JPMorgan’s Epstein Settlement: $290M for Victims, $75M for USVI

JPMorgan Chase paid $365 million in 2023 to resolve two lawsuits tied to Jeffrey Epstein: a $290 million class-action settlement with women Epstein sexually abused and trafficked, and a separate $75 million settlement with the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The JPMorgan Epstein settlement stands as one of the largest sex-trafficking-related payouts by a U.S. bank. JPMorgan admitted no wrongdoing in either deal.¹²

The $290 Million Class Action for Epstein’s Victims

The victims’ case, Doe 1 v. JP Morgan Chase & Co., was filed on November 24, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge Jed Rakoff. The lead plaintiff, identified as “Jane Doe 1,” brought claims under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act and RICO on behalf of women Epstein abused while JPMorgan handled his banking.³⁴

JPMorgan agreed in principle to the $290 million figure on June 12, 2023. The class covered women Epstein sexually abused between 1998 and 2019, roughly spanning his time as a JPMorgan client and the years after. Nearly 200 women were estimated to be potentially eligible.¹⁵⁶

There was no set minimum or maximum per-person payout. A court-appointed claims administrator handled disbursements through a process described as trauma-informed and confidential. Victims who had already received money from the Epstein estate’s restitution fund were still eligible to claim.⁵

Objections and Final Approval

The attorneys general of 16 states and Washington, D.C., objected to a release clause barring “any sovereign or government” from seeking damages arising from Epstein’s trafficking, arguing it could limit state claims under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.⁷

Judge Rakoff overruled the objections at the final approval hearing on November 9, 2023, calling the concern “a hypothetical one.” He said, “in my 27 years on the bench, I have not seen such a good settlement arrive in such a short order, of a case of similar complexity.” The court approved a 30% attorneys’ fee award of $87 million, and the case was terminated on November 13, 2023.⁶⁸³

The $75 Million U.S. Virgin Islands Settlement

The U.S. Virgin Islands government sued JPMorgan separately, alleging the bank was “indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise.” The territory sought at least $190 million, arguing JPMorgan enabled Epstein’s recruiters to pay victims, failed to report red flags to regulators, and tolerated large, repeated cash withdrawals.⁹

On September 26, 2023, weeks before trial, JPMorgan agreed to pay $75 million. The money was allocated roughly as follows:

$30 million for local charities serving victims of sex crimes and domestic abuse
$25 million to strengthen law enforcement efforts against sex trafficking and other crimes
$10 million for a fund providing mental health services to Epstein’s survivors
$10 million in attorneys’ fees¹⁰⁹

JPMorgan also agreed to put in place policies to detect and report potential human trafficking and to cut off clients suspected of trafficking or other illegal conduct.¹¹

Why JPMorgan Paid: What the Bank Knew

Epstein was a client of JPMorgan’s private banking division from 1998 through 2013. Over those 15 years the bank processed more than $1 billion in transactions through his accounts, which peaked above $200 million. Internally he was valued for steering high-net-worth clients to the bank, including Google co-founder Sergei Brin.¹²

Warning signs came early and often. Suspicious activity reports were filed inside the bank in 2002. By 2004 and 2005, Epstein was pulling more than $1.7 million in cash. Compliance staff flagged routine withdrawals of $40,000 to $80,000 several times a month, reaching $750,000 in 2006 and nearly $1.75 million by 2008.¹¹³¹²

Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting sex from a minor. JPMorgan kept him on for five more years. A 2009 review of wealthy clients recommended dropping him over “unacceptable legal and reputational risks.” Compliance concerns were overridden by bank leadership on at least four occasions across a five-year stretch. The bank also opened accounts for young women at Epstein’s request, and Epstein used JPMorgan accounts to move payments to victims.¹⁴¹²

JPMorgan ended the relationship in 2013 on the finding that Epstein posed an “unacceptable risk of money laundering and human trafficking.” Even so, the bank did not file suspicious activity reports about him with the U.S. Treasury until 2019, after his federal arrest.¹³

The Executives Named in the Case

Jes Staley, who ran JPMorgan’s corporate and investment banking division until 2013, was described in the litigation as one of the biggest advocates for keeping Epstein. JPMorgan’s own third-party complaint alleged Staley was a close personal friend of Epstein, personally observed sex trafficking victims, visited young girls at Epstein’s apartments, used his influence to make Epstein “untouchable” inside the bank, and personally sexually assaulted one of Epstein’s victims. Staley denied knowing about Epstein’s sex crimes and said he had no decision-making authority over the accounts. He reached a confidential settlement with JPMorgan in September 2023.¹⁰¹⁵¹⁶

Mary Callahan Erdoes, head of JPMorgan’s asset and wealth management unit, intervened to keep Epstein as a client because of the new business he brought in, according to six former senior executives and employees. In a deposition Erdoes acknowledged she knew Epstein was a registered sex offender but said removing him was not her responsibility. A 2012 email from another executive referenced Epstein’s residence and “nymphettes”; Erdoes replied, “Wow.”¹⁴¹⁷¹⁸

Former general counsel Steve Cutler wrote in a 2011 email: “This is not an honorable person in any way. He should not be a client.” Cutler testified he did not raise the matter with CEO Jamie Dimon because he lacked evidence the accounts were funding crimes. Dimon testified in deposition that he had never heard of Epstein until news stories broke in 2019.¹⁹¹⁸

What Has Come Out Since the Settlements

In October 2025, Judge Rakoff ordered the unsealing of financial records from the Virgin Islands case, including suspicious activity reports JPMorgan had filed with the Treasury. Those filings showed the bank had flagged roughly 4,700 transactions worth more than $1 billion as potentially tied to human trafficking involving Epstein.²⁰

The 2019 SAR named prominent figures whose transactions ran through Epstein-linked accounts, including Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black, hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and trusts controlled by retail tycoon Leslie Wexner. Among the details: $65 million in wire transfers from the mid-2000s moving between banks tied to Wexner’s trusts. The report also flagged transfers to Russian banks and noted “sensitivities” around Epstein’s “relationships with two U.S. presidents,” identified as Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. None of the individuals named has been charged with crimes in connection with Epstein.²¹²⁰

A JPMorgan spokesperson said the documents showed the bank “filed SARs about Epstein early on, and specifically when it exited Epstein from the bank in 2013 — and repeatedly between 2013 and 2019,” and that “it does not appear that anyone in the government or law enforcement acted on those SARs for years.”²¹

The Senate Finance Committee has investigated JPMorgan’s Epstein relationship since 2022 under Ranking Member Ron Wyden. In November 2025, Democratic staff released an 18-page memorandum alleging that the bank had flagged only $4.3 million in suspicious activity before 2019, then filed retroactive reports covering about $1.3 billion in transactions dating back to 2003 after Epstein’s death. The memo also alleged that JPMorgan private bankers withheld information from compliance and that Epstein sat in an elite internal client group called the “Wall of Cash.” Wyden called for a criminal investigation, saying decisions likely reached “the very top of the executive suite.” The committee has also been seeking an internal JPMorgan review known as “Project Jeep,” conducted after Epstein’s 2019 arrest, whose findings have not been made public.²²¹³

Related Bank and Individual Settlements

JPMorgan’s payouts sit alongside others tied to Epstein. Deutsche Bank, which took Epstein on after JPMorgan dropped him in 2013 and kept him until 2018, agreed in May 2023 to pay $75 million to settle a class action from victims. Unlike JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank acknowledged its “mistake in taking on Epstein as a client” and cited “shortcomings” in its processes. Individual payouts from that fund ranged from $75,000 to $5 million.²³⁵

In March 2026, Bank of America agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a class action alleging it ignored suspicious transactions and knowingly benefited from Epstein’s trafficking. That deal, pending final approval by Judge Rakoff with a hearing set for August 2026, covers women abused or trafficked between June 2008 and July 2019, with lawyers estimating 60 to 75 eligible victims.²⁴

Leon Black paid the U.S. Virgin Islands $62.5 million in January 2023 in exchange for a release from potential Epstein-related claims. Black had paid Epstein about $170 million for what he described as tax and estate planning advice, and the USVI settlement acknowledged that “Jeffrey Epstein used the money Black paid him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands.” Black did not admit liability.²⁵²⁶

1
CNBC. JPMorgan Reaches Settlement With Epstein Victim in Lawsuit
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The Guardian. JPMorgan Jeffrey Epstein Lawsuit Settlement US Virgin Islands
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CourtListener. Doe 1 v. JP Morgan Chase & Co.
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CNBC. JPMorgan’s $290 Million Settlement With Epstein Accusers Wins Approval
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The New York Times. JPMorgan Jeffrey Epstein Settlement Details
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The New York Times. Jeffrey Epstein Settlement Approved
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Reuters. JPMorgan Settlement With Epstein Accusers Draws Objection From U.S. States
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Boies Schiller Flexner. U.S. District Judge Grants Final Settlement Approval for Jeffrey Epstein Survivors
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NPR. Jeffrey Epstein JPMorgan Virgin Islands Sex Trafficking
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The New York Times. JPMorgan Reaches $75 Million Deal With U.S. Virgin Islands Over Epstein
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USVI Department of Justice. The Historic Settlement From JPMorgan Will Curb Human Trafficking
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Fox Business. JPMorgan Processed Over $1B for Jeffrey Epstein Despite Internal Concerns Over Sex Offender Status
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U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Wyden Investigation Drills Down on Bank Executives’ Unexplained Conduct
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The New York Times. JPMorgan’s Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein
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Findlaw. JPMorgan Chase Bank v. Staley
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BBC News. JPMorgan Reaches Jeffrey Epstein Settlement With Jes Staley
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The Washington Post. Epstein JPMorgan Client Sex Offender Warnings
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CBS News. Jeffrey Epstein JP Morgan Execs Allegations
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CNN. JPMorgan CEO Epstein Denial
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The New York Times. JPMorgan Jeffrey Epstein Unsealed Records
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The Guardian. JP Morgan Jeffrey Epstein Transactions
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U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Wyden Releases New Analysis Detailing How Top JPMorgan Chase Executives Enabled Epstein’s Sex Trafficking Operation
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PBS NewsHour. Deutsche Bank to Pay $75 Million to Epstein Victims
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Reuters. Bank of America’s $72.5 Million Settlement With Epstein Accusers Wins Preliminary Approval
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U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Wyden Releases New Information on Financing of Jeffrey Epstein’s Operations by Billionaire Leon Black
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The New York Times. Leon Black Settlement Jeffrey Epstein Claims