JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $290 million to settle a class-action lawsuit from Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse victims, according to David Boies, one of the victims’ attorneys.
The victims had accused the bank of enabling sex trafficking by the deceased financier when he was a client.
A joint statement from the nation’s largest bank and attorneys for the victims said they “have informed the court that they have reached an agreement in principle to settle the putative class action lawsuit related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.”
The agreement is subject to court approval. Under terms of the settlement, JPMorgan Chase will not admit liability in the case, but upon the settlement’s approval the bank will put out a statement regretting its association with Epstein, Boies told CNN.
The bank and the victims’ lawyers said the settlement is in the best interests of all parties, “especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein’s terrible abuse,” according to the joint statement.
It’s hard to say how many victims will ultimately benefit from the settlement funds, but more than 100 women are expected to seek compensation. Many women who filed a claim with Epstein’s estate through the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program are likely to be included in the two pending bank settlements, Boies said.
The lawyers representing the victims issued their own statement, calling the settlement “life changing and historic.”
“Money, which for far too long flowed with impunity between Jeffrey Epstein’s global sex trafficking enterprise and Wall Street’s leading banks, is decisively being used for good,” said Sigrid McCawley, managing partner at the firm Boies Schiller Flexner. “The settlements signal that financial institutions have an important role to play in spotting and shutting down sex trafficking.”
“It has taken a long time, too long, but today is a great day for Jeffrey Epstein survivors, and a great day for justice,” said Boies.
Victims of Epstein had previously reached a $75 million settlement with Deutsche Bank. There is expected overlap of victims eligible to file a claim in the settlements with both banks, according to Boies.
Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who is hearing the case, Monday approved a class of eligible victims defined as “all women who were sexually abused or trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein during the time when JP Morgan maintained [accounts] for Epstein and/or Epstein-related entities.” That period runs period runs from January 1, 1998, through August 19, 2013, as well as the subsequent period until his death on August 10, 2019.”
USVI case pending
Litigation is still pending between JPMorgan and the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home.
The bank continues to pursue its case against Jes Staley, a former JPMorgan executive and ex-Barclays CEO who the suit said is largely responsible for JPMorgan’s 15-year financial relationship with Epstein.
“The information and support the US Virgin Islands and its legal team provided to the survivors was enormously valuable, and we recognize the importance of the government’s continued litigation against JPMorgan Chase to prevent future crimes,” Brad Edwards, the victims’ attorney, told CNN in a statement.
A spokesperson for the US Virgin Islands’ attorney general said the office was “gratified” to hear of the US settlement.
“The US Virgin Islands will continue to proceed with its enforcement action to ensure full accountability for JPMorgan’s violations of law and prevent the bank from assisting and profiting from human trafficking in the future,” the spokesperson said, adding that the attorney general’s office “is committed to protecting women and girls who could otherwise become victims going forward.”
Epstein’s crimes
Epstein was arrested in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking minors. He died in prison soon after his arrest in what authorities have ruled to be a suicide.
Epstein faced criminal charges involving sexual misconduct long before his 2019 arrest: He pleaded guilty to two state prostitution charges in 2008 and served just 13 months in prison. And he was released during the day in order to continue to conduct business during that time in prison. He also registered as a sex offender and paid restitution to the victims identified by the FBI.
In an eight-hour deposition in the case last month, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon testified that he had never personally met or spoken over the phone with Epstein, and that he was not aware in real time of bank compliance evaluations of Epstein’s account and his criminal conduct dating back to 2006.
Dimon said he only became aware of the bank’s relationship with Epstein when he saw news stories in 2019 around the time of Epstein’s arrest on federal charges in New York.
“And the reason I remember that is I was surprised that I didn’t know about it before,” he said, according to the transcript.
Lawyers for the victims recently filed to depose Dimon a second time.
— CNN’s Kara Scannell contributed to this report.
