Charges against Jeffery Epstein were announced on July 8, 2019 in New York City. Epstein will be charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors.
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JPMorgan Chase was aware in 2006 of accusations that disgraced former financier Jeffrey Epstein paid to have underaged girls brought to his home, according to the latest allegations in a high-profile legal case.
A filing released Wednesday as part of a lawsuit begun last year by the U.S. Virgin Islands contained fresh revelations about internal discussions at the biggest U.S. bank by assets tied to Epstein, who died by apparent suicide in 2019.
Mary Callahan Erdoes, a veteran JPMorgan executive who became head of the bank’s giant asset and wealth management division in 2009, was recently interviewed under oath in the case.
She “admitted in her deposition that JPMorgan was aware by 2006 that Epstein was accused of paying cash to have underage girls and young women brought to his home,” according to the filing.
Erdoes was referring to accusations gleaned from news reports, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. New York-based JPMorgan declined to comment on the filing.
Concerns about whether JPMorgan should bank Epstein spurred Erdoes to hold meetings with other senior executives, including former investment banking chief Jes Staley and former general counsel Steven Cutler from 2008 onwards, the suit alleged.
The USVI suit claimed that Epstein’s reputation was “so widely known” at the bank that executives joked about it. Erdoes allegedly received an email in 2008 that asked her whether Epstein was attending an event with the singer Miley Cyrus.
Furthermore, JPMorgan compliance staff brought up their concerns repeatedly; in 2010 one official said that Epstein “should go.” In 2011, other staffers discussed news articles connecting Epstein to human trafficking of underaged girls.
“Numerous articles detail various law enforcement agencies investigating Jeffrey Epstein for allegedly participating, directly or indirectly, in child trafficking and molesting underage girls,” according to the suit.
In her deposition, Erdoes testified that JPMorgan dropped Epstein as a client in 2013 after she learned that his withdrawals were for “actual cash,” according to the suit.
But Epstein had made cash withdrawals totaling more than $800,000 in each of 2004 and 2005.
Those withdrawals drew the attention of bank compliance staff in 2006, who noted that he routinely withdrew $40,000 to $80,000 several times per month, according to the suit.
The transactions continued in the years after Epstein’s guilty plea, though JPMorgan accepted his explanation that the money was for fuel and landing fees for his planes, even during years when Epstein was under house arrest, the USVI suit alleged.
See below for the detailed lawsuit from the U.S. Virgin Islands :
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
