--- alias: - Government of the Virgin Islands - Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands - USVI government - GVI category: U.S. Government created: 2026-09-25 location: Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands relations: - end: 2019-01-07 fn: 7 reverse: true role: governor start: 2015-01-05 type: head_of with: '[[Kenneth Mapp]]' - end: 2023-09 fn: 8 role: Trafficking Victims Protection Act suit, settled for 75 million dollars start: 2022-12-27 type: investigated with: '[[JPMorgan Chase]]' - end: 2023-01 fn: 10 role: potential Epstein-related claims, resolved by a 62.5 million dollar payment type: investigated with: '[[Leon Black]]' summary: The Government of the United States Virgin Islands is the territorial executive that registered and subsidized Jeffrey Epstein for two decades and after his death recovered about 180 million dollars in Epstein-related settlements. tags: - Organization - VirginIslands - JeffreyEpstein - GovernmentCapture - JPMorganChase - SexOffenderRegistration - Litigation updated: 2026-09-25 --- The Government of the [United States](/places/united-states/) Virgin Islands is the executive government of the unincorporated U.S. territory of the [U.S. Virgin Islands](/places/us-virgin-islands/), headed by an elected governor with supervision over all executive departments under the Organic Act. From 1998, when [Jeffrey Epstein](/people/jeffrey-epstein/) bought [Little St. James](/places/little-st-james/), to his death in 2019, its agencies registered him as a sex offender, verified his address, received his travel notices, inspected his construction, and through the [Economic Development Commission](/organizations/economic-development-commission/) granted his companies tax benefits later put at about 300 million dollars, while the wife of one governor managed his office and the next two governors' inaugural committees solicited or received his money. After his death the government, as plaintiff, sued his estate and [JPMorgan Chase](/organizations/jpmorgan-chase/), and with a payment from [Leon Black](/people/leon-black/) recovered about 180 million dollars after legal fees. JPMorgan Chase argued in that litigation that the government itself had shielded Epstein, which the government called an attempt to shift blame.[^1][^2][^3][^4] ### Governors and Attorneys General Three governors held office during and after Epstein's years as a registered sex offender in the territory: [John de Jongh](/people/john-de-jongh/) (2007 to 2015), [Kenneth Mapp](/people/kenneth-mapp/) (2015 to 2019), and [Albert Bryan](/people/albert-bryan/) (from January 7, 2019). Bryan served as de Jongh's Commissioner of Labor from 2007 to 2015 and, in 2013 and 2014, simultaneously chaired the Economic Development Commission. De Jongh's wife, [Cecile de Jongh](/people/cecile-de-jongh/), was office manager of Epstein's territorial companies throughout her husband's two terms. In March 2026 Bryan said the Organic Act gave the governor authority to order any department to act: "I could just tell them do it, you don't do it, you're fired."[^3][^5][^6] The Attorney General heads the Virgin Islands Department of Justice, which kept the territory's sex-offender registry. [Vincent Frazer](/people/vincent-frazer/) allowed Epstein to give 24 hours' notice of travel instead of the usual 21 days; acting Attorney General [Carol Thomas-Jacobs](/people/carol-thomas-jacobs/) rescinded that arrangement in March 2019 after Epstein was detained in the [Dominican Republic](/places/dominican-republic/). [Denise George](/people/denise-george/), appointed by Bryan in 2019, filed the cases against the estate and JPMorgan and was fired on December 31, 2022. She was followed by Thomas-Jacobs, again acting, and by Ariel Smith, who had been Civil Division chief on the estate case. In 2024 Bryan appointed Gordon Rhea, who had represented Epstein's co-executor [Richard Kahn](/people/richard-kahn/) in the estate litigation and said he would recuse himself from Epstein matters.[^3][^4][^7] ### Registration and Monitoring Epstein registered as a sex offender in the territory in 2010 as a Tier 1 offender on the strength of his 2008 [Florida](/places/florida/) conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution, which required annual registration, advance notice of travel, and random address checks. Most of his territorial companies were created in 2011 and 2012, soon after he registered. At his last verification, in July 2018, he refused to let Department of Justice investigators, assisted by U.S. Marshals, go beyond the dock of Little St. James, calling the dock his "front door," and arranged to meet them at his office on [St. Thomas](/places/st-thomas/). His March 19, 2019 notice of a ten-day trip to France omitted travel to Vienna and Monaco. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources found his inspections of unpermitted construction on [Great St. James](/places/great-st-james/) objected to as "invasions" of his constitutional right to privacy in a home he defined as the entire island.[^2] In May 2019 Bryan's nominee for planning commissioner, Jean-Pierre Oriol, said publicly that Epstein was continuing construction on Great St. James despite a stop-work order; Epstein complained to Bryan, who replied "We got u." Following Epstein's July 2019 arrest, George said a civil claim filed in New York was insufficient to open a territorial investigation without a local complaint. Asked in March 2026 about territorial oversight of Epstein, Bryan said, "Are there any victims in the Virgin Islands saying they were abused?"[^5] ### Money and Access The Economic Development Commission granted Epstein's [Financial Trust Company](/organizations/financial-trust-company/) benefits from 1999 and his [Southern Trust Company](/organizations/southern-trust-company/) a ten-year package from February 1, 2013, certified on January 24, 2014 over Bryan's signature as chairman. The territory later estimated that the Southern Trust certificate allowed Epstein to avoid 80,576,236 dollars in taxes; [Economic Development Authority](/organizations/virgin-islands-economic-development-authority/) records put his incentives from 2013 to 2019 at 144.9 million dollars. The commission's general counsel from 2007 to 2014 was Stacey Plaskett, who later became the territory's delegate to Congress and acknowledged receiving about 30,000 dollars in campaign contributions from Epstein and his employees.[^2][^3][^8][^9] The JPMorgan exhibits record Epstein's office handling requests from the governors' political committees. In December 2014 Cecile de Jongh asked him to confirm a 10,000 dollar donation from Southern Trust to the Mapp-Potter inaugural committee; on September 1, 2016 Epstein told her to "prepare a check for mapps super pac. For 75k"; and on December 20, 2018 she relayed a request from the Bryan/Roach inaugural committee for 25,000 dollars. The JPMorgan exhibits do not show whether the Bryan committee was paid. The former senator Celestino White, whom Bryan renominated to the Virgin Islands Port Authority board, had offered to work on Epstein's behalf, including on the purchase of the government-owned Dog Island.[^5][^9] ### Litigation and Recovery On January 15, 2020 George sued the estate in the Superior Court under the territory's Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, naming the co-executors [Darren Indyke](/people/darren-indyke/) and Richard Kahn and Epstein's companies. The case settled on November 30, 2022 for 105 million dollars, half the proceeds of the sale of Little St. James (about 11 million dollars), and 450,000 dollars for remediation on Great St. James; the law firm Motley Rice, retained on contingency, stood to receive more than 23 million dollars. In January 2023 Leon Black paid 62.5 million dollars to resolve potential claims. The government sued JPMorgan on December 27, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge [Jed Rakoff](/people/jed-rakoff/), and the bank settled in September 2023 for 75 million dollars.[^1][^4][^8][^9][^10] JPMorgan's defense was that "the entity that most directly failed to protect public safety and most actively facilitated and benefited from Epstein's continued criminal activity was the plaintiff in this case, the USVI government itself." The government's spokesperson Venetia Velazquez said the bank had "cherry-picked and mischaracterized Epstein's interactions with U.S. Virgin Islands officials" and that "the USVI identified and addressed deficiencies in Southern Trust's and Financial Trust's compliance." In an October 2023 interview with the [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/), George said Bryan had pressed her to grant Epstein a travel-notice waiver in 2019 and later to settle the estate case for 80 million dollars through the attorney [Henry Smock](/people/henry-smock/), saying the estate "just wanted to clear people"; Bryan has said Epstein received no special privilege from his administration.[^3][^5][^8] The government received about 180 million dollars in Epstein-related settlements after Motley Rice's fees. A 2024 territorial law required a full report on how the money was spent; as of January 2026 the Bryan administration had not filed it, and it was unclear how much remained. As of June 2023 the territory had not amended its law to bar registered sex offenders from obtaining economic-development tax benefits.[^3][^9] [^1]: "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/ [^2]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 6, 132 to 137, 157 to 159, and 175, filed as Exhibit 1 to Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022), ECF pp. 3, 28 to 30, 33 to 34, 37. 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 [^3]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html [^4]: "Virgin Islands prosecutor fired after accusing JPMorgan of aiding Epstein's sex trafficking ring." *The Washington Times,* January 3, 2023. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jan/3/virgin-islands-prosecutor-fired-after-accusing-jpm/ [^5]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Bryan unapologetic for texts with Epstein, doubles down on denial of wrongdoing." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* March 3, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bryan-unapologetic-for-texts-with-epstein-doubles-down-on-denial-of-wrongdoing/article_8bab46a1-6075-4c7c-abec-6efb19622e62.html [^6]: "DOJ Drops Charges Against Former Governor De Jongh After $380,000 Settlement." *The Virgin Islands Consortium,* January 22, 2016. https://viconsortium.com/vi-vic_news/doj-drops-charges-against-former-governor-de-jongh-with-prejudice-after-380000-settlement [^7]: "Governor Albert Bryan Jr." Biography submitted to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, hearing of March 24, 2021. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II00/20210324/111384/HHRG-117-II00-Bio-BryanJrA-20210324.pdf [^8]: "V.I. Officials Enabled Epstein to Act With Impunity, JPMorgan Alleges in Latest Salvo." *St. Thomas Source,* June 16, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20240721172424/https://stthomassource.com/content/2023/06/16/v-i-officials-enabled-epstein-to-act-with-impunity-jpmorgan-alleges-in-latest-salvo/ ; "US Virgin Islands sue JPMorgan Chase over handling of Jeffrey Epstein accounts." *JURIST,* December 30, 2022. https://www.jurist.org/news/2022/12/us-virgin-islands-sue-jp-morgan-over-handling-of-jeffery-epstein-accounts/ ; "Attorney general going after Jeffrey Epstein's estate says she was fired for her dogged pursuit." *Fortune,* November 17, 2023. https://fortune.com/2023/11/17/jeffrey-epstein-us-virgin-islands-jpmorgan-attorney-general-investigation-fired/ [^9]: 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 [^10]: "Financier and MoMA Trustee Leon Black Agrees to Pay $62.5 Million to Settle Jeffrey Epstein-Related Claims in the Virgin Islands." *Artnet News,* 2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/leon-black-62-million-settlement-with-virgin-islands-epstein-claims-2341599