JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to be deposed in lawsuits over former client Epstein

By Lauren del Valle, CNN

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is scheduled to be deposed May 26 and 27 in two civil cases related to the bank’s former client Jeffrey Epstein, the powerful financier accused of child sex trafficking before his death, according to a source familiar with the cases.

A complaint filed last month in New York alleged that JPMorgan Chase executives were aware of numerous sex abuse and trafficking allegations against Epstein, and overlooked them, for several years before the financial institution cut ties with him.

The complaint was part of a lawsuit against the bank filed by the attorney general for the US Virgin Islands (USVI). It added an additional count alleging that JPMorgan obstructed federal law enforcement and prosecuting agencies that were pursuing Epstein.

“JP Morgan’s relationship with Epstein in allowing his sex-trafficking venture to access large sums of cash each year went far beyond a normal (and lawful) banking relationship,” the filing said. At issue is whether the bank can be held liable for profiting from Epstein’s illegal acts.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase confirmed to CNN that the deposition was scheduled for later in the month but declined to provide further comment.

Last month, Dimon sat down with CNN’s Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview and, when asked whether the bank should have acted sooner after Epstein entered a guilty plea to soliciting prostitution with a minor in Florida in 2008, Dimon told Harlow that “hindsight is a fabulous gift.”

Epstein was a client of the financial institution until 2013. He was found dead in a New York federal detention facility in August 2019 at the age of 66.

Epstein was awaiting trial on federal charges accusing him of operating a sex trafficking ring from 2002 to 2005 at his Manhattan mansion and his Palm Beach estate, in which he paid girls as young as 14 for sex.

Dimon is likely to be asked about bank internal email exchanges and documents referenced in the filing, including one in which JPMorgan executive Mary Erdoes “admitted in her deposition that JPMorgan was aware by 2006 that Epstein was accused of paying cash to have underage girls and young women brought to his home.”

In 2010, the company’s risk management division flagged Epstein’s official status as a sex offender.

“See below new allegations of an investigation related to child trafficking — are you still comfortable with this client who is now a registered sex offender,” according to an email in the newly unredacted portions of the court filing.

Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime confidante of Epstein’s who was also a JPMorgan client, was flagged in 2011 by the bank’s anti-money laundering compliance director when she allegedly sought to open an account for a “personal recruitment consulting business.”

“What does she mean by personal recruitment? Are you sure this will have nothing to do with Jeffrey? If you want to proceed, I suggest that we flag this as a High Risk Client,” the director wrote in an internal email.

In March, a federal district judge presiding over the case in Manhattan ruled that the lawsuit against JPMorgan could move forward, partially denying the bank’s motion to dismiss the suit.

– CNN’s Matt Egan contributed to this report

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