Sex Trafficking Epstein Cover Up Continues - Virgin Islands Attorney General Loses Her Job Days After Suing JPMorgan Chase in Connection with the Jeffrey Epstein Probe
Sex Trafficking Epstein Cover Up Continues - Virgin Islands Attorney General Loses Her Job Days After Suing JPMorgan Chase in Connection with the Jeffrey Epstein Probe ... JP Morgan turned a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking over more than a decade because of Epstein’s own financial footprint, and because of the deals and clients that Epstein brought and promised to the bank ... by Adam Klasfeld
Jan 2nd, 2023, 11:30 am
The Virgin Islands top prosecutor who reached a more than $105 million settlement with Jeffrey Epstein’s estate lost her job days after suing JPMorgan Chase in connection with her probe.
The federal lawsuit, filed in New York, accused the bank of having “facilitated, sustained, and concealed” Epstein’s human trafficking network. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.590047/gov.uscourts.nysd.590047.36.0.pdf
On Dec. 27, then-Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George filed a blistering and heavily redacted 30-page lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase. https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/jp-morgan-chase-accused-turning-blind-eye-epstein-sex-crimes-lawsuit
“JP Morgan turned a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking over more than a decade because of Epstein’s own financial footprint, and because of the deals and clients that Epstein brought and promised to bring to the bank,” the lawsuit alleged. “These decisions were advocated and approved at the senior levels of JP Morgan, including by the former chief executive of its asset management division and investment bank, whose inappropriate relationship with Epstein should have been evident to the bank. Indeed, it was only after Epstein’s death that JP Morgan belatedly complied with federal banking regulations regarding Epstein’s accounts.”
Epstein victims, who sued anonymously in a pair of class action complaints, previously had accused JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank of “complicity” in the sex trafficking scheme. Though Epstein died in jail before his trial, his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Days after the AG’s filing of the lawsuit — on New Year’s Eve — George was removed from her post. Local news outlets in the Virgin Islands reported that the attorney general had not informed the territory’s Gov. Albert Bryan about her impending enforcement action.
George’s office did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s email requesting comment on Monday, a federally observed holiday.
The development was first reported by The Virgin Islands Consortium, citing anonymous sources. Bryan subsequently confirmed George’s termination — without providing an explanation for it — in a statement sent to multiple news outlet.
“I relieved Denise George of her duties as attorney general this weekend,” Bryan wrote in a statement sent to Law&Crime. “I thank her for her service to the people of the territory during the past four years as attorney general and wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
The governor’s spokesman declined to elaborate, telling Law&Crime: “I am not at liberty to discuss details on personnel matters.”
Bryan reportedly appointed Assistant Attorney General Carol Thomas-Jacobs to serve as acting attorney general. Thomas-Jacobs, who also did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s press inquiry, also worked on the Epstein investigation, court documents show.
George had led the office when Thomas-Jacobs signed her name to a complaint suing Epstein’s estate under the territory’s Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (CICO) enforcement action, the local equivalent of a racketeering lawsuit. That action accused the estate’s executors Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn of acting as Epstein’s “indispensable captains.”
Both denied those allegations and did not concede wrongdoing under the recent settlement, which called upon the estate to keep providing documents for the attorney general’s “ongoing investigation.”
The case that George filed against JPMorgan Chase before her departure has been marked as related to the proposed class action lawsuits filed in the same court against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, currently pending before Senior U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff. Those now-consolidated cases have been scheduled for trial in the Southern District of New York in the summer of 2023.
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Virgin Islands AG fired days after filing suit alleging JPMorgan, Jeffrey Epstein ties; gov responds ... Gov's office says media reports trying to link firing, lawsuit 'not entirely accurate'
By Jessica Chasmar | Fox News www.foxnews.com
The office of U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan is pushing back on media reports that the firing of Attorney General Denise George is somehow related to her recent lawsuit against the nation’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, on its alleged connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
George was reportedly fired Saturday, just four days after she filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court on behalf of the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, alleging that JPMorgan Chase "turned a blind eye" to Epstein’s sex crimes.
The Virgin Island Consortium, which first reported George's firing, cited a person with "knowledge of the matter," who claimed she filed the lawsuit "without first informing Governor Bryan of such a major action," suggesting the two events could be related.
The governor’s communications director, Richard Motta Jr., said the reports are not "entirely" accurate, but he declined to comment further. "The governor relieved Denise George of her duties as attorney general," Motta told Fox News Digital. "I am not at liberty to discuss details on personnel matters. I can only confirm that media reports indicating the JP Morgan lawsuit as the reason are not entirely accurate. I hope you understand."
In her lawsuit, George alleged that JPMorgan Chase violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the Virgin Islands Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and the Virgin Islands Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
"The Attorney General brings this action, after presenting her findings in September 2022, in her ongoing effort to protect public safety and to hold accountable those who facilitated or participated in, directly or indirectly, the trafficking enterprise Epstein helmed," the complaint read. "The investigation revealed that JP Morgan knowingly, negligently, and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which recruiters and victims were paid and was indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise."
George claimed JPMorgan Chase "knowingly" facilitated, sustained and concealed Epstein’s human trafficking network, which he operated from his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and failed to comply with federal banking regulations.
She alleged that the financial institution facilitated and concealed suspicious wire and cash transactions for Epstein’s "criminal enterprise whose currency was the sexual servitude of dozens of women and girls in and beyond the Virgin Islands."
"Upon information and belief, JP Morgan turned a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking over more than a decade because of Epstein’s own financial footprint, and because of the deals and clients that Epstein brought and promised to the bank," the lawsuit read. "These decisions were advocated and approved at the senior levels of JP Morgan, including by the former chief executive of its asset management division and investment bank, whose inappropriate relationship with Epstein should have been evident to the bank."
"Indeed, it was only after Epstein’s death that JP Morgan belatedly complied with federal banking regulations regarding Epstein’s accounts," the lawsuit continued.
George did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
JPMorgan told Benzinga this week that it "ended its relationship with Epstein long before his ongoing misconduct became known."
"Since then, JPMorgan Chase has cooperated with investigations into Epstein and others," the bank said. "JPMorgan Chase’s ongoing commitment to combating money laundering and sex trafficking is unwavering and steadfast."
The bank declined to comment further when reached by Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Two of Epstein's alleged victims filed suit against JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank in November, alleging that the banks turned a blind eye to the late billionaire's sex trafficking. On Saturday, the banks asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuits.
Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Sources for Report
Virgin Islands Attorney General Loses Her Job Days After Suing JPMorgan Chase in Connection with the Jeffrey Epstein Probe
ADAM KLASFELD Jan 2nd, 2023, 11:30 am
Virgin Islands AG fired days after filing suit alleging JPMorgan, Jeffrey Epstein ties; gov responds By Jessica Chasmar | Fox News Published January 3, 2023 1:52pm EST https://www.foxnews.com/politics/virgin-islands-ag-fired-days-filing-suit-alleging-jpmorgan-jeffrey-epstein-ties-gov-responds
