JPMorgan settles with Epstein victims

JPMorgan Chase reached a settlement with victims of Jeffrey Epstein on Monday and agreed to pay $290 million to settle the lawsuit over its ties to the convicted sex offender, according to media reports.

More than 100 women who were victims of Epstein could receive payment, Reuters reported.

The settlement came after months of disclosures that the financial services giant gave Epstein loans while disregarding internal alerts and overlooking warning signs regarding the financier, due to his status as a valuable client.

Despite being arrested in 2006 on charges related to prostitution and having pleaded guilty two years later, Epstein remained a client of JPMorgan from 1998 to 2013, Reuters reported. Epstein died in prison in 2019 after he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.

"We all now understand that Epstein's behavior was monstrous, and we believe this settlement is in the best interest of all parties, especially the survivors, who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of this man," JPMorgan said in a statement on Monday.

Monday's settlement is a result of claims filed last year by an unnamed woman using the pseudonym "Jane Doe 1", who said the bank was aware of and profited from Epstein's sex trafficking activities.

The lawsuit forced JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to provide a deposition to the victim's legal team. It also led the bank to take action by filing a lawsuit against Jes Staley, a former high-ranking executive, for actively facilitating Epstein's connection with the institution and deliberately concealing what he knew about his former friend.

JPMorgan's lawsuit is one of several filed against banks that had maintained a financial relationship with Epstein despite the revelation in 2006 that he was utilizing his wealth to exploit minors and young women.

Last month, Deutsche Bank, where Epstein became a client after he was forced out by JPMorgan in 2013, reached a settlement of $75 million with Epstein's victims in a similar case, NPR reported.