JPMorgan Chase has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit it was facing in connection with the late Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges before dying by suicide while behind bars one month later.
The bank was accused by an unidentified woman last year of both enabling and benefiting from Epstein’s years of abuse. In an initial statement shared Monday morning, JPMorgan Chase confirmed the agreement but did not reveal the amount.
“The parties in Jane Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. have informed the Court that they have reached an agreement in principle to settle the putative class action lawsuit related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, which is subject to court approval,” the statement read.
Reps added that the settlement “is in the best interests of all parties, especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein’s terrible abuse.”
Still ongoing, however, are legal proceedings involving the U.S. Virgin Islands and banker Jes Staley.
Meanwhile, reports from the Wall Street Journal and CNBC both cite sources as saying the agreement centers on a settlement in the amount of $290 million.
In May, Minnesota Senator Tina Smith shared a public letter to current JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon; in it, Smith urged the bank to provide answers regarding its alleged Epstein links.
“According to an April 12 court filing, Epstein was a client at JPMorgan from 1998 to 2013 and maintained upwards of 50 accounts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars,” Smith said in her letter, available here. “This not only granted him access to exclusive banking and wealth management services, but apparently earned him the bank’s discretion.”
Complex has reached out to a rep for JPMorgan Chase. This story may be updated.
The JPMorgan Chase settlement follows word last month that Deutsche Bank had made a similar agreement worth $75 million to settle its own Epstein-related lawsuit.
