JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank will face lawsuits over claims they enabled disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to traffic his victims, a New York federal judge ruled on March 20.
Two women referred to as “Jane Doe” filed federal class-action lawsuits against the banks in November last year, and the U.S. Virgin Islands filed its lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. in December.
They can also pursue a claim that the banks “negligently failed to exercise reasonable care as a banking institution providing non-routine banking,” the judge said. However, all other claims are dismissed from the lawsuits.
With regard to the lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. by the U.S. Virgin Islands, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs can pursue the claim that the bank “knowingly benefited from participating in a sex-trafficking venture.”
Some of the other claims were dismissed.
The judge’s opinion explaining the reasons for his rulings is set to be published soon.
In their lawsuits, the two women had claimed that Epstein sexually abused them, and also accused the banks of aiding his sex trafficking operation by maintaining a financial relationship with him because he was a high-profile client.
Virgin Islands Accuses Bank of Enabling
The lawsuit brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands accused JPMorgan of enabling Epstein’s sex trafficking by providing banking services to the financier after he had been convicted of sex charges and concealing suspicious wire and cash transactions, despite the fact that employees at the bank had raised concerns over the institution’s relationship with Epstein.It also suggests that JPMorgan senior officials at the bank were aware of Epstein’s crimes on the private and secluded island of Little St. James in the territory, and of the bank’s role in advancing them.
The banks denied being aware of Epstein’s abuses and sought to have the lawsuits dismissed.
Rakoff’s decision means the banks may be held financially liable for their relationships with Epstein if the plaintiffs succeed with their lawsuits in court.
Epstein, 66, died in a New York City jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had been a client of JPMorgan from 2000 to 2013 and Deutsche Bank from 2013 to 2018.
‘This Case Is Critically Important’
“We are pleased that the U.S. Virgin Islands will continue to work alongside survivors to hold JPMorgan Chase accountable for enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s heinous sex-trafficking venture,” Thomas-Jacobs said in a statement.“This case is critically important to ensuring that financial institutions do their jobs, with the detailed, real-time information available to them, as a first line of defense in identifying and reporting potential human trafficking, as the law expects.”
Elsewhere, Brad Edwards, the attorney representing Epstein’s accusers, called the rulings Monday “a monumental victory for the hundreds of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking scheme and survivors of sexual abuse in general, all of whom can rest easier knowing no individual or institution is above accountability.”
The Epoch Times contacted JPMorgan for comment. Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
Staley has claimed that he was unaware of Epstein’s sex crimes despite maintaining a friendly relationship with him while he worked as a top executive for the bank.
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