New York federal judge warns JPMorgan CNBC has learned that the bank could be found in contempt of court if it does not expedite evidence related to the late sex offender and money manager Jeffrey Epstein in a lawsuit by Epstein’s accuser and the U.S. Virgin Islands government .
Judge Jed Rakoff recommended in a notice that JPMorgan and the two firms law The firm representing the bank has been slow to turn over documents and other evidence to plaintiffs in the case, a process known as discovery, according to a source familiar with the notice.
Two weeks ago, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was due to be questioned under oath by lawyers for plaintiffs in a civil suit alleging his bank facilitated and benefited from Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking of young women.
“The court also wishes to note that it was concerned that JPMorgan had not acted more expeditiously to provide a response document,” Rakoff wrote in the notice, which has not yet appeared on the public docket of the U.S. District Court case in Manhattan.
“While the court appreciates the extensive discovery that will be accomplished in this case, a firm as large as JPMorgan and experienced attorneys as WilmerHale and Massey & Gail should be able to act more quickly than this incident reveals, ’ the judge wrote, referring to the bank’s two law firms.
“As a result, JPMorgan was informed that further action was required or it would face contempt of court,” Rakoff wrote.
A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment on the notice.
Jeffrey Epstein attends Radar Magazine’s launch event at the QT Hotel on May 18, 2005.
Patrick McMullen | Getty Images
Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 by suicide shortly after his arrest on federal child sex trafficking charges, was a longtime client of the bank until 2013.
The bank allowed Epstein to keep his money despite evidence Epstein was using millions of dollars he deposited to help him traffic girls and young women to his private islands in the Virgin Islands and elsewhere, the lawsuit said. customer identity.
Five years before JPMorgan ended its client relationship with Epstein, he pleaded guilty in a Florida court to soliciting sex from an underage girl and was sentenced to 13 months in prison.
Before his conviction, Epstein was a friend of former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Britain’s Prince Andrew.
JPMorgan, which has denied any wrongdoing, said in its own civil suit that former bank executive Jes Staley would be legally liable for any liability arising from his relationship with Epstein.
Staley, who spent 30 years at JPMorgan, maintained a close relationship with Epstein — whom he considers a friend — during the years he was a client.
“Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Staley had firsthand knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking activities,” Rakoff noted in a court decision released in early May.
“Mr. Staley allegedly visited Epstein’s residence on several occasions while the operation was ongoing and, during those visits, observed (the Epstein plaintiff suing J.P. Morgan) ‘as a victim of sex trafficking and abuse. ’,” Rakoff pointed out.
“Plaintiffs further allege that Mr. Staley himself abused some of Epstein’s victims, including” the women who sued the bank, the judge wrote. The woman claimed that “‘a friend of Epstein’ – who she later identified as Mr. Staley – used violence when he sexually assaulted her and informed[her]that he had Epstein’s permission to do to her what he wants.’” “
In his own court filing, Staley called the allegations against him “baseless” and he denied knowing about Epstein’s sex trafficking.
Staley resigned as chief executive of British banking giant Barclays in late 2021 after British regulators investigated how he described his relationship with Epstein and Barclays.
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