JPMorgan: The US Virgin Islands helped Jeffrey Epstein

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Lawyers for the bank said in the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court that the U.S. government was complicit in allowing senior officials to be bought out by Epstein and actively working with him while “profiting from his wealth.”

“He gave them money, advice, influence and favors. In return, they protected him and even rewarded him,” they wrote, by giving him millions of dollars worth of lucrative tax breaks.

Most worrying, they said, is that the islands’ officials “protected Epstein and created the perfect conditions for Epstein’s criminal behavior to continue undetected.”

The attorneys added, “For two decades, and well after JPMC left Epstein as a client, the company in this case has most directly failed to protect public safety and has been the most active in supporting Epstein’s ongoing criminal activities and.” benefited the plaintiff – the USVI. Government itself.”

The Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned an estate, filed a lawsuit JP Morgan Last year, it said the investigation found that the financial services giant enabled Epstein’s recruiters to pay victims and that he was “essential to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trading company.”

In their filing filed on Tuesday, lawyers for the bank said US Virgin Islands officials looked the other way when Epstein walked through airports with girls and young women making generous donations to political campaigns. Lawyers said officers were lenient with the requirement to register him as a sex offender and conducted inspections of his home that were “perfunctory at best.”

“In summary, in return for Epstein’s money and gifts, USVI made his life easier,” the attorneys said. “The government has eased all the burdens stemming from his sex offender status. And it made sure nobody asked too many questions about his transportation and housing young girls on his island.”

Portions of the file have been heavily edited. It asked Judge Jed Rakoff to dismiss the islands’ attempts to prevent the bank from taking defense actions in court that would expose the islands’ role in Epstein’s deals.

The attorneys wrote that “alleged damages must be weighed against the significant benefits that USVI has reaped from aiding and abetting Epstein’s crimes.”

US Virgin Islands attorneys did not respond to email messages seeking comment.

Epstein was 66 when he took his own life in August 2019 in a federal prison in Manhattan, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually abusing dozens of girls, some as young as 14.