JPMorgan Chase knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s intercourse trafficking accusations for years earlier than dropping him, in keeping with new authorized filings.
The lawsuit alleges that the financial institution knew in regards to the accusations towards the now-deceased convicted intercourse offender and financier—specifically, paying to have underage women and younger ladies dropped at his house since 2006.
Mary Erdoes, the present head of asset administration at JPMorgan, mentioned below oath in a current deposition that the New York-based monetary providers firm knew in regards to the accusations seven years earlier than it severed ties with Epstein in 2013, reported the Monetary Instances,
The publication was capable of evaluate newly unredacted parts of a lawsuit filed towards the financial institution by the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), the place Epstein owned the notorious compound on his personal island of Little St. James.
“In 2010, JPMorgan compliance officers determined that Epstein ‘ought to go,’” wrote attorneys within the filings, however financial institution executives didn’t act for 3 years.
The financier bought the island of Little St. James in 1998 and owned the property till his dying in 2019.
Epstein hosted events on his island, with visitors together with former President Invoice Clinton and Prince Andrew, son of the late Queen Elizabeth II of the UK.
A pilot who previously labored for Epstein testified that he had seen each males, in addition to actor Kevin Spacey and others, on Epstein’s personal aircraft.
Epstein died in his New York Metropolis jail cell in 2019 whereas awaiting trial on federal prices of intercourse trafficking minors. His dying was dominated a suicide by hanging.
Accused of Facilitating Epstein’s Crimes
Two lawsuits by an unnamed Epstein sufferer and officers of the U.S. Virgin Islands accuse JPMorgan Chase of financially benefiting from its relationship with Epstein.
Forbes reported on April 3 that the USVI filed a criticism alleging that JPMorgan Chase executives knew sufficient about Epstein’s “curiosity in younger women” that they have been capable of joke about it.
The USVI is searching for damages from JPMorgan, claiming it benefited from human trafficking by persevering with to retain Epstein as a shopper even after he was arrested for procuring underage women for intercourse with highly effective males in Florida in 2006.
In a listening to within the USVI case towards JPMorgan earlier this month, an lawyer representing the USVI argued that Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, “knew in 2008 that his billionaire shopper [Jeffrey Epstein] was a intercourse trafficker.”
Dimon, who has led the funding financial institution since 2005 and is without doubt one of the strongest executives on Wall Road, allegedly had buddies in widespread within the monetary world with Epstein, going again to the Eighties.
Nonetheless, in keeping with the Monetary Instances, there isn’t any report of direct communications between Dimon and Epstein, who labored with JPMorgan Chase between 1998 and 2013.
The lawyer, Mimi Liu, additionally said that former JPMorgan govt Jes Staley was conscious of the accusations about Epstein however famous, “This case was not simply Jes Staley … there can be quite a few paperwork that go far past his workplace to the manager suite.”
Staley is going through a lawsuit from the financial institution for failing to reveal his personal alleged participation in Epstein’s intercourse crimes.
Liu additional asserted that “Staley knew, Dimon knew, JPMorgan Chase knew” about Epstein’s legal actions.
JPMorgan’s Dimon Pleads Ignorance
JPMorgan Chase has denied that its CEO knew in regards to the warnings by its compliance division relating to its associations with Epstein and that it facilitated his intercourse trafficking operations.
The financial institution tried to have the lawsuit dismissed, however a federal choose dominated that the case may proceed.
The brand new complaints towards JPMorgan come after executors of the Epstein property agreed to settle a lawsuit with the U.S. Virgin Islands in late 2022 over violations associated to the U.S. territory’s legal guidelines towards fraud, intercourse trafficking, and little one exploitation.
The property agreed to pay $105 million and half of the proceeds earned from the sale of Epstein’s island, together with $450,000 to remediate environmental injury round Nice St. James, one other island owned by Epstein.
Dimon, who has denied being concerned in any evaluate of Epstein’s account, can be questioned below oath for a Could deposition about his information of JPMorgan’s resolution to retain Epstein.
The CEO informed CNN final week that the monetary establishment has “a few of the greatest legal professionals on this planet” working in compliance “who evaluate all of this stuff and make choices on the time based mostly on what they know.”
When requested if the financial institution ought to have saved Epstein as a shopper after his 2008 conviction, Dimon responded that “hindsight is a superb reward.”
In the meantime, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Hyatt Resorts govt chairman Thomas Pritzker, and actual property titan Mortimer Zuckerman have all been subpoenaed for info associated to the case, in keeping with Forbes.
Former Disney president Michael Ovitz has additionally been requested by authorities from the islands to adjust to the investigation.
