JPMorgan reported $1 BILLION of Jeffrey Epstein’s transactions as ‘suspicious’ to feds – but only AFTER the sex predator’s death, US Virgin Island claims in court
After Jeffrey Epstein’s death, JPMorgan Chase reported more than $1 billion in “suspicious” transactions for the sex predator over 16 years, a US Virgin Islands lawyer has alleged in court.
Mimi Liu, an attorney for the area, said at a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Thursday that JPMorgan deemed the transactions suspicious to the Treasury Department following Epstein’s death in 2019.
“Epstein’s entire business with JPMorgan, and JPMorgan’s entire business with Epstein, was human trafficking,” Liu said as she pleaded for the court’s summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.
The area is suing JPMorgan for at least $190 million, saying the bank ignored warning signs about convicted sex offender Epstein because he was a wealthy and lucrative client from 1998 to 2013.
In court, a lawyer for the bank said JPMorgan notified the Treasury Department of Epstein’s dealings several times before his death, including as far back as 2002.
Epstein is seen with his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in an undated evidence photo. JPMorgan Chase told US authorities it has processed more than $1 billion in “suspicious” transactions for the sex predator over the past 16 years.
The bank’s revelations about Epstein to the Treasury Department, known as suspicious activity reports, are not public and could not be reviewed by DailyMail.com. A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to comment.
Epstein had been a client of JPMorgan from 1998 to 2013, when the bank fired him. The disgraced financier was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he died behind bars in a Manhattan jail where officials ruled suicide.
JPMorgan, the largest US bank, has denied knowing that Epstein ran a sex trafficking operation while he was a client.
The bank has also fired back at the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two private islands, claiming top officials there gave him tax breaks and waived sex offender monitoring requirements in exchange for cash and gifts.
USVI attorney Liu cited the $1 billion figure, which had not previously been disclosed, in his argument that the court should come to trial before the case that the bank participated in Epstein’s sex trafficking.
She said no reasonable juror could find that JPMorgan was in the dark about its jet-setting client.
“JPMorgan was a full-service bank for Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking business,” Liu said.
Felicia Ellsworth, a lawyer for JPMorgan, said it was not appropriate for the pre-trial judge to determine the question of the bank’s knowledge because current and former employees have testified that they had no knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking .
She said JPMorgan has notified the Treasury Department of Epstein’s dealings at least six times, including as far back as 2002.
JPMorgan CEO Jaime Dimon denied any knowledge of Epstein or his account at JPMorgan until his 2019 arrest on federal charges
Epstein had owned two private islands within the US Virgin Islands, including Little St. James (above), where he infamously took many young women and girls
The JPMorgan documents have revealed that Cecile de Jongh, the former first lady of the USVI, was on Epstein’s payroll and managed his affairs even when her husband served as territorial governor.
Ellsworth also disputed the U.S. Virgin Islands’ claim that JPMorgan obstructed Epstein’s investigation, saying the bank had asked federal authorities about their own investigation into his conduct.
That’s “the opposite of trying to thwart,” she said.
Manhattan District Judge Jed Rakoff has not yet ruled on Thursday’s motions.
A trial is scheduled for October 23. Rakoff said he would decide by the end of September whether to resolve major legal disputes sooner.
In June, Rakoff tentatively approved JPMorgan’s $290 million settlement with women who say Epstein abused them.
Deutsche Bank, where Epstein was a client from 2013 to 2018, had previously reached a $75 million settlement with its plaintiffs. Neither bank admitted wrongdoing as part of the settlements.
Epstein had owned two private islands within the US Virgin Islands, including Little St. James, where he infamously took many young women and girls, and which locals commonly referred to as “orgy island” or “pedo island.”
The JPMorgan documents have revealed that the area’s former first lady, Cecile de Jongh, was on Epstein’s payroll and managed his affairs even when her husband served as territorial governor.
“Instead of being accountable for its own failure to investigate and monitor this criminal under its jurisdiction and to protect its citizens and sovereign interests, USVI blames a third party bank that did not have the authority of USVI to make any law nor USVI’s knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. in USVI territory, and is seeking to pursue such claims at the cost of dragging Epstein’s victims through even more lawsuits,” the bank said in a recent filing.
Jes Staley, 66, was Epstein’s friend and top contact at JPMorgan. The bank is suing Staley separately, claiming he concealed what he knew about Epstein and vouched for him internally
Jeffrey Epstein can be seen with his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in an undated photo. Epstein died behind bars in an apparent suicide. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence
Meanwhile, Virgin Islands lawyers said former JPMorgan CEO Jes Staley testified under oath that he discussed Epstein’s 2006 “very public” Florida indictment with bank CEO Jaime Dimon at the time it made headlines .
Dimon has previously denied any knowledge of Epstein or his account with JPMorgan until his 2019 arrest on federal charges, saying he could not recall any conversations about Epstein with top lieutenants.
Staley, 66, ran JPMorgan’s wealth management business from 2001 to 2009, and its corporate and investment bank from 2009 to 2013. He later served as CEO of Barclays Plc for six years.
JPMorgan is suing Staley separately to cover his losses in the lawsuits brought by the Virgin Islands and Epstein’s victims, claiming he concealed what he knew about the disgraced financier and vouched for him internally.
Staley has acknowledged being friends with Epstein but denied knowing about his sex trafficking, accusing JPMorgan of using him as a “public relations shield” to deflect blame for his own failures working with Epstein .
In his own new filing this week, Staley’s lawyers sought a preliminary injunction in his favor, writing: “The bank’s attempt to scapegoat Mr.
Staley amounts to little more than a media stunt to divert attention from its own blatant compliance failures.”