JPMorgan settles with victims of Jeffrey Epstein
"Any association with him was a mistake and we regret it," the bank said.
Jun 12, 2023
On Monday, JPMorgan Chase revealed that it had reached a tentative settlement in the class action lawsuit filed against the bank by victims of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The full details of the settlement have not been released, however, a similar lawsuit claiming that Deutsche Bank knowingly benefited from Epstein's illegal activities yielded the victims $75 million.
"The parties in Jane Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. have informed the Court that they have reached an agreement in principle to settle the putative class action lawsuit related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes," the bank wrote in a news release, adding that the agreement was still "subject to court approval."
JPMorgan added, "The parties believe this settlement is in the best interests of all parties, especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein’s terrible abuse."
As CNBC reports, JPMorgan released a separate statement on Monday lamenting its relationship with Epstein, who began banking with them in 1998. The outlet said JPMorgan is set to pay $290 million to the victims.
"Any association with him was a mistake and we regret it," the bank said. "We would never have continued to do business with him if we believed he was using our bank in any way to help commit heinous crimes."
Executives at the bank allegedly met with Epstein multiple times after 2013, despite claiming that they had closed his accounts after he was convicted of being a sex offender.
In a deposition for the case, however, JPMorgan CEO Jaime Dimon denied ever meeting Epstein, or even communicating with him at all.
"At today’s deposition, our CEO repeatedly confirmed that he never met with him, never emailed him, does not recall ever discussing his accounts internally, and was not involved in any decisions about his account," the bank stated.
Litigation between JPMorgan and the US Virgin Islands is still ongoing, with a trial scheduled for October 23. The nation has vowed to hold the bank to account and "prevent [it] from assisting and profiting from human trafficking in the future."
