Former Barclays boss Jes Staley is alleged to have abused victims at late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s Virgin Islands retreat, according to a court ruling issued Monday.
The document rejected motions to dismiss complaints claiming JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank were legally liable for their alleged facilitation of Epstein’s sex crimes.
The ruling instead revealed that Staley was alleged to have ‘used aggressive force in his sexual assault of [anonymous victim ‘JPM Jane Doe’] and informed [her] that he had Epstein’s permission to do what he wanted to her’.
Victims claim Epstein agreed to bring valuable clients to JPMorgan in exchange for Staley using his influence with the bank to make Epstein ‘untouchable’.
Staley has been accused of having ‘observed victims personally’ and ‘visited young girls at Epstein’s apartments’, exchanging some 1,200 emails with Epstein from 2008 to 2012, said to have included pictures of young women in ‘seductive’ poses.
James ‘Jes’ Staley headed JPMorgan’s private banking division and started to service Epstein’s account around the year 2000.
Lawsuits brought against JPMorgan allege that Staley had first-hand knowledge of Epstein’s operation – and now claim his direct involvement.
Suits brought by the US Virgin Islands and an accuser of Epstein also allege that JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank knew about and benefitted from Epstein’s sex trafficking.
The Islands’ claim that JPMorgan ‘knowingly benefitted from participating in a sex-trafficking venture’ was not dismissed in a trimming of the suits in March.
Staley, who was head of JPMorgan’s private banking division from 2000 to 2009, advised Epstein and has acknowledged to having a mutual and a close professional connection.
District Court judge Jed Rakoff said in Monday’s ruling that JPMorgan Chase Bank could be accountable to women who implicated Epstein of abuse if they can demonstrate that Staley had first-hand knowledge that Epstein ran a sex-trafficking enterprise.
The lender has challenged that the cases have no value and that Staley is responsible for the relationship with Epstein.
It was reported in March that JPMorgan would sue Staley to make him liable for penalties faced in relation to the bank purportedly assisting Epstein.
Staley has hit out at his former employer, claiming it to be diverting blame from his own deficiency in working with Epstein.
He stated he was being utilized as a ‘public relations shield’.
The opinion published on Monday 1 May summarized allegations that Staley knew about the venture.
It noted that plaintiff states that said Staley had nurtured a close friendship with Epstein.
Staley allegedly ignored red flags as Epstein expanded the enterprise to ‘sexually abuse and traffic countless young women’.
The document also notes that ‘the complaints do not support the allegation that either JP Morgan or Deutsche Bank acted with the specific intent of benefiting from a sex-trafficking venture’, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims for attempting to violate the TPVA.
The suits against the banks allege that they allowed Epstein to withdraw cash to pay women involved in his trafficking ring and that they failed to conduct due diligence in reporting.
Palm Beach police started investigating the billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 over allegations he had sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl.
Epstein pleaded guilty and was found guilty in 2008 of acquiring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.
Over the next decade, a number of suspected victims came forward, alleging that Epstein had assaulted them.
Epstein was arrested again in New York in 2019 on sex trafficking charges dating back to the early 2000s.
Federal court documents claimed that federal agents who had searched his mansion unveiled a ‘vast trove of lewd photographs’ of young-looking girls.
Prosecutors pushed for a trial no earlier than summer 2020, but Epstein died in his jail cell on 10 August 2019
WATCH 🚨
Tucker Carlson says that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered and Attorney General Bill Barr shut down the investigation.
“A friend of mine was one of the last people to talk with Epstein the day he was killed. He had a bail hearing in two days. He thought he was getting out.” pic.twitter.com/eDGLsCX8YY
— Alexander Sheppard 🇺🇸 (@NotAlexSheppard) May 2, 2023
Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley exchanged over 1,200 emails with Jeffrey Epstein. Some terms in the emails included the word "snow white". Staley has been reported to visit Epstein's island in the past. Staley quit Barclays the day the Ghislaine Maxwell trial started.
— redpillbot (@redpillb0t) May 3, 2023
NEW 🚨 Judge says JPMorgan could be liable for Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking if former exec Jes Staley knew about it – Reuters
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) May 2, 2023