Treasury alerted to JPMorgan’s identification of suspicious transactions linked to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking activities

JPMorgan Chase
notified the Treasury Department of over $1 billion in transactions related to “human trafficking” by Jeffrey Epstein dating back 16 years after his suicide in 2019, according to a lawyer for the U.S. Virgin Islands speaking during a federal court hearing.

Mimi Liu, an attorney for the Virgin Islands, argued that the entire relationship between Epstein and JPMorgan involved human trafficking. She cited the bank’s notification to the Treasury Department as evidence and urged Judge Jed Rakoff to issue a summary judgment against JPMorgan.

The lawsuit filed by the Virgin Islands government accuses JPMorgan of facilitating sex trafficking by Epstein between 1998 and 2013 when he was a customer of the bank.

During the hearing, Liu referred to a $9 million block of transfers to women and suspicious withdrawals from Epstein’s accounts at JPMorgan. She stated that these transactions were connected to over 20,000 sexual acts, considering Epstein’s practice of paying hundreds of dollars for each encounter.

Liu claimed that “JPMorgan was a full-service bank for Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking.” She also emphasized that the bank only reported the suspicious transactions worth $1 billion after Epstein’s arrest and death, suggesting it was a “cover your ass” move after 16 years of enabling his activities.

The Virgin Islands government has accused JPMorgan of continuing to do business with Epstein despite knowing of his sex crimes, including his guilty plea in 2008. Liu argued that the bank had extensive financial information related to Epstein’s illicit activities by 2006.

Epstein, who owned various properties including a private island in the Virgin Islands where he allegedly abused women, died by suicide in a New York jail in August 2019 while facing federal child sex trafficking charges.

JPMorgan, denying any wrongdoing, has been defended by its lawyer, Felicia Ellsworth, who told Judge Rakoff that the Virgin Islands presented no evidence of the bank violating sex trafficking laws. Ellsworth also contested the legal standing of the Virgin Islands to sue the bank, questioning whether any of Epstein’s victims were residents of the territory.

The Virgin Islands is seeking at least $190 million in damages from JPMorgan, and the case will proceed to trial on October 23 unless summary judgment is granted.

JPMorgan’s lawyer, Felicia Ellsworth, argued that the Virgin Islands had presented no evidence to support their claims that the bank violated sex trafficking laws. Ellsworth also challenged the jurisdiction of the Virgin Islands to sue the bank, as there was no proof that any of Epstein’s victims were residents of the territory.

JPMorgan has not provided a comment on the Virgin Islands’ allegation that the bank reported suspicious transactions worth over $1 billion to the Treasury Department.

In July, JPMorgan agreed to pay $290 million in a settlement with Epstein’s victims to resolve a similar lawsuit filed by one of the accusers in a Manhattan federal court. Deutsche Bank, which took on Epstein as a client after JPMorgan severed ties in 2013, settled a third suit for $75 million in the same court in June.