Virgin Islands Struggles to Locate Google Co-Founder Larry Page in Jeffrey Epstein Lawsuit

Virgin Islands Struggles to Locate Google Co-Founder Larry Page in Jeffrey Epstein Lawsuit
Google CEO Larry Page speaks at a news conference at the Google offices in New York on May 21, 2012. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)
Bill Pan
5/9/2023
Updated:
5/9/2023
0:00

The U.S. Virgin Islands is looking to subpoena Google co-founder Larry Page as part of its lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase over its role in Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking scheme, but the government is having trouble physically locating him, a federal court filing revealed.

The original lawsuit, filed in December, alleges that JPMorgan Chase “knowingly facilitated, sustained, and concealed” the human trafficking network allegedly operated by Epstein, a registered sex-offender and financier, and “turned a blind eye” to his crimes for more than 10 years “because of the deals and clients that Epstein brought and promised to bring to the bank.”

In a motion filed May 4 at a Manhattan federal court (pdf), the Virgin Islands government said it wants to subpoena Page, the billionaire co-owner of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., because it believes Page was one of those referenced clients.

“Upon information and belief, Larry Page—the co-founder and co-owner of Alphabet Inc.—is a high-net-worth individual who Epstein may have referred or attempted to refer to JPMorgan,” the court documents read.

However, the government is unable to locate Page, despite efforts to figure out his whereabouts.

A previous attempt to serve a subpoena on Page was made on April 11, the government said, adding that it “made good-faith attempts to obtain an address for Larry Page, including hiring an investigative firm to search public records databases for possible addresses.”

“Our process server attempted service at the addresses identified by our investigative firm, but discovered the addresses were not valid for Mr. Page,” the government told the court.

In the meantime, the government is asking the court’s permission to serve a subpoena to Alphabet as an alternative to directly serving Page, who stepped down in 2019 as chief executive but remains actively involved in the company’s business as a board member.

Page’s Island Homes

Page reportedly owns at least four private islands, including two of the U.S. Virgin Islands, named Hans Lollik and Little Hans Lollik. The other two are Eustatia Island of the British Virgin Islands and the Fijian island of Tavarua, where he reportedly spent much of his time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Epstein, whose 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled as a suicide by hanging, left behind two private islands, Little St. James and Great St. James. The two U.S. Virgin Islands were recently sold to a company owned by investment banking billionaire Stephen Deckoff for $60 million, less than half of the $125 million for which they were initially listed.

“Mr. Deckoff plans to develop a state-of-the-art, five-star, world-class luxury 25-room resort that will help bolster tourism, create jobs, and spur economic development in the region, while respecting and preserving the important environment of the islands,” the company, SD Investments, said in a press release.

“I’ve been proud to call the U.S. Virgin Islands home for more than a decade and am tremendously pleased to be able to bring the area a world-class destination befitting its natural grace and beauty,” said Deckoff in the announcement. “There is simply no place in the world as special as the U.S. Virgin Islands and I am humbled by the opportunity to share its splendor with visitors in a manner that will provide economic benefits to the region while respecting its culture, history and natural beauty.”