Rosalind Evans
JPMorgan Chase disclosed that a provisional $290 million settlement had been reached with the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. The victims alleged the bank to have facilitated Epstein’s continued sex trafficking activities through financial support.
Epstein, a financier, was apprehended in 2019 on federal charges of soliciting underage girls for massages, which led to sexual abuse at his residences in Florida and New York. He was discovered dead in his cell in August of the same year at 66. His death was officially declared a suicide by a medical examiner.
A lawsuit lodged in the Manhattan federal court in November intended to hold JPMorgan accountable for Epstein’s persistent abuse of teenage girls and young women spanning decades. A similar lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Around two weeks after JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon provided a deposition for the case, the suggested settlement was announced. In the testimony, Dimon refuted any knowledge of Epstein and his illicit activities until Epstein was arrested in 2019, as revealed by a transcript of the videotaped testimony released last month.
In a statement released early Monday, JPMorgan Chase acknowledged Epstein’s horrifying conduct and expressed that the settlement was in the best interest of all parties involved, particularly the survivors of his abuse.
David Boies, the attorney for the leading plaintiff, confirmed that the proposed settlement, awaiting approval from the case judge, amounted to $290 million. According to the lawsuits, JPMorgan offered Epstein loans and permitted large cash withdrawals from 1998 to August 2013, despite being aware of his involvement in sex trafficking. Jane Doe, the anonymous victim in the lawsuit, alleged she suffered sexual abuse by Epstein from 2006 to 2013.
A ruling also transformed Doe’s lawsuit into a class-action suit for all victims of Epstein’s sex crimes.
Sigrid McCawley, a representative for Jane Doe and other Epstein victims, expressed that the settlements indicate financial institutions’ critical role in detecting and eradicating sex trafficking.
JPMorgan maintained Epstein as a client even following his arrest and confession to sex crimes in Florida in 2008.
In a prepared statement, the bank expressed remorse over any association with Epstein, insisting they would not have continued their relationship if they believed he was using their bank to facilitate his appalling crimes.
The lawsuits were filed following the implementation of a temporary law in New York in November that allows adult survivors of sexual abuse to take legal action, even for abuses that took place in the distant past.
Lawsuits are still active between the U.S. Virgin Islands and JPMorgan Chase. Moreover, the bank continues to pursue its case against former JPMorgan executive Jes Staley, who allegedly concealed Epstein’s crimes to retain him as a client. Staley left JPMorgan in 2013 and later assumed the CEO position at the British bank Barclays, a role he stepped down from in 2021 due to his previous association with Epstein.
In light of the above developments, it is clear that JPMorgan Chase is trying to rectify past mistakes. However, it still has legal battles ahead as it fights allegations in the U.S. Virgin Islands and its lawsuit against former executive Jes Staley. It remains to be seen how these legal confrontations will play out and their impact on the bank’s future.
