JPMorgan Chase & Co. accused the US Virgin Islands of engaging in “gamesmanship” in attempting to file a new claim against the bank for allegedly delaying enforcement action against Jeffrey Epstein.
(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. accused the US Virgin Islands of engaging in “gamesmanship” in attempting to file a new claim against the bank for allegedly delaying enforcement action against Jeffrey Epstein.
In a federal court filing on Tuesday, the bank said the US territory was copying a similar claim made by Jane Doe, a victim of Epstein who’s suing JPMorgan in a separate lawsuit.
“Indeed, USVI waited to piggyback on Doe’s obstruction claim until after the court’s denial of (JPMorgan’s) motion to dismiss that count in Doe,” lawyers for JPMorgan wrote in the filing.
USVI asked the court on Monday for permission to file an amended complaint, accusing JPMorgan of obstructing enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The territory alleged the bank failed to raise red flags about Epstein’s behavior, including cash payments to young women, while he was a customer and that delayed law enforcement uncovering his crimes.
Read More: JPMorgan Bankers Joked About Epstein’s Reputation, USVI Says
The territory asked for permission to file a new complaint including a single additional claim. US District Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed a majority of USVI’s claims against JPMorgan last month, but allowed an allegation the bank knowingly benefited from Epstein’s trafficking venture to proceed.
USVI’s move to add the new claim should be denied, JPMorgan argues, because of the unwarranted delay, the additional burden it places on parties and “its gamesmanship in waiting until after motions to dismiss were fully briefed, argued and decided.”
The US territory, where Epstein had a private island, also failed to allege the bank knew of an ongoing investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking, the bank argued.
Federal prosecutors charged Epstein, who was a client at JPMorgan between 1998 and 2013, with sex trafficking in 2019. He was found dead in his prison cell in Manhattan. Authorities ruled it a suicide.
Doe was the first to file a lawsuit against JPMorgan in November, claiming it facilitated Eptein’s trafficking operation. JPMorgan contends that it merely provided routine banking services to Epstein, while Doe argued that he was afforded special treatment because he brought in wealthy clients.
The banks have long claimed that they didn’t know about Epstein’s crimes. Former JPMorgan executive Jes Staley has emerged as a central figure in the lawsuits, with Doe claiming that he “personally observed” sex-trafficking victims. Both USVI and Doe allege in their suits that any knowledge Staley had should be imputed to JPMorgan as his employer.
The cases are Jane Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-10019 and USVI v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-10904-UA, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.