$290 million. That is what JPMorgan Chase will pay to settle a suit by Jane Doe 1, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes, and other victims. David Boies, the plaintiffs’ attorney, put the figure on the record.
The suit accused the bank of facilitating Epstein’s abuse of dozens of girls and young women. News of the deal broke Monday, the same day a federal judge granted class-action status to the case. The judge said the number of plaintiffs could be “well over 100 people.”
Court approval is still needed, and a hearing is slated for June 26.
What the suit covered
The civil case was filed in November. It covered accounts held by Epstein or his business entities at JPMorgan from Jan. 1, 1998, through Aug. 19, 2013, more than 15 years. According to the suit, Epstein stepped up both his relationship with the bank and his predation in 2000, using large sums of money to lure victims into recruiting other girls and young women.
Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. Southern District in New York had trimmed the case a month earlier, dismissing some of Jane Doe 1’s claims. Four far-reaching claims survived. They accused JPMorgan of negligence, of having “knowingly benefited from participating in a sex-trafficking venture,” and of obstructing enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
The bank had argued it could not have known of the allegations before news reports and criminal charges made them public. Rakoff was not persuaded. “JP Morgan filed multiple suspicious activity reports related to Epstein’s accounts in 2002,” he wrote. He said the evidence suggested the bank “either knew or should have known that Epstein conducted a sex-trafficking venture long before 2006.”
JPMorgan also tried to shrink the class, saying it might hold as few as 32 people abused or trafficked starting in early 2007. Rakoff looked at data from the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program and counted differently once the period reached back to 2002.
Statements
JPMorgan sent NPR a statement. “We all now understand that Epstein’s behavior was monstrous, and we believe this settlement is in the best interest of all parties,” it read. The bank added: “Any association with him was a mistake and we regret it.”
Boies spoke more broadly. “This is a situation in which virtually every institution that is supposed to look out for the weak and the vulnerable failed them,” he said, listing prosecutors, the court system, the legal system and the media.
Sigrid McCawley, another plaintiffs’ attorney, called the JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank agreements “both life-changing and historic for the survivors.” Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million last month in a similar case.
Cases still open
Two matters remain unresolved. One is the suit by the U.S. Virgin Islands against JPMorgan. The other is the bank’s own claim against former executive James Edward “Jes” Staley, whom it accuses of covering up Epstein’s actions. Staley was deposed over the weekend in connection with the Jane Doe 1 and Virgin Islands cases.
A spokesperson for the Virgin Islands attorney general’s office welcomed the settlement but said the office “will continue to proceed with its enforcement action.” Internal JPMorgan emails, the spokesperson said, show “there was more concern inside JPM about Epstein over many years than previously known.”
