--- alias: - Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. - USVI v. JPMorgan - USVI v. JPMorgan Chase - Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan - Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank category: Law Enforcement & Legal created: 2026-09-25 end: 2023-10-18 location: New York, New York relations: - end: 2023-10-18 fn: 1 reverse: true role: plaintiff start: 2022-12-27 type: participant_in with: '[[Government of the United States Virgin Islands]]' - end: 2023-10-18 fn: 1 reverse: true role: defendant and third-party plaintiff start: 2022-12-27 type: participant_in with: '[[JPMorgan Chase]]' - fn: 1 reverse: true role: presiding judge start: 2022-12-27 type: participant_in with: '[[Jed Rakoff]]' - end: 2023-10-18 fn: 1 reverse: true role: third-party defendant start: 2023-03-08 type: participant_in with: '[[Jes Staley]]' - end: 2023-10-18 fn: 4 reverse: true role: counsel for the Virgin Islands start: 2022-12-27 type: participant_in with: '[[Motley Rice]]' - fn: 7 reverse: true role: counsel for JPMorgan type: participant_in with: '[[WilmerHale]]' - end: 2022-12-31 fn: 2 reverse: true role: Attorney General who filed the suit start: 2022-12-27 type: participant_in with: '[[Denise George]]' - fn: 1 reverse: true role: counsel for the Virgin Islands; Acting Attorney General start: 2022-12-30 type: participant_in with: '[[Carol Thomas-Jacobs]]' start: 2022-12-27 summary: The Virgin Islands' 2022 federal suit accusing JPMorgan of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking, heard by Judge Jed Rakoff with two victims' bank suits and settled in 2023 for 75 million dollars. tags: - Event - FederalCase - JeffreyEpstein - JPMorganChase - VirginIslands - JesStaley - ProjectJeep - SouthernDistrictOfNewYork updated: 2026-09-25 --- Government of the [United States Virgin Islands](/places/us-virgin-islands/) v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR) was a suit filed on December 27, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the [Government of the United States Virgin Islands](/organizations/government-of-the-united-states-virgin-islands/), which alleged that [JPMorgan Chase](/organizations/jpmorgan-chase/) had knowingly facilitated and profited from [Jeffrey Epstein](/people/jeffrey-epstein/)'s sex trafficking while keeping him as a private bank client from 1998 to 2013. Attorney General [Denise George](/people/denise-george/) filed it; Governor [Albert Bryan](/people/albert-bryan/) removed her four days later. Judge [Jed Rakoff](/people/jed-rakoff/) consolidated it for pretrial purposes with two suits by a victim against JPMorgan and [Deutsche Bank](/organizations/deutsche-bank/), and JPMorgan brought a third-party claim against its former executive [Jes Staley](/people/jes-staley/). The bank settled with the territory in September 2023 for 75 million dollars, 20 million of which went to the territory's outside counsel, Motley Rice.[^1][^2][^3][^4] ### Filing and the Removal of the Attorney General The complaint (ECF No. 1) invoked federal question jurisdiction and demanded a jury; its first amended version attached, as Exhibit 1, the Second Amended Complaint in the territory's separate Superior Court suit against Epstein's estate and co-executors, [Darren Indyke](/people/darren-indyke/) and [Richard Kahn](/people/richard-kahn/), which had settled on November 30, 2022 for 105 million dollars in cash and other terms. George had brought that estate case in January 2020. Bryan removed George on December 31, 2022. His office gave no reason and said reports tying the removal to the JPMorgan suit were "not entirely accurate." [Carol Thomas-Jacobs](/people/carol-thomas-jacobs/), who had moved for admission pro hac vice in the case on December 30, became Acting Attorney General effective January 1, 2023, and on January 20, 2023 signed the territory's 62.5 million dollar settlement with the financier [Leon Black](/people/leon-black/). The territory's lawyers of record included Linda Singer and Elizabeth Paige Boggs of Motley Rice.[^1][^2][^5] George told the [Federal Bureau of Investigation](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) in an October 2023 interview, according to agents' notes released in January 2026, that Bryan had asked her in 2019 to waive the territory's 21-day travel-notice rule for Epstein, had told her after Epstein's death, "He's dead go for it," and had later pressed her to settle with the estate for 80 million dollars through a mediator of his choosing. Bryan has said Epstein received no special privilege from his administration.[^6] ### Consolidation and Rulings On December 29, 2022 Rakoff consolidated the case "for all pretrial purposes" with Doe v. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (22-cv-10018) and Doe v. JP Morgan Chase & Co. (22-cv-10019), suits brought by pseudonymous victims, under a single case management plan. On March 8, 2023 JPMorgan filed a third-party complaint against its former executive James Edward Staley, seeking to shift liability for his relationship with Epstein. On March 20, 2023 Rakoff issued a single "bottom-line" order granting in part and denying in part the motions to dismiss in all three cases (ECF No. 90), explained in an opinion of May 1 (ECF No. 130). On April 10 he refused to sever Staley's claims, and on May 2 he admitted [Paul Cassell](/people/paul-cassell/) pro hac vice in the Jane Doe case against JPMorgan. On August 18, 2023 he denied Staley's motion to dismiss "in its entirety" (ECF No. 293).[^1] ### Discovery and Project Jeep In February 2023 Motley Rice sought to subpoena [Leslie Wexner](/people/leslie-wexner/); his Columbus lawyers would not accept service, and the territory moved on February 17 for leave to serve him by certified mail. JPMorgan's chief executive, [Jamie Dimon](/people/jamie-dimon/), was deposed on May 26, 2023; examining him for the territory, Singer objected on the record to "counsel coaching the witness on answers," and Dimon testified that the bank "did not need introductions to anybody."[^7][^8] On May 28, 2023, near the close of discovery, JPMorgan produced a 22-page summary from an internal review, code-named "Project Jeep," begun after Epstein's 2019 arrest. It stated that "Jes Staley appears to have a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, regularly communicating with him and seeking advice from him including while Epstein is incarcerated," and that Epstein "appears to maintain a particularly close relationship with [Prince Andrew](/people/prince-andrew/) the [Duke] of York and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British Government," and "a close relationship with [Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem](/people/sultan-ahmed-bin-sulayem/)." On June 7, 2023 Motley Rice asked Rakoff to reopen depositions, citing the summary's "more than four pages of Epstein referrals to JPMorgan," including Andrew Farkas, [Boris Nikolic](/people/boris-nikolic/), [Bill Gates](/people/bill-gates/) and [Peter Mandelson](/people/peter-mandelson/); emails showing that the former [Bear Stearns](/organizations/bear-stearns/) chairman [Alan Greenberg](/people/alan-greenberg/) had gone to general counsel [Stephen Cutler](/people/stephen-cutler/) "for an exception to the felony policy" for Epstein; and a 2008 email stating that "JPM requires top of the house ok for clients who are convicted felons. (ie PCS Legal to Asset Mgt Legal to Cutler to Jaime Daimnon [sic])." WilmerHale, for JPMorgan, answered on June 9 that "top of the house" meant Cutler, that Dimon did not recognize the name "Project Jeep," and that there was "no evidence that Mr. Greenberg had anything to do with Epstein's accounts at the Private Bank." In August 2023 Rakoff ordered production of records concerning newly identified women Epstein had paid, but denied the request "to compel production of all documents and information concerning 'Project Jeep' or other investigations by JPMorgan that occurred after Epstein's 2019 arrest."[^7][^9] On July 24, 2023 the territory filed its statement of material facts (ECF No. 221), which recorded that in March 2011 the investment bank's general counsel had reported to Cutler a conversation with [Jay Lefkowitz](/people/jay-lefkowitz/), who "represented Epstein in state plea/fed NPA process" and believed "any pre-plea conduct is subsumed within plea/NPA." A June 2023 expert report for the territory, filed as ECF No. 238-31, found that Epstein held "at least 134 accounts" at the bank and cited among its sources Judge [Richard M. Berman](/people/richard-m-berman/)'s August 27, 2019 hearing in United States v. Epstein.[^10][^11] ### Settlement On September 26, 2023, with summary judgment motions pending, JPMorgan agreed to pay the territory 75 million dollars without admitting wrongdoing: 30 million dollars to organizations combating human trafficking, 25 million dollars to strengthen the territory's law enforcement, and 20 million dollars in attorneys' fees. JPMorgan had agreed in June to pay 290 million dollars to settle the Jane Doe class, which Rakoff approved in November. The territory dismissed its claims with prejudice on October 2, 2023 (ECF No. 344, after a deficient filing on September 29), JPMorgan dismissed its claims against Staley on October 6 (ECF No. 345), and Rakoff closed the case on October 18, 2023 (ECF No. 348). On November 22, 2023 he ordered JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank to pay the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program 563,365.51 dollars and 187,788.50 dollars respectively for its costs of complying with their subpoenas. The territory received about 180 million dollars from its Epstein settlements after Motley Rice's fees and, as of January 2026, had not filed the accounting of the money that a 2024 territorial law requires.[^3][^4][^6][^12] ### After Termination On April 4, 2024 six women identified as Jane Doe 1 through Jane Doe 6 moved to intervene and for disclosure of sealed filings for use in a related case, Doe v. USVI (23-cv-10301); the territory opposed, and Rakoff denied the motion on June 28, 2024 (ECF No. 366). On a motion by [The New York Times](/organizations/new-york-times/), he unsealed part of the summary judgment record on July 30, 2024 (ECF No. 367), and on October 24, 2025, on motions by the Times and [The Wall Street Journal](/organizations/the-wall-street-journal/), he ordered further exhibits unsealed, subject to redactions to protect victims' identities, which the parties filed on the public docket on October 31, 2025 (ECF Nos. 381-384). The November 2020 report of the [Justice Department](/organizations/department-of-justice/)'s [Office of Professional Responsibility](/organizations/office-of-professional-responsibility/) on the Florida [non-prosecution agreement](/events/epstein-non-prosecution-agreement/) was also filed as an exhibit in the case.[^1][^13] [^1]: Docket, Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF Nos. 1, 5, 6, 7, 17, 70, 90, 117, 120, 130, 131, 293, 343-348, 351, 358-369, 381-384, CourtListener docket 66683865. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66683865/government-of-the-united-states-virgin-islands-v-jpmorgan-chase-bank-na/ [^2]: "U.S. Virgin Islands fires attorney general in Jeffrey Epstein cases," *PBS NewsHour / Associated Press,* January 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/u-s-virgin-islands-fires-attorney-general-in-jeffrey-epstein-cases ; "Attorney General Denise George Has Been Terminated," *The Virgin Islands Consortium,* December 31, 2022. https://viconsortium.com/vi-government/virgin-islands-attorneygeneral-denise-george-has-been-terminated- [^3]: "JPMorgan Chase settles Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking suit by U.S. Virgin Islands for $75 million," *CNBC,* September 26, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/26/jpmorgan-to-settle-jeffrey-epstein-suit-by-virgin-islands.html [^4]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Court filings show V.I. First Lady's loyalty to Epstein." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* June 21, 2023. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/court-filings-show-v-i-first-ladys-loyalty-to-epstein/article_c2dca0a7-a243-5365-88c0-389c576ad022.html ; "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate Of Jeffrey Epstein And Co-Defendants For Over $105 Million," *U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice,* December 1, 2022. https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/ [^5]: Settlement Agreement and Release between the Government of the United States Virgin Islands and Leon Black, executed January 20, 2023 (as published by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance). https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/usvi_black_settlement_agreement_-_executedpdf.pdf ; Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Darren K. Indyke et al., No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, reproduced as ECF No. 1-1 in No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR. https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/001-01.pdf [^6]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026, reporting four pages of FBI notes of an October 2, 2023 interview with Denise George released January 30, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html [^7]: Deposition of James Dimon, May 26, 2023, Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rQOuhi8KqiM0/v0 ; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808625, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), letter of John J. Butts, WilmerHale, ECF No. 187, June 9, 2023. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808625.pdf [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02806221, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), Declaration in support of motion for alternative service of subpoena upon Leslie Wexner, ECF No. 50-4, February 17, 2023. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02806221.pdf [^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808715, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), letter motion of Motley Rice to Judge Jed S. Rakoff seeking leave to reopen depositions, ECF No. 191, June 7, 2023, pp. 3-5. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808715.pdf ; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02814941, Court Records (same case), Order of Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Dkt. 212, August 2023. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02814941.pdf [^10]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), Plaintiff's Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 221 (filed July 24, 2023), paras. 123-124, 374. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653.221.0.pdf [^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02810827, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), Expert Report of Jorge Amador, Asia Advisors, LLC, June 16, 2023, Document 238-31, n. 53. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02810827.pdf [^12]: "JPMorgan Chase and Epstein survivor Jane Doe 1 reach $290 million settlement," *NPR,* June 12, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/12/1181675580/epstein-jane-doe-1-290-million-settlement-jpmorgan-chase ; "JPMorgan's $290 million settlement with Epstein accusers wins approval by U.S. judge," *CNBC / Reuters,* November 9, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/09/jpmorgans-290-million-settlement-with-epstein-accusers-wins-approval-by-us-judge.html [^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02809635, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), Office of Professional Responsibility report of November 2020 as filed in the case. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02809635.pdf