A string of interconnected lawsuits is raging in Federal Court in New York, dealing with the relationship between the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the largest bank in America, JPMorgan Chase.
The bank settled a $290M lawsuit by an Epstein sex trafficking victim – a woman called only Jane Doe in the court records – and is still fighting a similar suit brought by the government of the Virgin Islands.
At the center of both of these lawsuits lies Jes Staley, who spent more than 30 years at JPMorgan, and became CEO of the asset-management and investment-banking divisions.
The discovery in the two lawsuits revealed a deep relationship between Staley and Epstein, and a court document shows that Jane Doe accused him of raping her in Epstein house.
All that led to JPMorgan suing his former executive, trying to make him liable for the monetary losses they incurred or may be yet to incur.
So, now, Staley will have a chance to cross examine Jane Doe in a suit where he haven’t even been named as defendant.
Bloomberg reported:
“Lawyers for Jes Staley can question the Jeffrey Epstein victim who said she was sexually assaulted by the former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive in her class action suit against the bank.
In an order made public on Wednesday, US District Judge Jed Rakoff in New York ruled that the deposition of the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, would take place in person this month in the city where she now lives. Doe had previously expressed fear of facing “intrusive” questioning and demands for evidence by Staley.”
JPMorgan insists Staley withheld information about his relationship with Epstein, and acted in order to help JPMorgan retain him as a client.
“Doe didn’t name Staley as a defendant in her suit, but she identified him as a key figure in the bank’s relationship with Epstein. Separately, she said in her suit that an unidentified “powerful financial executive” assaulted her in Epstein’s mansion. JPMorgan said in its suit against Staley that it believed he was the executive.
In an April court filing, Doe confirmed that Staley was the executive who allegedly assaulted her but accused JPMorgan of trying to intimidate her by identifying him and bringing him into the case.”
In the similar lawsuit in which the bank is defending itself against the US Virgin Islands, the allegations ar also heavily focused on Staley’s relationship with Epstein.
NY Magazine reported:
“Virgin Islands’ prosecutors, who have subpoena power, have uncovered bleak revelations about the lengths to which Staley and the bank had supported Epstein. Staley called his friendship with Epstein “profound,” having visited him personally in Florida, at the private island, and in prison.
[…] Among the 1,200 emails they exchanged are ones that discuss women code-named for Disney princesses — “Snow White” and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ are discussed. In another, Staley replied ‘Yep’ to a question from Epstein about whether he would need anything during a visit. After that, Epstein wired $3,000 to a woman with an Eastern European name; according to the Virgin Islands’ suit, Epstein had trafficked many women from Eastern Europe after 2008.”
New York Post reported:
“’That was fun’, Staley allegedly wrote to Epstein, ‘Say hi to Snow White.
‘What character would you like next?’ Epstein allegedly responded. “Beauty and the Beast,” Staley shot back.”
The revelation by Jane Doe was part of a ruling issued by US District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff, allowing specific claims against Epstein’s estate to move forward.
“US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff wrote, ‘The claim of plaintiff the Government of the United States Virgin Islands that defendant JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. knowingly benefited from participating in a sex-trafficking venture remains as part of the case’.”
Staley has denied all the bank’s allegations, saying he was not responsible for Epstein’s accounts at the bank. He has also denied assaulting Doe, calling the claim ‘slanderous’.
Read more about Jes Staley and JPMorgan:
