JPMorgan Should Pay $190 Million Over Epstein Ties, US Virgin Islands Says

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The US Virgin Islands said it was seeking at least $190 million from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in its lawsuit accusing the bank of enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking.

The territory stated its minimum damages in a Friday filing in Manhattan federal court. In addition to money, the USVI also said it wants JPMorgan to commit to reforms to protect against human trafficking. Epstein had a private retreat in the USVI and brought many of his victims there before his death in 2019.

“I am gratified that the victims have received some measure of compensation from the bank, but more needs to be done to hold JPMorgan Chase accountable and to ensure this does not happen to another generation of women and girls,” USVI Attorney General Ariel Smith said in a statement on Friday.

The USVI suit was one of two filed against JPMorgan late last year over its ties to Epstein, who was a bank client from 1998 to 2013. The bank last month agreed to settle the other suit, a class action on behalf of Epstein victims, for $290 million. The bank did not admit liability.

Settlement Discussions

A JPMorgan spokesperson on Friday said the USVI’s filing did not reflect the nature of previous “settlement conversations” between the parties. “As for the USVI’s misdirected damages theories, they are not well-founded and are being challenged by JPM in court,” she said.

JPMorgan has argued that the USVI suit is flawed because the territory itself facilitated Epstein’s crimes. For instance, the bank has noted that Cecile de Jongh, the former first lady of the USVI, worked for Epstein and helped arrange visas and travel for women he brought there. Epstein in return paid the Skidmore College tuition for one of De Jongh’s children and provided many other benefits.

According to its court filing, USVI is seeking $150 million in penalties from JPMorgan for allegedly facilitating Epstein’s sex trafficking. The territory said it also wants $40 million that it estimates JPMorgan earned in fees from managing Epstein’s accounts and the accounts of ultra-high net worth figures he referred to the bank.

The USVI said it will also seek additional compensatory and punitive damages that will be distributed to the victims.

The territory has moved to block JPMorgan from arguing that the USVI has “unclean hands” because many of its officials had ties to Epstein. According to the USVI, a state entity can’t be held liable for failing to protect a specific individual rather than the general public.

US District Judge Jed Rakoff asked the territory to submit the Friday filing as part of his consideration of that issue.

The USVI said it sought advice from three trafficking experts, including former SEC Commissioner Robert J. Jackson Jr. in devising anti-trafficking and compliance proposals for JPMorgan to adopt. These would include banning employees with personal relationships with clients from being involved in decisions related to retaining those clients.

Both suits against JPMorgan focused on the role of former private banking head Jes Staley. Emails between the pair, detailed in the USVI’s lawsuit, spoke to their “profound” friendship and how Staley allegedly lobbied internally to keep Epstein as a bank client up until 2013.

Staley, who later became chief executive officer of Barclays Plc but stepped down over his ties to Epstein, is now being sued by JPMorgan. The banks claims he should be responsible for any liability it incurs over Epstein.

The case is USVI v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-10904-UA, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Photo: A protest group holds up signs of Jeffrey Epstein in front of the federal courthouse in New York in 2019. (Bloomberg)