After filing a lawsuit against JPMorgan last December that claimed JP Morgan Chase enabled Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation, the US Virgin Islands have settled with the bank for a whopping $75 million payment and “significant commitments” by JPMorgan Chase to fight human trafficking.
The lawsuit specifically stated that JPMorgan Chase failed to report suspicious financial activity that occurred in Epstein’s accounts and ultimately benefitted financially from the established sex-trafficking operation.
The Epstein case began in 2019 when Jeffery Epstein was arrested on numerous charges of sex trafficking. Shortly after his arrest, Epstein died of an alleged suicide in his jail cell, leaving the rest of his sex-trafficking operation to unravel. His criminal indictment claimed that Epstein had been involved in human trafficking as far back as 2002, paying young girls to sleep with him at his home in the Upper East Side of New York City or at his Palm Beach home. These girls, some as young as 14-years-old, were lured to his homes by employees and associates and sometimes even by other victims.
The case continued to get muddy as Epstein’s activities on his private island in the US Virgin Islands began to be uncovered. The private island, which has seen visitors of all calipers – including previous US presidents and A-list celebrities, has been involved in the human trafficking scandal since Epstein’s arrest in 2019.
JPMorgan Chase released a statement yesterday in regards to the settlement, sharing that the organization “deeply regrets any association” with Jeffery Epstein. The $75 million settlement deal will be split into 3 payments; $30 million will be donated to charities working to end human trafficking and support its survivors, $25 million will go to the US Virgin Islands and be used to enhance infrastructure and law enforcement, and the last $20 million will be used to cover any and all legal fees the US Virgin Islands have faced.