Epstein Victim May Pursue Claims Against Two Wall St. Executives

At least one longtime sexual abuse sufferer of Jeffrey Epstein who acquired a financial settlement from his property can even pursue separate claims in opposition to two highly effective former Wall Street executives who had ties to the convicted intercourse offender, in keeping with two individuals briefed on the matter.

Richard Kahn, an executor of Mr. Epstein’s property, testified in a deposition in May that the sufferer’s settlement included a “carve out” provision involving Leon Black, a billionaire non-public fairness investor, and James E. Staley, a former high govt at JPMorgan Chase and Barclays, mentioned the individuals, who have been briefed on the deposition and spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to publicly talk about the matter.

The exceptions made for Mr. Black and Mr. Staley present how the 2 males proceed to be dogged by their social and enterprise dealings with Mr. Epstein 4 years after he killed himself in a federal jail whereas awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking expenses. The association might set a precedent for different victims of Mr. Epstein, probably exposing Mr. Black and Mr. Staley to additional scrutiny and legal responsibility.

“She was a victim, potentially, to these individuals,” Mr. Kahn mentioned within the deposition, in keeping with one of many individuals. Mr. Kahn mentioned that Mr. Epstein’s property agreed to the carve-out provision in order that the unnamed girl might probably sue for “harms that she incurred.”

In the deposition, Mr. Kahn, who was Mr. Epstein’s longtime accountant, mentioned no less than one different sufferer had sought an identical carve out from the property, in keeping with the particular person. He urged within the testimony, with out offering particulars, that different victims may need requested for the availability with regard to different males, the particular person mentioned.

It was unclear from Mr. Kahn’s deposition whether or not both of the ladies had pursued claims in opposition to Mr. Black or Mr. Staley, or what their particular claims could be, the individuals briefed on the deposition mentioned.

In settling claims with victims, Mr. Epstein’s property had sought to restrict the potential for litigation in opposition to anybody with ties to Mr. Epstein. A settlement carve out offers a sufferer with a restricted exception from such a broad launch to pursue different litigation.

Both Mr. Black, a co-founder of the non-public fairness agency Apollo Global Management, and Mr. Staley had been frequent guests to Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan residence. Mr. Black paid Mr. Epstein $158 million for tax and property planning providers — outsize funds that are actually drawing scrutiny from the Senate Finance Committee.

Susan Estrich, a lawyer for Mr. Black, mentioned the leak of Mr. Kahn’s deposition testimony “is baseless character assassination” involving “anonymous women who have never brought a claim against Mr. Black.”

Lawyers for Mr. Staley didn’t reply to a request for remark. A lawyer for Mr. Kahn declined to remark.

The deposition from Mr. Kahn was in reference to a class-action lawsuit filed final yr by Mr. Epstein’s victims in opposition to JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest financial institution, and a associated lawsuit in opposition to the financial institution by the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The lawsuits contend that the financial institution turned a blind eye to Mr. Epstein’s trafficking of teenage ladies and younger ladies to and from his residences within the Virgin Islands, Manhattan, Florida and New Mexico as a result of he was a rich consumer with well-known and highly effective buddies.

In June, JPMorgan agreed to pay $290 million to settle the class-action lawsuit, nevertheless it continues to contest the go well with by the Virgin Islands, which seeks $190 million in damages. JPMorgan can be suing Mr. Staley in reference to that go well with, claiming he might be responsible for damages.

In a court docket submitting on Monday, JPMorgan mentioned it continued to do enterprise with Mr. Epstein as a result of it relied on Mr. Staley’s “representations that Epstein had ‘turned the page’ on his past conduct” — a reference to Mr. Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida of soliciting prostitution from a teenage woman.

An inner overview of Mr. Staley’s firm emails, performed by JPMorgan following Mr. Epstein’s 2019 arrest, discovered that the 2 males had shared sexually suggestive emails.

Lawyers for Mr. Staley, in court docket papers, have mentioned he did nothing flawed and was unaware of any intercourse trafficking by Mr. Epstein.

In 2021, Mr. Black resigned as chairman and chief govt of Apollo over his ties to Mr. Epstein. This yr, he quietly agreed to pay $62.5 million to the Virgin Islands to go off a possible lawsuit that might have claimed his giant funds to Mr. Epstein helped finance his intercourse trafficking operation within the U.S. territory.

Mr. Black can be being sued by two different ladies who say they have been raped by him roughly 20 years in the past at Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse. Ms. Estrich referred to as these allegations “false and frivolous.”

Lawyers for Mr. Epstein’s victims have estimated that he sexually abused a whole bunch of teenage ladies and younger ladies over 20 years. More than 125 ladies have acquired $153 million in settlement funds from both a restitution fund arrange by the property or in offers negotiated straight by the property — as was the case with the 2 ladies Mr. Kahn was requested about throughout his deposition.