U.S. Virgin Islands seeks at least $190 million from JPMorgan Chase in Jeffrey Epstein case

The authorities of the U.S. Virgin Islands successful a court filing Friday estimated that it volition question damages of astatine slightest $190 cardinal from JPMorgan Chase successful a lawsuit accusing the large slope of facilitating sex trafficking by its erstwhile long-time lawsuit Jeffrey Epstein.

The Virgin Islands besides said it wants an bid requiring JPMorgan to instrumentality a bid of steps to support young women and girls from different predators successful the future.

"These sets of recommendations purpose to code the aforesaid halfway problem: JPMorgan's cognition of
and nonaccomplishment to study Epstein's trafficking due to the fact that it lacked the economical inducement and motivation
to spot compliance with the instrumentality and prevention of trafficking up of its ain profits," the filing successful U.S. District Court successful Manhattan says.

The American territory besides said it volition question further compensatory damages specifically for victims of Epstein beyond the astir $300 cardinal JPMorgan agreed to wage victims past period to settee a suit by 1 of his accusers. The filing did not springiness an magnitude for those further damages.

The caller filing came successful effect to a petition past week by Judge Jed Rakoff that the territory item the damages it seeks successful the lawsuit arsenic it heads toward trial.

The Virgin Islands' suit accuses JPMorgan of benefiting from Epstein's trafficking of young women to beryllium abused by him and others during the 15 years helium was a lawsuit of the bank, which is the largest successful the United States.

The ailment alleges JPMorgan allowed Epstein to support galore millions of dollars successful accounts astatine the bank, which helium utilized to money his trafficking of women, contempt aggregate reddish flags astir him raised by slope employees implicit the years.

JPMorgan, which had nary contiguous remark Friday, has repeatedly denied immoderate wrongdoing successful the case.

"We are pursuing this enforcement enactment due to the fact that JPMorgan Chase's organization nonaccomplishment enabled Jeffrey Epstein's enactment trafficking, and JPMorgan Chase indispensable marque important changes to detect, study and halt quality trafficking," said U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Ariel Smith successful a connection Friday.

"Financial penalties, arsenic good arsenic behaviour changes, are important to marque definite that JPMorgan Chase knows the outgo of putting its ain profits up of nationalist safety," said Smith.

She said that if the Virgin Islands wins its suit, it volition uses the monetary damages it receives "to enactment efforts to strengthen, inform, and grow section instrumentality enforcement and heighten the Virgin Islands' services for victims of quality trafficking and different victims of crime."

The filing says the Virgin Islands wants astatine slightest $150 cardinal successful civilian penalties alone. The filing besides says that it wants JPMorgan to disgorge astatine slightest different $40 cardinal successful fees that Epstein generated for the bank, and that JPMorgan received from "many ultra-high nett worthy clients" helium referred to the bank.

Those clients, the filing said, included Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Microsoft laminitis Bill Gates, Lex Wexner, the laminitis of Limited Brands, and the billionaire Glenn Dubin.

In summation to the monetary damages, the Virgin Islands besides is asking JPMorgan beryllium compelled "to instrumentality caller policies, including separating its concern and compliance functions and designating an autarkic compliance consultant, to forestall quality trafficking," according to a property merchandise by Smit's office.

JPMorgan successful its ain tribunal filings has accused the Virgin Islands itself of being "complicit successful the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein."

The slope alleges Epstein gave high-ranking officials determination money, proposal and favors successful speech for looking the different mode erstwhile helium trafficked young women to beryllium abused there.

Epstein had a residence connected a backstage land successful the territory, wherever accusers accidental helium and different radical sexually abused them.

Last period successful the aforesaid tribunal wherever the Virgin Islands is suing the slope JPMorgan agreed, without admitting wrongdoing, to wage $290 cardinal to victims of Epstein to settle a suit by 1 of his accusers.

In May, Deutsche Bank agreed to wage Epstein victims $75 cardinal to settle a abstracted lawsuit by an accuser who accused that backmost of abetting his enactment trafficking of her and others. Deutsche Bank took connected Epstein arsenic a lawsuit aft JPMorgan severed ties with him successful 2013, years aft slope employees archetypal voiced concerns astir him.

Deutsche Bank antecedently agreed to wage New York state's Department of Financial Services a $150 cardinal punishment for nonaccomplishment to observe oregon forestall millions of dollars of suspicious transactions related to Epstein, which included "payments to Russian models and to galore women with Eastern European surnames," the filing Friday by the Virgin Islands noted.

Epstein, who had been a person to erstwhile Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, arsenic good arsenic Prince Andrew of Great Britain, pleaded blameworthy successful 2008 to a Florida authorities complaint of soliciting enactment from an underage girl. He served 13 months successful jail, but spent overmuch of that clip connected enactment merchandise each day.

Epstein, past 66, killed himself successful a national jailhouse successful New York successful August 2019, a period aft helium was arrested connected national kid enactment trafficking charges.