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The attorney general of the US Virgin Islands was fired by the territory’s governor just days after filing a lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase of “turning a blind eye” to Jeffrey Epstein’s prolific sex crimes.
The governor of the US Virgin Islands, Albert Bryan Jr, confirmed in a statement on Sunday that he had “relieved Denise George of her duties as attorney general this weekend” without offering further details.
George, who served as the territory’s attorney general for four years, filed a massive lawsuit Tuesday against JPMorgan, accusing the bank of “knowingly providing and moving the levers through which [Epstein’s] recruiters and victims were paid.
She failed to warn Bryan of her intention to file the lawsuit, and the incident was the last straw in the governor’s increasingly frustrating relationship with her, the Virgin Islands Consortium reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
US Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George (above) was “relieved of duty” by the territory’s governor over the weekend, days after filing a massive lawsuit against JPMorgan.
George had been aggressive in seeking financial damages related to Epstein’s crimes. The financier owned an island in the territory where authorities say he abused underage girls
Bryan’s spokesman told DailyMail.com that press reports citing the JPMorgan lawsuit as the reason for George’s firing were “not entirely accurate”.
The governor’s spokesman, Richard Motta Jr, declined to comment further, saying in a statement: “I am not at liberty to discuss details of personnel matters.”
George did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning.
Governor Bryan, who is elected by the territory’s residents, announced George’s removal in a statement on New Year’s Day, saying, “I relieved Denise George of her duties as Attorney General this weekend.”
“I thank him for his service to the people of the Territory over the last four years as Attorney General and I wish him the best in his future endeavors,” added Bryan.
US Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr announced George’s firing in a statement
The governor said Assistant Attorney General Carol Thomas-Jacobs will serve as acting attorney general.
In November, George settled more than $105 million in a sex trafficking case against the estate of Epstein, who owns a private island in the territory where he abused underage girls.
Last week, George filed a lawsuit in Manhattan District Court alleging that JPMorgan ignored the truth surrounding Epstein, such as his 2008 conviction in Florida for procuring a child for prostitution, to keep him as a client.
The bank kept Epstein as a client between 1998 and 2013 before finally cutting ties.
The bank has yet to respond to the claims in the lawsuit, and a JPMorgan spokeswoman declined to comment on the suit when contacted by DailyMail.com on Monday.
In Friday court papers responding to a separate lawsuit, JPMorgan said it did not participate in or benefit from sex trafficking by its former client Epstein.
Epstein, shown here next to one of his private planes, was previously accused of driving victims to his private island home in the US Virgin Islands.
For years, the secretive financier was based on his private island, Little St. James in the Virgin Islands.
He was found dead in August 2019 in his Manhattan jail cell in what was ruled a suicide, while awaiting trial on child molestation and trafficking charges.
In June, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.
Epstein first became a client of Chase in 1998. There have been numerous reports since his death that bank executives tried to keep Epstein as a client because of his connections to some of the world’s wealthiest people.
One section of the lawsuit says: “Human trafficking was the core business of the accounts Epstein maintained at JPMorgan.”
AG George said the lawsuit was part of an “outbound effort” to hold those who helped facilitate Epstein’s actions to account.
The complaint goes on to accuse Chase of concealing “cash and electronic transactions that raised suspicions of a criminal enterprise whose currency was the sexual servitude” of girls.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, here in September 2022. His bank has yet to comment on the US Virgin Islands lawsuit.
The damages sought by the US Virgin Islands are not specified in the lawsuit.
George had been aggressive in seeking financial damages related to Epstein’s crimes.
In November, Epstein’s heirs agreed to pay the territorial government $105 million in cash and half of the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James Island, where Epstein owned a home and where authorities allege many incidents occurred. of his crimes.
The estate will also pay $450,000 to repair environmental damage on Great St. James, another island owned by Epstein where authorities say he removed the ruins of historic colonial-era slave structures.
The money from the sale of Little St. James Island will be placed in a government trust to fund projects, organizations, counseling and other activities to help residents who have suffered sexual abuse, authorities said.