JP Morgan Ordered to Pay $290 Million to Jeffrey Epstein’s Sex Trafficking Victims
The bank has been implicated for ignoring multiple warnings about the late financier’s sex crimes
JP Morgan Chase has been ordered by a federal judge to pay out $290 million to victims of the notorious late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 awaiting charges for child sex trafficking, gained notoriety before his arrest for trafficking underage girls for sex which many believe he shelled out to his rich and powerful associates such as Bill Gates, the United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew, and former President Bill Clinton.
The Manhattan-based financial firm has been implicated by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a private island where he appears to have conducted much of his illicit activities.
The New York Times reported that the settlement “closes an important chapter in the Epstein saga centering on the role of big banks in enabling his conduct to continue for nearly two decades.”
“The money being paid by JPMorgan, the nation’s biggest bank, could provide compensation to nearly 200 victims of Mr. Epstein, according to a legal filing. JPMorgan and lawyers for the victims reached a preliminary settlement in June, averting a potential civil trial in federal court in Manhattan,” the newspaper noted.
The deal received support from fifteen of Epstein’s victims, who were unnamed. One wrote that she was just 13 when first preyed upon by Epstein and suffered severe mental health issues as a result.
Last year, Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted for grooming underage girls to serve as veritable sex slaves to her wealthy and shadowy former paramour.
JPMorgan Chase also previously agreed to pay $75 million in a separate complaint to Epstein victims and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which accused the bank of having “facilitated and sustained” the sex trafficking.
“Far from the so-called ‘ordinary’ banking services JPMorgan claims it provided to Epstein, JPMorgan broke every rule to facilitate Epstein’s sex-trafficking and feed off his wealth and connections,” the previous complaint against the bank alleged.