A U.S. judge has ordered JPMorgan Chase & Co to hand over additional documents regarding Chief Executive Jamie Dimon to the U.S. Virgin Islands in connection with a lawsuit accusing the bank of aiding in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking. The judge has instructed the bank to turn over requested documents from 2015 to 2019, which is after JPMorgan had severed its ties with Epstein. The U.S. Virgin Islands alleges that JPMorgan aided Epstein’s sex trafficking by continuing to keep him as a client despite red flags about his misconduct on Little St. James, a private island he owned. Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 2000 to 2013 before he committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The U.S. Virgin Islands has named Dimon as a “likely source of relevant and unique information” about why JPMorgan kept Epstein on and discussions on Epstein’s referrals of potential wealthy clients.
JPMorgan has declined to comment on the judge’s order, but it accused the U.S. Virgin Islands of going on a “fishing expedition” after having obtained a “massive trove” of information in previous litigation where the territory had recovered over $105 million from Epstein’s estate. The bank is facing a proposed class action by a former ballet dancer, Jane Doe 1, who alleges that Epstein abused and trafficked her from 2006 to 2013, and it has also filed two lawsuits against former private banking chief Jes Staley for concealing information about Epstein. JPMorgan wants Staley to reimburse it for any damages it may incur in the other lawsuits and return eight years of compensation.
The case is scheduled for a conference on March 16. Alison Taylor, a corporate governance professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, has stated that JPMorgan’s lawsuits attempt to portray Staley as a “bad apple” solely responsible for the bank’s relationship with Epstein. The lawsuit is being heard in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and its number is 22-10904. Lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
