JPMorgan agrees to settle with Epstein victim in class action suit
JPMorgan agreed in principle to settle a class action lawsuit with a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, the bank said in a statement Monday.
The settlement resolves one claim against the largest U.S. bank in a proposed class action by women who say Epstein abused them, and by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two neighboring islands and allegedly abused victims in his mansion.
Litigation is still pending between the U.S. Virgin Islands and JPMorgan Chase, as are JPMorgan Chase’s claims against former executive Jes Staley, the bank said.
“The parties believe this settlement is in the best interests of all parties, especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein’s terrible abuse,” JPMorgan said.
The lawsuit had claimed JPMorgan had ignored internal warnings about Epstein’s sexual abuses of girls and young women and chose to keep the disgraced financier as a client.
Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 1998 until he was dismissed in 2013.
JPMorgan kept him aboard even after his 2006 arrest on prostitution-related charges and a related guilty plea two years later.
Epstein died in August 2019 at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. New York City’s medical examiner called Epstein’s death a suicide.
Reuters – Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar