In a nearly nine-hour deposition back in March, a JP Morgan executive testified that she was aware of Jeffrey Epstein's status as a sex offender and that he had the potential to harm more victims, but she didn't think it was her job to remove him as a client, The Washington Post reported.
The U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a private island and a mansion, says the bank helped fund Epstein's abuse and child sex trafficking and cites the executive's testimony as proof the bank knew what he was up to years before they severed ties with him in 2013.
“We all now understand that Epstein’s behavior was monstrous, and his victims deserve justice — but these suits are misplaced as we did not help him commit his heinous crimes,” JPMorgan spokeswoman Patricia Wexler said in a statement.
The executive, Mary Erdoes, who heads the bank's asset and wealth management division, said she didn't think it was her responsibility to remove Epstein as a client. Records read during the deposition show Erdoes’s supervisor Jes Staley, who was a close friend of Epstein's, didinvestigate the allegations by asking the billionaire financier about them.
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"Attorneys bringing the lawsuit have sought testimony or documents from a wide array of people who had varying levels of contact with Epstein, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who is scheduled to be deposed Friday," The Post's report stated. "U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. is set to give a deposition on June 6. JPMorgan in a filing Thursday accused government officials on the islands of shielding Epstein from law enforcement officials in exchange for political donations. Attorneys for the U.S. Virgin Islands called the claim 'an obvious attempt to shift blame away from JPMorgan Chase.'"
Attorneys for the Virgin Islands say JPMorgan “knowingly facilitated, sustained, and concealed” Epstein’s human trafficking operation while profiting from deals and clients Epstein brought to the bank.
Read the full report over at The Washington Post.