Banks fight to dismiss complaints filed by Epstein accusers
Kaelan Deese
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JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank are fighting to dismiss lawsuits filed by Jeffrey Epstein‘s victims accusing the banks of enabling the disgraced financier’s sex trafficking network.
In Dec. 30 motions to dismiss the class action suits, which were initially filed in November, Deutsche Bank’s counsel said the claims did not “adequately” allege that the bank was enabling his sex abuse ring when it provided banking services to Epstein between 2013 and 2018.
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“All of the plaintiff’s claims are deficient and none can be maintained,” according to the motion from Deutsche Bank, filed on Friday.
The plaintiffs filed separate lawsuits on Nov. 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming the financial institutions “knowingly and intentionally benefited” from “assisting, supporting, [and] facilitating” Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.
The suits are seeking unspecified damages for violations of sex trafficking and racketeering laws and the recently-enacted New York Adult Survivor’s Act.
Epstein was charged with sex trafficking in 2019 but was found dead in his prison cell weeks later while awaiting trial. His former close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of similar charges in December. During her trial, a JPMorgan official testified that Epstein wired Maxwell $31 million, which was characterized by prosecutors as payment for procuring young girls for Epstein.
JPMorgan’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit was similar in tone to Deutsche Bank’s request, asking the court to dismiss all claims. Both banks argue they ended their relationship with Epstein after the Miami Herald published allegations in 2018 about Epstein’s abuse of young women and teenagers.
Lawyers for JPMorgan said the survivor who sued the institution should be entitled to justice but that the claims are directed against the wrong party and are thus “legally meritless.” Both banks argue they had no duty to protect the victims from Epstein and that they did not cause his abuses.
An attorney for the women, David Boies, said he was “disappointed” by the banks’ efforts to “avoid taking responsibility for their role in the expansion and perpetuation of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.”
The JPMorgan plaintiff, “Jane Doe 1,” is a former ballet dancer who said Epstein abused and trafficked her from 2006 to 2013 while he was still a client of the financial institution. The Deutsche Bank plaintiff said she suffered similar abuses between 2003 and 2018.
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In July 2020, New York financial regulators fined Deutsche Bank $150 million over its relationship with Epstein.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a private island and mansion, sued JPMorgan last week, alleging the bank aided in the “concealment” of Epstein’s crimes.