JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon avoids more questioning over Jeffrey Epstein
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon won’t face a second round of questioning over the bank’s ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a judge on Friday blocked an attempt to reopen depositions.
The US Virgin Islands is seeking damages from JPMorgan for allegedly aiding in Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring by keeping him on as a client and missing red flags about his misconduct on Little St. James, a private island he owned that was the reported headquarters for Epstein’s abuse.
In its latest effort to find the Wall Street investment giant guilty, the Virgin Islands asked for a federal court’s approval to question Dimon, one other current bank employee and one former worker, according to Bloomberg.
However, US District Judge Jed Rakoff denied the request on Friday, the outlet reported.
Dimon gave sworn testimony over his ties to Epstein in a two-day deposition centered around two lawsuits against the bank — one by the Virgin Islands and another by one of Epstein’s victims.
Earlier this week, the bank agreed to pay $290 million to settle the case brought by the victim.
During Dimon’s deposition, which took place May 26-27, the bank boss reportedly maintained that he never had any dealings with Epstein, and didn’t even know the sex offender was a JPMorgan client until his 2019 arrest.
However, his predecessor, former JPMorgan CEO Jes Staley, contradicted the claim, and reportedly was deposed again over the weekend.
Earlier in March, Judge Rakoff ordered JPMorgan to turn over documents linked to Dimon from 2015 to 2019 — the period after the bank dropped Epstein as a client.
Lawyers for the Virgin Islands told Bloomberg that the bank produced a summary of emails between Staley and Epstein that were compiled into a singular document after Epstein died by suicide behind bars in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Staley, who was ousted from his role as Barclays CEO in November 2021, reportedly exchanged around 1,200 emails with Epstein during his time at JPMorgan.
However, that document was produced on May 28 — the day after the first round of depositions, thus prompting the US territory to ask for another round of questioning.
Despite being denied, lawyers for the Virgin Islands told Bloomberg it believes it has enough evidence so far to prove the bank “turned a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking” on Epstein’s property, as stated in the December 2022 complaint.
Dimon, however, has maintained his innocence, including at his deposition when he pointed fingers at ex-JPMorgan boss Staley — who left the big bank in 2013 following a 30-year tenure.
According to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Staley admitted that he and Dimon did, in fact, communicate about Epstein both in 2006, when Epstein was first arrested, and again in 2008, when he pleaded guilty for soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution.
Attorneys for the Virgin Islands don’t believe Dimon is completely off the hook, though, have said they believe he’s “a likely source of relevant and unique information” about why the bank kept servicing Epstein.
They also claim that Dimon may have information about Epstein’s alleged referrals of wealthy clients, and have been issuing subpoenas to the likes of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as well as Elon Musk and Hyatt hotel heir Thomas Pritzker to learn more.
The court documents, originally filed in 2009, claimed JPMorgan “knowingly” ignored red flags about Epstein until 2013 because and profited from his sex-trafficking venture as he brought other wealthy clients to the bank.
JPMorgan cut ties with Epstein in 2013 for being a “high-risk client” over his federal charges for sex-trafficking minors.
However, the bank kept him on after he was being investigated for molesting a 14-year-old girl in 2005 and was first arrested in 2006 for soliciting prostitution.
Internal bank documents later revealed that the convicted pedophile “routinely” made cash withdrawals from his JPMorgan accounts between $40,000 and $80,000, totaling more than $750,000 per year.
