JPMorgan Chase has reached a $75 million settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands over a lawsuit accusing the nation’s largest bank of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking enterprise for 15 years, according to statements released by the bank and territory.
The bank said the majority of the settlement — $55 million — will go toward local charities and victim assistance. Meanwhile, the remaining $20 million will cover legal fees.
The bank said the settlement doesn’t ‘involve admissions of liability,’ however it ‘regrets any association with this [Epstein], and would never have continued doing business with him if it believed he was using the bank in any way to commit heinous crimes.’
A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson added, ‘We are pleased that the USVI will use settlement proceeds to enhance the infrastructure and capabilities of their law enforcement to prevent and combat human trafficking and other crimes in their territories.’
The U.S. Virgin Islands said that $10 million from the settlement would create a fund to provide mental health services for Epstein’s survivors.
U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Ariel Smith said: ‘We are proud to have stood alongside the survivors throughout this litigation, and this settlement reflects our continued commitment to them. With this constructive resolution of this groundbreaking litigation, we look forward to helping our community move forward and to building a new relationship with JPMorgan.’
The U.S. Virgin Islands sued the Wall Street giant last year alleging the bank turned a ‘blind eye’ toward Epstein’s conduct and continued to finance him. The settlement comes as the case was set to go to trial in Manhattan federal court in October.
JPMorgan Chase was Epstein’s banker for 15 years, starting in 1998. The bank terminated him as a client in 2013.
In June, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $290 million to settle a similar lawsuit filed by Epstein survivors.
JPMorgan Chase said it also reached a confidential agreement with its former executive Jes Staley to resolve the bank’s claims against him. The financial institution sued Staley in March saying he should be held liable for any financial damages the bank would have to pay from lawsuits related to Epstein.
An attorney for Staley didn’t immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Staley has called the accusations “baseless,” but expressed regret for his relationship with Epstein.
Epstein was convicted of procuring a child for prostitution in 2008. He died by suicide at a Manhattan correctional center in 2019 where he was being held on federal sex-trafficking charges.
