U.S. Virgin Islands Seeks $190 Million From JPMorgan in Epstein Lawsuit

The authorities of the U.S. Virgin Islands stated in a court docket submitting on Friday that it’s in search of at the least $190 million in penalties from JPMorgan Chase for the financial institution’s failure to detect and report the intercourse trafficking operation run by the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein within the U.S. territory.

Lawyers for the Virgin Islands disclosed the sum in a authorized submitting in response to a request from the federal choose in Manhattan overseeing the lawsuit it filed in opposition to JPMorgan final 12 months, which claimed that the financial institution turned a blind eye to Mr. Epstein’s actions.

In the submitting, the Virgin Islands’ legal professional common’s workplace stated it additionally desires the nation’s largest financial institution to place in new insurance policies to forestall it from offering monetary companies to human traffickers.

“We are pursuing this enforcement action because JPMorgan Chase’s institutional failure enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking,” stated U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Ariel Smith in an announcement.

Patricia Wexler, a JPMorgan spokeswoman, stated, “This document does not reflect the nature of settlement conversations.” She additionally stated the Virgin Islands’ authorized theories have been “not well founded and are being challenged by JPM in court.”

The financial institution, in court docket papers, has argued that the Virgin Islands authorities did little itself to discourage any criminal activity carried out by Mr. Epstein on his personal island residence off St. Thomas.

JPMorgan Chase has already agreed to pay $290 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed final 12 months on behalf of Mr. Epstein’s many intercourse abuse victims. The swimsuit, filed by legal professionals for Mr. Epstein’s victims, was joined for authorized discovery functions with the lawsuit filed by the Virgin Islands. The financial institution and the Virgin Islands authorities haven’t but reached a settlement.

The lawsuit filed by the Virgin Islands is tentatively scheduled for an October trial in federal court docket in Manhattan.

The Virgin Islands stated on Friday that its lawsuit is common as an enforcement motion in opposition to the financial institution and that it’s entitled to the sizable reduction to compensate it and deter future conduct by the financial institution. The $190 million contains penalties and the disgorgement of charges earned from enterprise that the Virgin Islands claims Mr. Epstein directed to JPMorgan.

Last 12 months, the U.S. territory reached a $105 million settlement with the property of Mr. Epstein, who killed himself in August 2019 whereas being held in federal custody on intercourse trafficking prices.

Lawyers for Mr. Epstein’s victims have stated at the least 200 girls — lots of them youngsters on the time — have been sexually abused by the financier at his personal residence within the Virgin Islands, in addition to his properties in Manhattan, Florida and elsewhere. Mr. Epstein maintained a personal island residence simply off St. Thomas for almost 20 years and ran his funding advisory companies from the Virgin Islands as properly.

The Virgin Islands is being assisted in all of the litigation associated to Mr. Epstein by legal professionals from Motley Rice, a plaintiffs’ regulation agency primarily based in South Carolina. Motley has a retainer settlement with the Virgin Islands authorities that entitles it to obtain a portion of each settlement and restoration as its compensation.