JPMorgan says former Virgin Islands first lady aided Epstein
BY JULIA SHAPERO - 06/16/23 11:47 AM ET
JPMorgan Chase is accusing the former first lady of the U.S. Virgin Islands of aiding Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.
In a filing submitted Wednesday in the ongoing lawsuit between the bank and the territory, the company alleged that former Virgin Islands first lady Cecile de Jongh, who managed Epstein’s companies based in the U.S. territory, helped facilitate visas and employment for several of his victims and, more generally, served as his “primary conduit for spreading money and influence” in the Virgin Islands.
De Jongh also allegedly consulted Epstein on legislation related to sex offenders in the territory, and Epstein reportedly paid for the tuition of her and former Virgin Islands Gov. John de Jongh Jr.’s children, the court filing claimed. De Jongh served as governor of the territory from 2007 to 2015.
The filing comes in the Virgin Islands’ lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, which accused the company of facilitating the convicted sex offender’s crimes by continuing to provide him access to his bank accounts despite “obvious red flags.”
JPMorgan settled a separate case with Epstein’s victims for $290 million Monday, noting in a statement that the company regrets its association with him.
“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,” the company said.
However, JPMorgan has denied wrongdoing with respect to Epstein. In Wednesday’s filing, the company turned the accusations back on the government of the Virgin Islands, claiming it facilitated Epstein’s crimes.
“For two decades, and for long after [JPMorgan Chase] exited Epstein as a client, the entity that most directly failed to protect public safety and most actively facilitated and benefited from Epstein’s continued criminal activity was the plaintiff in this case—the [U.S. Virgin Islands] government itself,” the company said.
Cecile de Jongh allegedly arranged for three women to obtain student visas by helping enroll them at the University of the Virgin Islands, which would ultimately receive a $20,000 donation from one of Epstein’s companies that year, JPMorgan said in the filing.
The company also accused the former first lady of sending Epstein draft language for an updated sex offender monitoring law in the territory and asking for his input.
“This is the suggested language; will it work for you?” de Jongh said in a message to Epstein in May 2011, according to the filing.
Epstein, who had previously been designated a registered sex offender, was eventually arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died by suicide in his jail cell several months later.
JPMorgan Chase is accusing the former first lady of the U.S. Virgin Islands of aiding Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.
In a filing submitted Wednesday in the ongoing lawsuit between the bank and the territory, the company alleged that former Virgin Islands first lady Cecile de Jongh, who managed Epstein’s companies based in the U.S. territory, helped facilitate visas and employment for several of his victims and, more generally, served as his “primary conduit for spreading money and influence” in the Virgin Islands.
De Jongh also allegedly consulted Epstein on legislation related to sex offenders in the territory, and Epstein reportedly paid for the tuition of her and former Virgin Islands Gov. John de Jongh Jr.’s children, the court filing claimed. De Jongh served as governor of the territory from 2007 to 2015.
The filing comes in the Virgin Islands’ lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, which accused the company of facilitating the convicted sex offender’s crimes by continuing to provide him access to his bank accounts despite “obvious red flags.”
JPMorgan settled a separate case with Epstein’s victims for $290 million Monday, noting in a statement that the company regrets its association with him.
“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,” the company said.
However, JPMorgan has denied wrongdoing with respect to Epstein. In Wednesday’s filing, the company turned the accusations back on the government of the Virgin Islands, claiming it facilitated Epstein’s crimes.
“For two decades, and for long after [JPMorgan Chase] exited Epstein as a client, the entity that most directly failed to protect public safety and most actively facilitated and benefited from Epstein’s continued criminal activity was the plaintiff in this case—the [U.S. Virgin Islands] government itself,” the company said.
Cecile de Jongh allegedly arranged for three women to obtain student visas by helping enroll them at the University of the Virgin Islands, which would ultimately receive a $20,000 donation from one of Epstein’s companies that year, JPMorgan said in the filing.
The company also accused the former first lady of sending Epstein draft language for an updated sex offender monitoring law in the territory and asking for his input.
“This is the suggested language; will it work for you?” de Jongh said in a message to Epstein in May 2011, according to the filing.
Epstein, who had previously been designated a registered sex offender, was eventually arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died by suicide in his jail cell several months later.
A spokesperson for the Virgin Islands attorney general responded to the allegations, claiming that JPMorgan “cherry-picked and mischaracterized” Epstein’s interactions with officials in an effort to “distract and shift blame away” from its own role in Epstein’s crimes.
“JPMorgan Chase seeks to attack the people of the Virgin Islands for not discovering the very information that bank executives refused to share,” spokesperson Venetia Velazquez said in a statement. “JPMorgan Chase had a legal responsibility to report the evidence in its possession of Epstein’s human trafficking, it failed to do so, and it should be held accountable for violating the law.”
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