The US Virgin Islands Attorney General 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.
USVI Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. confirmed in a statement Sunday that he “relieved Denise George from her duties as Attorney General this weekend,” without giving further details.
George, who served as the territory’s attorney general for four years, filed a massive lawsuit against JPMorgan on Tuesday, accusing the bank of “knowingly providing the leverage and pulling through.” [Epstein’s] Recruiters and victims were paid.”
She did not warn Bryan of her intention to file the lawsuit, and the incident was the final straw in the governor’s increasingly frustrated relationship with her, the Virgin Islands Consortium said, citing a source familiar with the matter.
US Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George (above) was “relieved of her duties” by the territory’s governor over the weekend, days after she filed a massive lawsuit against JPMorgan
George has been aggressive in seeking monetary damages related to Epstein’s crimes. The financier owned an island in the area, which authorities say he molested underage girls
Bryan’s rep told that press reports citing the JPMorgan lawsuit as the reason for George’s sacking were “not entirely accurate”.
The governor’s spokesman, Richard Motta Jr., declined further comment, 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 residents of the territory, 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 her for her service to the people of the Territory over the past four years as Attorney General and wish her the best in her future endeavors,” Bryan added.
USVI 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 reached a more than $105 million settlement in a sex trafficking case against the estate of Epstein, who owned a private island in the area where he molested underage girls.
Last week, George filed a lawsuit in Manhattan District Court alleging that JPMorgan ignored truths about Epstein, such as his 2008 Florida conviction of procuring a child for prostitution, in order to retain him as a client.
The bank retained Epstein as a client between 1998 and 2013 before finally cutting ties.
The bank has not yet responded to the allegations in the lawsuit, and a spokeswoman for JPMorgan declined to comment on the lawsuit when reached her on Monday.
In court filings Friday responding to a separate lawsuit, JPMorgan said it did not participate in or benefit from its former client Epstein’s sex trafficking.
Epstein, seen here alongside one of his private planes, has previously been accused of bringing victims to his home on a private island in the US Virgin Islands
For years, the mysterious financier lived on his private island of Little St. James in the Virgin Islands.
He was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, which was ruled a suicide while awaiting trial on child sex abuse and human trafficking charges.
In June, Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking a minor.
Epstein first became a Chase client in 1998. Since his death, there have been numerous reports that bank executives were trying to keep Epstein as a client due to his connections to some of the richest people in the world.
A section of the lawsuit states, “Human trafficking was the core business of the accounts Epstein maintained at JPMorgan.”
AG George said the lawsuit is part of an “outgoing effort” to hold accountable those who helped facilitate Epstein’s actions.
The complaint further accused Chase of “hiding wire and cash transactions that raised suspicion of a criminal enterprise whose currency was the sexual bondage of young girls.”
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, here in September 2022. His bank has not yet commented on the USVI lawsuit
The lawsuit does not specify the damages sought by the US Virgin Islands.
George has been aggressive in seeking monetary damages related to Epstein’s crimes.
In November, Epstein’s estate agreed to pay the territorial government $105 million in cash and half of the proceeds from the sale of the island of Little St. James, where Epstein owned a home and where authorities claim many of his crimes took place.
The property will also pay $450,000 to repair environmental damage on Great St. James, another island that Epstein owned and where authorities say he removed the ruins of historic colonial-era slave structures.
Money from the sale of Little St. James Island will be put into a government fund to fund projects, organizations, counseling and other activities to help residents who have been sexually abused, officials said.