JPM Stock (NYSE:JPM)
On Monday, media outlets reported that JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) had struck a provisional deal with victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse over the bank’s extended ties with the billionaire. As a result, JPM stock surged slightly.
The deal will save a trial that would have exposed the parties to even greater public embarrassment. About two weeks ago, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon testified in a deposition that he had scarcely heard of Epstein until his arrest in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges.
Settlement talks are already underway in a federal court in Manhattan over a complaint brought in November on behalf of victims of Epstein’s sexual abuse while they were minors. The New York Times stated that a compensation sum was not disclosed in a joint statement from the bank and the attorneys representing the victims.
The statement claimed the “agreement in principle to settle” the case “is in the best interest of all parties, especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein’s terrible abuse,” as the New York Times reported.
After years of legal actions against Epstein’s estate, the bank is still facing a lawsuit from the government of the US Virgin Islands.
Victims of Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking of minors and young women claimed that JPMorgan (JPM) disregarded warnings about the situation for years. The financier in the Florida case admitted to trying to prostitute with a minor in 2008. Epstein was a customer of the bank from about 1998 till 2013.
According to the evidence presented in court, several suspicious activity reports were submitted by JPMorgan (JPM) employees in 2006 about Epstein’s massive cash withdrawals. The bank had previously classified Epstein as a “high-risk client.”
Requests for comment sent to JPMorgan Chase (JPM) were not met with an instant response.
JPM stock was up 0.4% on Monday morning before the opening bell.
In 2019, while awaiting trial for criminal allegations related to his sexual abuse of adolescent females, Epstein committed himself in prison.
German financial institution Deutsche Bank (DB), which also represented Epstein, settled a lawsuit filed by his victims last month for $75 million. New York state officials demanded the bank pay $150 million in connection with Epstein and a related incident involving the bank’s connections to Denmark’s Danske Bank.
The Financial Times reported last week that Crispin Odey’s links with Morgan Stanley were being severed after an investigation by the newspaper revealed additional claims of sexual harassment and assault against the hedge fund manager.
Featured Image: Megapixl
Author Shariq Khan 
