JPMorgan Chase speaks to reporters as he exits the Capitol in Washington, May 17, 2023 after a surprise meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after reports of a possible U.S. debt default. CEO Jamie Dimon.
Evelyn Hochsteinreuter
JP Morgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon testified Friday in a New York deposition that he had no involvement in the accounts of longtime customer Jeffrey Epstein, the bank said. .
Dimon was dismissed in a lawsuit, alleging that JP Morgan was funded by money he had deposited with JP Morgan for facilitating and profiting from Epstein’s sex trafficking of young women.
“After the deposition, the CEO of our company, as previously stated, stated that he had never met, never emailed, and had discussed the account internally. I do not remember and reaffirmed that I was not involved in any decisions regarding the account,” the bank said. publicist. “Of the millions of emails and other documents produced in this case, not one suggests that he played any role in the decisions regarding Epstein’s account.”
The spokesperson added, “As I’ve said before, Mr. Epstein’s actions were egregious and we now know that his victims deserve justice. “Any relationship is wrong and we regret it, but this lawsuit was misdirected because we didn’t offer help.” He is committing a heinous crime. ”
Dimon testified under oath at JP Morgan headquarters in Manhattan. The bank has previously been defeated in an effort by plaintiffs, the U.S. Virgin Islands government, and an unnamed Epstein whistleblower to get the lawsuit dismissed.
In the lawsuit, JP Morgan, the largest bank in the United States, learned that Mr. Epstein was under investigation in Florida for sexually abusing underage girls, and in 2008 Mr. Epstein paid for sex in Florida. He claims to have kept him as a client even after pleading guilty to the state charges he paid. minor.
The bank said in a complaint in federal district court in Manhattan that it did so to keep Epstein, who had accounts worth tens of millions of dollars, in custody despite internal concerns over his unpopular reputation. condemned.
According to the Virgin Islands, Epstein frequently withdrew cash from these accounts to pay for young women’s trips to U.S. territories, and used his own private island mansion to protect women and others. Allegedly they were abusing us.
“Human trafficking is [principal] Epstein operated accounts maintained with JP Morgan,” the Virgin Islands lawsuit states.
Dimon’s deposition was closed to the public. The questions he has been asked and the answers he has given will only be made public if they are used in court filings or legal proceedings or if they are leaked.
Also on Friday afternoon, Judge Jed Rakoff will hold a hearing on the whistleblower’s attorney’s request to have her case certified as a class action, adding dozens of potential whistleblowers as plaintiffs. there is a possibility. JP Morgan opposes the request. Mr. Lakoff is expected to issue a ruling on the matter by late June.
In addition to questioning Mr. Dimon under oath, the Virgin Islands subpoenaed a number of prominent figures the government suspects Mr. Epstein sought to recruit as clients of the bank, seeking documents related to Mr. Epstein and JPMorgan. Letters were issued one after another.
They include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, former Disney exec Michael Ovitz, Hyatt Hotels Executive Chairman Thomas Pritzker and billionaire real estate investors Mr. Mort Zuckerman.
Dimon’s deposition will take place over a week later Deutsche Bank agreed to pay Epstein victims $75 million as part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit filed by one of Epstein’s accusers. Deutsche Bank took Epstein on as a client after J.P. Morgan ended its 15-year client relationship with Epstein in 2013.
JPMorgan said Dimon did not scrutinize Epstein’s accounts between 1998 and 2013, when Epstein was a client, the same year the relationship with JPMorgan ended.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison six years later, a month after federal authorities indicted him on charges of trafficking girls for sex.
JP Morgan rebounds
In a related complaint, JPMorgan said that any civil liability arising from Epstein’s conduct was the responsibility of Epstein’s friend and former bank executive Jess Staley, who was the bank’s primary business contact. .
Staley also denies any wrongdoing, but earlier this week he lost a bid to dismiss JP Morgan’s lawsuit seeking, among other things, to recover $80 million in damages from him.
In addition to trying to shift the blame on Mr. Staley, JPMorgan accused the Virgin Islands of being “complicit in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes” in a court filing this week.
Epstein gave money, advice and favors to high-ranking Virgin Islands officials, allowing Virgin Islands officials to turn a blind eye to the trafficking of young women, according to the filing.
In the documents submitted, Epstein Paid school fees for the children of John de Jong and his wife Cecil while John was Governor of the Virgin Islands and while Cecil worked for Epstein and ran a company in the territory. .
Cecil also allegedly worked to secure student visas for young women associated with Epstein, serving as his “major conduit for spreading money and influence throughout the USVI government.”
Washington Post On Friday, Mary Erdoes, head of wealth and asset management at JP Morgan, released details of a previously taken deposition.
After learning of Epstein’s sex offender status following his Florida conviction, Eldeeez wrote an e-mail to another bank executive in 2011, The Washington Post reported. I wrote “so-so” in the email.
“It is at least the sixth time that Erdeeez has been warned of criminal or civil consequences related to Epstein’s sex crimes,” the newspaper said.
