Global Courant 2023-05-19 09:23:35
JPMorgan Chase is seeking documents from the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg in lawsuits the bank is facing over its relationship with deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a former client, according to federal court filings.
Lawyers for Bragg, JPMorgan Chase; a former senior executive, Jes Staley; and the plaintiffs in the cases attended a conference call before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Tuesday. Rakoff instructed Bragg’s office to provide a so-called privilege log by Friday regarding documents the Wall Street giant was seeking. That’s a list of documents that Bragg’s office says are privileged and undiscoverable.
A spokesman for Bragg said: “A protection order is in place, so we cannot comment on the nature of the requested documents.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in New York on April 18.Mary Altaffer / AP file
The bank is facing two lawsuits filed last year by the U.S. Virgin Islands and a woman identified as “Jane Doe 1,” accusing her of facilitating Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise.
“JPMorgan knowingly, negligently and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers by which recruiters and victims were paid and was indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trading company,” the U.S. Virgin Islands alleged in their complaint.
The two lawsuits seek monetary damages. JPMorgan Chase has denied liability.
Deutsche Bank on Wednesday agreed to pay $75 million to victims of Epstein to settle a lawsuit alleging it enabled Epstein’s behavior.
JPMorgan Chase sued Staley in March, claiming he should be held liable for any harm the company could sustain as a result of the lawsuits. It accuses Staley — who worked at the bank for more than 30 years — of knowing about Epstein’s behavior and engaging in “sexual activity with young women procured by Epstein.”
Staley asked for the lawsuit to be dropped, saying the bank is using him as a “public relations shield.” However, he has expressed regret about his relationship with Epstein.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is expected to be impeached this month in the lawsuits.
On Thursday night, a JPMorgan spokesperson told NBC News, “Jamie Dimon never met Epstein, never communicated with him, never emailed him, and never engaged in any business with him.”
In a Bloomberg television interview last week, Dimon said he’s “so sad that we had any relationship with that guy.”
“You know, we had top lawyers evaluating, from the (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) enforcement, the (Justice Department), you know, and of course, if we’d known then what we know now, we would have done things differently ,” said Dimon. “But it is very unfortunate and I have deep respect for these women.
“That doesn’t mean we are accountable for an individual’s actions,” he added, “but I do have deep respect for them. My heart goes out to them.”
Jeffrey Epstein in 2004.Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images file
In court documents, the U.S. Virgin Islands claimed the company’s “banking relationship” was known at the “highest levels of the bank.” $120mm or so?) because I can’t imagine it will stay (pending Dimon review).”
Additional internal emails and memos submitted as evidence also revealed that bank executives were concerned about the financial institution’s relationship with Epstein from 2006.
Financial records showed that Epstein used his JPMorgan Chase accounts to transfer about $3 million to “women and girls” between 2003 and 2013, according to the documents the plaintiffs submitted as evidence.
Financial records are not disclosing the names of those who received the transfers or their connections to Epstein.
During that time, Epstein took in just over $5 million in cash, mostly in $40,000 amounts, court documents show.
Meanwhile, Senator Tina Smith, D-Minn., a member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, asked Dimon in a letter last week why the bank ignored “obvious signs of Epstein’s illegal activities” and maintained a relationship with Epstein.
If true, JPMorgan’s decision to turn a blind eye to such blatant misconduct raises serious questions about its role in facilitating Epstein’s abuse, and its willingness or ability to root out other less obvious sex trafficking cases and prevent,” she said.
