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JPMorgan Chase to pay $290 million to Jeffrey Epstein victims
https://www.whatjobs.com/news/usa/us-business-news/jpmorgan-chase-to-pay-290-million-to-jeffrey-epstein-victims
By Hugh Fort in US business news, posted November 10, 2023
JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $290 million to the victims of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The banking giant is set to offer compensation to nearly 200 of Epstein's victims.
The victims accused the bank of neglecting warnings about Epstein, a disgraced financier.
READ MORE: JPMorgan Settles Epstein Lawsuits With US Virgin Islands For $75 Million
The initial agreement between JPMorgan and the victims' attorneys was reached in June, preventing a potential civil trial in Manhattan's federal court.
Judge Jed Rakoff finalized the settlement after conducting an afternoon hearing to evaluate the settlement's fairness for the victims.
The settlement marks a significant closure in the Epstein case.
It highlights the role of major banks in facilitating his misconduct for almost two decades.
The deal was supported by 15 anonymous victims through written statements.
One victim revealed she was sexually assaulted by Epstein aged just 13.
She said she continues to struggle with depression, anxiety, panic attacks and eating disorders.
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Attorneys general from 16 states and Washington, D.C., expressed concerns in a letter to the judge about certain terms of the settlement.
They were worried a broad release granted to JPMorgan might hinder states from pursuing their own sex-trafficking claims under a federal law that allows state governments to file civil lawsuits on behalf of sexual abuse victims.
However, Judge Rakoff dismissed these concerns as hypothetical and found no issue with the settlement's terms.
He said: "This case has conveyed a message with this substantial settlement that banks have a duty of responsibility."
Lawsuit alleged JPMorgan Chase ignored red flags over Epstein
This settlement resolves a lawsuit filed last November on behalf of Epstein's victims, alleging JPMorgan ignored multiple red flags of Epstein trafficking teenage girls and young women for sex.
This continued even after his 2008 guilty plea in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
It is one of two civil suits stemming from JPMorgan's interactions with Epstein, who committed suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan federal jail, about a month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges.
In September, the bank agreed to a $75 million settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands over claims of neglecting Epstein's sex-trafficking operation on his private island in the territory.
Both settlements followed embarrassing revelations about JPMorgan's top executives maintaining Epstein as a client despite numerous warnings.
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Judge Rakoff approved a request from Boies Schiller Flexner and Edwards Henderson Lehrman, the law firms that initiated the class-action lawsuit against the bank, to retain 30 percent of the settlement as legal fees.
Additionally, these firms will receive $1.1 million from the settlement funds to cover litigation expenses, as per a court document.
These law firms had previously negotiated a similar 30 percent share of a $75 million settlement with Deutsche Bank, which provided banking services to Epstein after JPMorgan ceased him as a client in 2013.
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