JPMorgan And Epstein Victims Agree To Pay $290 Million

(CTN News) – In a joint statement with the woman’s lawyers, JPMorgan Chase has agreed in principle to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by a victim of Jeffrey Epstein.

In the settlement announced on Monday, JPMorgan has agreed to settle one claim against it brought by a woman who claims Epstein abused her.

In 2019, the billionaire financier was arrested on federal charges accusing him of paying underage girls hundreds of dollars in cash for massages and then sexually assaulting them at his homes in Florida and New York. The 66-year-old was found dead in jail on August 10 of that year. His death was determined to be the result of suicide by a medical examiner.

Having any association with him [Epstein] was a mistake that JPMorgan regrets, the bank stated. It is our firm belief that we would never have continued to conduct business with him if we believed he was using our bank to commit heinous crimes in any way.”

The New York Times reported that the bank would pay $290 million to end the litigation, citing David Boies, a lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

In the settlement, JPMorgan Chase didn’t admit wrongdoing, Reuters reported, citing an anonymous source.

While it was aware of Epstein’s involvement in sex trafficking, JPMorgan provided him loans and allowed him to withdraw large amounts of cash from 1998 to 2013. Jane Doe, an anonymous victim, says Epstein abused her from 2006 to 2013.

Lawsuits everywhere

Bank of America is still dealing with a lawsuit from the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two neighbouring islands and allegedly abused victims.

A lawsuit against JPMorgan’s ex-executive Jes Staley is also going on, which accuses him of hiding Epstein’s involvement.

While Staley regrets befriending Epstein, he denies knowing about his alleged sex trafficking. I asked his lawyers for comment on Monday, but they didn’t respond.

JPMorgan kept Epstein on as a client despite internal warnings about his sexual abuse of girls and young women, according to the lawsuit.

While Epstein was a client of JPMorgan from 1998 until he was dropped in 2013, the bank kept him onboard despite his 2006 arrest on prostitution-related charges.

Earlier this month, Deutsche Bank, where Epstein worked from 2013 to 2018, agreed to pay $75m in settlement of a similar lawsuit by women who claim the bank trafficked them.

Sigrid McCawley, the lawyer for Jane Doe 1, who sued JPMorgan, said in a statement that settlements show the importance of financial institutions in spotting and stopping sex trafficking.

Jamie Dimon, who has been CEO of JPMorgan since 2006, partially resolves a rare public relations tangle.

During his May testimony, Dimon said he had barely heard of Epstein until his arrest in July 2019 and did not recall discussing Epstein’s accounts with other bank officials, including those authorised to terminate Epstein’s relationship.

Previously, Staley was a close ally of Dimon and considered a potential CEO successor.

Dimon said he asked Staley to leave JPMorgan in 2013 before Epstein was terminated because he was not managing its investment bank properly. According to Dimon, Epstein played no role in Staley’s departure.

A lawsuit recently revealed that former JPMorgan counsel Stephen Cutler had requested that the bank cut ties with Epstein, but other executives refused.

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