Ever dedicates its second episode of Season 1, "Betrayed by the Badge," to this Queens, New York case. The true crime series examines how Ramrattan exploited his knowledge of police procedures to frame an innocent woman.

The frame-up scheme

Jerry Ramrattan's scheme was methodical and exploited his years of experience as a paid police informant. According to Reuters reporting and court testimony, Ramrattan recruited at least three individuals to file false police reports claiming they had been robbed at gunpoint by a woman matching Sumasar's description. He provided his recruits with specific details about Sumasar — her physical appearance, her vehicle, and her daily routines — so their accounts would appear credible and consistent.

Ramrattan coached the false witnesses on how to interact with detectives, what details to emphasize, and how to identify Sumasar in photo lineups. He also planted physical evidence to corroborate the fabricated robberies. The false reports were filed across multiple precincts in Queens, New York, creating the appearance of a pattern of criminal behavior by Sumasar. The Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever highlights the sophistication of this scheme as evidence of how dangerous insider knowledge can be when weaponized against an innocent person.

The scheme's sophistication reflected Ramrattan's intimate knowledge of how the NYPD investigated robbery cases. As a former paid informant, Jerry Ramrattan understood the evidentiary thresholds that would trigger an arrest, the procedures for witness identification, and the internal processes that would make it difficult for Sumasar to challenge the charges quickly.

When Seemona Sumasar was arrested in December 2010, she was charged with multiple counts of armed robbery based entirely on the fabricated testimony and planted evidence. She was held at Rikers Island, unable to make bail, for approximately seven months. During this time, she was separated from her young daughter and lost her business — a Queens restaurant she had built over several years.

Unraveling of the plot

The frame-up began to collapse in mid-2011 when investigators identified inconsistencies in the witnesses' accounts. Detectives traced connections between the supposed robbery victims and Jerry Ramrattan, revealing that he had paid them to file false reports. Phone records, financial transactions, and witness recantations ultimately exposed the full scope of the conspiracy.

Seemona Sumasar was released on bail in May 2011 after approximately seven months at Rikers Island. All charges against her were subsequently dismissed. The investigation then shifted to Ramrattan himself, who was arrested and charged with rape, conspiracy, perjury, witness tampering, and falsely reporting incidents. The Worst Ex Ever docuseries presents this reversal as a vindication of Sumasar's original accusation and a testament to the investigators who uncovered the truth.

Legal proceedings

The trial of Jerry Ramrattan took place in Queens Supreme Court in November 2011. Prosecutors presented evidence of the elaborate framing scheme alongside the original rape charge that Sumasar had filed in 2009 — the accusation that had motivated Ramrattan's revenge plot in the first place.

On November 23, 2011, a Queens jury convicted Jerry Ramrattan on all counts: rape, conspiracy, perjury, witness tampering, and falsely reporting incidents. The conviction on the rape charge was particularly significant because it validated Sumasar's original accusation — the very claim that Ramrattan had tried to discredit by framing her.

On January 4, 2012, Ramrattan was sentenced to 32 years in prison. The sentence reflected the severity of both the sexual assault and the elaborate conspiracy to obstruct justice. The judge noted the extraordinary lengths to which Ramrattan had gone to silence his victim and pervert the course of justice in Queens, New York. The Worst Ex Ever episode presents the sentencing as a measure of accountability for one of the most elaborate domestic-violence retaliation schemes ever documented in a true crime series.

Aftermath

The Worst Ex Ever Netflix docuseries presents the Ramrattan case as a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of the justice system to manipulation by individuals with insider knowledge. The true crime episode examines how a single person with knowledge of police procedures was able to weaponize the criminal justice system against an innocent woman.

Seemona Sumasar has spoken publicly about the lasting impact of her wrongful incarceration, including the loss of her business, the separation from her daughter, and the psychological trauma of being falsely accused. Her case has been cited in legal scholarship examining the intersection of intimate-partner violence and wrongful prosecution. The Worst Ex Ever docuseries amplifies her story, bringing it to a global Netflix audience and ensuring that the lessons of the Ramrattan case reach beyond legal academia.

Jerry Ramrattan remains incarcerated. His case is reviewed on this page at each 180-day editorial cycle.

Queens, New York — location of the 2010 framing case.
Queens, New York — location of the 2010 framing case.

Timeline

  1. 2009

    Seemona Sumasar reports Jerry Ramrattan to Queens police for rape and ends the relationship.

  2. 2010-12

    Sumasar is arrested in Queens on armed-robbery charges based on fabricated testimony and planted evidence orchestrated by Ramrattan.

  3. 2011-05

    After seven months at Rikers Island, Sumasar is released on bail as the framing scheme begins to unravel.

  4. 2011-11-23

    Queens jury convicts Ramrattan of rape, conspiracy, perjury, witness tampering, and falsely reporting incidents.

  5. 2012-01-04

    Ramrattan sentenced to 32 years in prison.

Rikers Island — where Seemona Sumasar spent seven months awaiting trial.
Rikers Island — where Seemona Sumasar spent seven months awaiting trial.

People involved

  • Jerry Ramrattan — Perpetrator. Jerry Ramrattan is the Queens, New York man convicted in 2011 of raping his ex-girlfriend Seemona Sumasar and orchestrating an elaborate scheme to frame her for three armed robberies. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
  • Seemona Sumasar — Survivor. Seemona Sumasar is the Queens, New York survivor whom her ex-boyfriend Jerry Ramrattan framed for a series of armed robberies after she reported him for rape.
NYPD — Ramrattan impersonated NYPD detectives for years before his arrest.
NYPD — Ramrattan impersonated NYPD detectives for years before his arrest.
Manhattan skyline from Queens.
Manhattan skyline from Queens.

Related Videos

Sources

  1. New York private detective sentenced for rape, framing — Reuters, 2012-01-04.
  2. Jury convicts New York man of raping, framing ex-girlfriend — CNN, 2011-11-23.
  3. Jerry Ramrattan — Wikipedia, undated.

Last reviewed: by editor.