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Newly released court documents allege former JP Morgan executive Jes Staley was personally involved in a series of crimes tied to deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, actively engaging in a number of his alleged crimes against young women at his Caribbean island compound frequented by Epstein's rich and connected clients.
The revelations, unveiled for the first time Monday, come as part of a broader inquiry into a judge's decision to advance claims alleging that major financial firms doing business with Epstein like JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank knowingly profited from Epstein's sex trafficking scheme, allowing him to pump millions of dollars into a venture that top executives knew was illegal.
JP Morgan, the original complaint alleges, was Epstein's principal bank at the time, and abetted in his crimes by allowing him to withdraw large amounts of cash to fund the operation in a way that wouldn't raise suspicion. And Staley, who once advised Epstein as head of JP Morgan's private banking division, allegedly witnessed Epstein abusing an underage girl and had personally traveled to Epstein's private island in the Caribbean as early as 2009.
In a 54-page ruling issued May 1, U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff alleged Staley was personally involved in the abuse of "some" of Epstein's victims living on the island, even receiving a "sexually suggestive" photograph from the reclusive millionaire of a young woman victimized by his human trafficking ring.
On several occasions, evidence suggested Epstein had sent Staley images of young women in suggestive poses, while officials with the U.S. Virgin Islands assert in their own filings that it possesses email correspondence between Epstein and Staley that suggests—albeit cryptically—that Staley had sexual encounters with women on the island while visiting Epstein. And Epstein, the original complaint alleges, profited greatly in the process.
"Staley was the key to making all of Epstein's depraved dreams of sexual abuse and sex trafficking of countless young women possible," the initial complaint alleges. "With his help, the number of victims of the Epstein sex trafficking operation began to grow on a vertical trajectory beginning in 2000."
According to the suit, Epstein agreed to bring many ultra-high wealth clients to JP Morgan while, in exchange, Staley would use his clout within JP Morgan to make Epstein "untouchable," the suit alleged, ignoring any alleged red flags and ultimately allowing him the ability to run and grow what the lawsuit described as an obvious operation to "sexually abuse and traffic countless young women."
Staley himself, Rakoff suggested, was an active participant. According to one of the women involved in the suit, Staley "used aggressive force in his sexual assault of her," informing the woman that he had Epstein's permission to "do what he wanted to her."
Both JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank have not contested throughout the proceedings that either company received fees and other revenue from providing services to Epstein and his affiliated entities. However, both have claimed in their motions to dismiss the case there was no explicit connection between the money they received from Epstein's financial activities and the crimes he used that money to commit.
However, Staley's actions as a top executive were enough for Rakoff to continue his court's inquiry into whether either bank personally knew of the nature of Epstein's business and what the illegal activity they were allegedly funding was.
"If the allegations in plaintiffs' complaints are taken as true, Mr. Staley had actual first-hand knowledge that Epstein conducted a sex-trafficking venture," Rakoff wrote. "In fact, JPM Jane Doe alleges that Mr. Staley observed her specifically 'as a sexual trafficking and abuse victim.' Through attribution of Mr. Staley's alleged knowledge to JP Morgan, the complaints might well support an allegation that JP Morgan actually knew that Jeffrey Epstein ran a sex-trafficking venture. At the very least, they sufficiently support plaintiffs' allegation that JP Morgan recklessly disregarded the existence of such a venture."
Representatives for JP Morgan declined to comment.
About the writer
Nick Reynolds is a senior politics reporter at Newsweek. A native of Central New York, he previously worked as a ... Read more