JPMorgan Chase & Co. accused the previous first girl of the US Virgin Islands of aiding Jeffrey Epstein’s intercourse trafficking in plenty of methods, together with serving to to rearrange visas, jobs and journey for a few of his victims and aiding him in skirting the territory’s sex-offender monitoring legislation.
In line with the financial institution, Cecile de Jongh, the spouse of former USVI Governor John de Jongh, was Epstein’s “major conduit for spreading cash and affect all through the USVI authorities.”
She managed Epstein’s USVI firms, receiving $200,000 in compensation in 2007 alone, and he additionally paid tuition for her kids, JPMorgan contends. She in flip “explicitly suggested Epstein on how one can purchase management of the USVI political class,” the financial institution stated.
The financial institution made the allegations in a Thursday courtroom submitting that was a less-redacted model of 1 it filed earlier within the week. The submitting was made in opposition to USVI’s movement to dam JPMorgan from arguing an “unclean fingers” protection to the territory’s lawsuit accusing the financial institution of knowingly benefiting from Epstein’s intercourse trafficking.
Learn Extra: USVI Seeks to Bar JPMorgan’s ‘Unclean Fingers’ Epstein Protection
In line with JPMorgan’s attorneys, de Jongh helped get hold of scholar visas for 3 younger girls related to Epstein, arranging their enrollment within the College of the Virgin Islands. “Maybe cognizant of the danger in having a registered intercourse offender signal the letter,” the primary girl supplied to have another person to signal letters for the ladies displaying their skill to pay tuition, the financial institution stated.
Epstein donated closely to USVI politicians and the federal government itself, in keeping with the submitting. That included $30,000 to the marketing campaign of Consultant Stacey Plaskett, the USVI’s non-voting delegate to Congress, a $25,000 reward to present Governor Albert Bryan’s inaugural committee and donations to a faculty library. De Jongh additionally recommended that Epstein put USVI Senator Celestino White on “some kind of month-to-month retainer” to get loyalty and entry, the submitting states.
De Jongh additionally acted as a conduit between Epstein and the USVI Port Authority, which managed the airport Epstein used.
“Based mostly on his authorities connections, when touring by means of the USVI’s airport accompanied by younger girls as a registered intercourse offender, Epstein might rely on his ‘nice relationship’ with the officers there to keep away from scrutiny or detection,” the submitting states. In 2010, Epstein emailed de Jongh to complain a few “troublesome” customs officer on the airport. Two years later, he requested her about the potential of sending all 78 customs officers turkeys for Thanksgiving.
‘Will It Work for You?’
In 2011, De Jongh and Epstein additionally communicated in regards to the wording of a invoice earlier than the USVI legislature to extend monitoring of intercourse offenders. Epstein was registered as a intercourse offender following his 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
“That is the recommended language; will it be just right for you?” de Jongh allegedly requested Epstein in an e mail in regards to the draft. When the invoice subsequently handed, she apologized to him for “how issues panned out,” JPMorgan claims.
“Nonetheless, all will not be misplaced and we are going to determine one thing out by developing with a recreation plan to get round these obstacles,” she wrote, in keeping with the financial institution. JPMorgan alleges that de Jongh then “crafted a plan to facilitate Epstein’s simple journey to and from the USVI” by working with particular politicians and officers within the territory.
The case is USVI v. JPMorgan Chase Financial institution, 22-cv-10904-UA, US District Court docket, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
