US Virgin Islands: JP Morgan ‘turned a blind eye’ to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation

U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George has filed a lawsuit accusing JP Morgan Chase of aiding Jeffrey Epstein in his sex-trafficking operations, as well as covering it up.

Epstein died in 2019 after being jailed on charges of sex-trafficking. He was worth around $600 million and allegedly gained his wealth by trafficking “young women and underage girls.”

According to the lawsuit, human trafficking was the “principal business” of Epstein’s accounts at the bank. But “because of the deals and clients that Epstein brought and promised” to JP Morgan, the bank allegedly “turned a blind eye” to his crimes.

“JP Morgan knowingly, negligently, and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which recruiters and victims were paid and was indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise,” the lawsuit said.

But the lawsuit went further, accusing JP Morgan of not only knowing about it but also having “facilitated, sustained, and concealed the human trafficking network,” which they “financially benefitted from.”

“JP Morgan ignored numerous red flags and failed to comply with federal banking regulations until years later after JP Morgan was no longer benefiting from Epstein’s business,” the lawsuit said, adding that the decisions to keep Epstein as a client was “advocated and approved at the senior levels of JP Morgan,” including by a former chief executive who had an “inappropriate relationship with Epstein.”