NEW YORK, July 14 (Portal) – The US Virgin Islands said it is seeking at least $190 million and possibly much more from JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) to settle its lawsuit, in the largest US Bank accused of ignoring disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trade.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in Manhattan federal court, the territory said JPMorgan should pay a $150 million civil penalty and forfeit at least $40 million from its 15-year business relationship with Epstein.
It also said JPMorgan would pay punitive damages to compensate Epstein’s victims, pay punitive damages, separate its business and compliance functions, and hire a compliance consultant.
“Financial penalties and behavioral changes are important to ensure that JPMorgan Chase understands the costs of putting its own profits ahead of public safety,” U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Ariel Smith said in a statement.
In a statement, JPMorgan confirmed efforts to resolve the case but said the filing “does not reflect the nature of settlement talks.”
The bank also called the US Virgin Islands’ claims for damages “misguided” and “unfounded.”
Friday’s filing marks the first time the U.S. Virgin Islands has provided a dollar figure in its lawsuit.
The territory wants JPMorgan held liable for providing Epstein with banking services that enabled him to pay his victims from 1998 to 2013 and for ignoring internal warnings and other red flags for treating him as a wealthy customer appreciated.
Even the $40 million figure doesn’t take into account the “difficult to quantify” value of Epstein’s alleged launch of JPMorgan to celebrities such as Britain’s Prince Andrew and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Epstein, who died by suicide in August 2019, owned two neighboring islands within the territory, including one that authorities said he bought to prevent people from spying on him while he sexually abused young women and girls.
A hearing is scheduled for October 23.
BIG PAYOUTS
The lawsuit is the largest unsolved case related to Epstein.
JPMorgan agreed last month to pay $290 million to settle a lawsuit brought by dozens of Epstein accusers, while Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), of which Epstein was also a client, agreed to a $75.00 settlement in May million dollars agreed. Both agreements are awaiting final court approval.
Epstein’s estate has since paid out more than $125 million to the financier’s accusers and more than $105 million to the US Virgin Islands.
The financier’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of complicity in his abuse in December 2021.
In the case of the US Virgin Islands, JPMorgan tried to shift the blame.
It accused the territory of “actively supporting” Epstein by giving him tax incentives and dropping surveillance for sex offenders in exchange for cash or gifts to local police and top officials like former First Lady Cecile de Jongh.
JPMorgan is separately suing Jes Staley, a former head of private and investment banking who was once close to Epstein, to recover his losses from the two lawsuits the company is facing.
Staley has expressed regret at his friendship with Epstein and has repeatedly denied knowing about his sex trade. He left JPMorgan a few months after Epstein and served as chief executive of British bank Barclays (BARC.L) from 2015 to 2021.
The case is US Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-10904.
Reporting by Jonathan Stamp in New York; Additional reporting by Nupur Anand and Luc Cohen in New York; Edited by Jonathan Oatis and Deepa Babington
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