JPMorgan agrees to settle with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims

JPMorgan Chase on Monday announced that it has reached a settlement in a lawsuit from the victims of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

>> Read more trending news

Late last year, an unnamed Epstein victim proposed a class action lawsuit accusing the financial firm of knowingly benefiting from Epstein’s sex trafficking, Bloomberg reported. Victims accused JPMorgan of giving Epstein loans and allowing him to withdraw large sums of cash from 1998 to 2013 despite knowing about his trafficking, according to The Associated Press.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

“We all now understand that Epstein’s behavior was monstrous, and we believe this settlement is in the best interest of all parties, especially the survivors, who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of this man,” JPMorgan Chase officials said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg. “Any association with him was a mistake and we regret it. We would never have continued to do business with him if we believed he was using our bank in any way to help commit heinous crimes.”

An attorney for the Epstein victim, who was identified only as Jane Doe, told Bloomberg that Monday was “a great day for Jeffrey Epstein survivors, and a great day for justice.”

“Taken together or individually, the historic recoveries from the banks who provided financial services to Jeffrey Epstein speak for themselves,” David Boies said.

Last month, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit from victims of Epstein’s who accused the financial institution of facilitating his sex trafficking ring, The Wall Street Journal reported.

JPMorgan is also facing a lawsuit related to Epstein in the U.S. Virgin Islands, CNN reported. It continues to litigate its case against Jes Staley, a former executive who bank officials said is largely responsible for JPMorgan’s financial relationship with Epstein, according to the news network. Epstein was a client of JPMorgan from 1998 to 2013, Bloomberg reported.

In 2019, authorities arrested Epstein to face allegations that he sexually abused and exploited dozens of girls in Florida and New York. The 66-year-old died later that year in his jail cell as he was awaiting trial. A medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.