When most people think about Jeffrey Epstein, they think of a sexual-abuse scandal. But it’s also a financial scandal — one in which JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, not only enabled Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation but also enriched him while reaping profits for the bank.
Some elements of that relationship have become public, but the full extent of JPMorgan’s involvement with Epstein has not been known. We combed through more than 13,000 pages of legal and financial records — including sealed depositions and internal bank records — to understand how America’s leading lender enabled the century’s most notorious sexual predator.
Joseph Evangelisti, a spokesman for JPMorgan, said in a statement that the bank’s relationship with Epstein “was a mistake and in hindsight we regret it, but we did not help him commit his heinous crimes.”
Here are five takeaways from our Magazine investigation:
Epstein used JPMorgan as a crucial cog in his sex-trafficking operation.
During a time when Epstein was regularly sexually abusing teenage girls and young women, JPMorgan processed more than 4,700 transactions, totaling more than $1.1 billion, for him, including payments to his victims. It also wired his money to Russian and Eastern European banks that appeared connected to Epstein’s sex-trafficking operations.
Cash is a currency of criminals, and JPMorgan allowed Epstein to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars a month — amounts that should have set off internal alarms. The bank also opened accounts for Epstein’s victims and assistants, sometimes without conducting proper due diligence and missing warning signs for human trafficking.
Bank employees sounded the alarm about how Epstein was using the bank — but their warnings went unheeded.
The bank’s staff raised concerns as far back as 2006, when Epstein was first arrested and indicted on a charge of soliciting prostitution from a teenager. Employees noted that Epstein’s routine and voluminous cash withdrawals were red flags for illicit activity. They also expressed concerns about the potential reputational fallout from serving a convicted sex criminal.
But the bank repeatedly failed to push Epstein out.
On at least four occasions, when senior executives at the bank were alerted to these concerns and learned that Epstein was reportedly under federal investigation, they opted to keep doing business with him. Over and over, the bank relied on assurances from Epstein and his lawyers that he was not involved in sex trafficking and had turned over a new leaf. The bank’s general counsel even concluded in 2011 that Epstein was a reputational risk to the bank and should not be a client but did not insist that he be removed.
Epstein was an extraordinarily lucrative client for the bank.
At one point, Epstein was a major source of revenue for JPMorgan’s private-banking division, which caters to ultrawealthy customers. He identified potential new clients for the bank, helped it orchestrate an important acquisition and pitched it on moneymaking opportunities. While Epstein was serving his jail sentence in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl, he continued to advise senior bank executives on strategic decisions — even how to cope with the fallout from Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
Epstein’s primary backer inside the bank was Jes Staley, one of its highest-ranking executives.
Staley and Epstein developed an unusually close relationship. Staley regularly traveled to Epstein’s properties, even while Epstein was under house arrest.
Staley turned to Epstein again and again for advice. When he got a new role at JPMorgan, he consulted Epstein on how much he should get paid and how to best position the bank for future growth. Epstein connected Staley with an expert on China. Staley even enlisted Epstein to help one of his daughters with career advice.
The pair traded more than professional tips. In 2010, Staley had sex with one of Epstein’s assistants, a young woman he had met while visiting Epstein’s New York townhouse. The woman later alleged in a class-action lawsuit that Epstein had forced her — and other victims — to engage in commercial sex with his friends.
Evangelisti, the bank spokesman, pinned the blame for Epstein on Staley, a trusted confidant of the bank’s longtime chief executive, Jamie Dimon. “We now know that trust was misplaced,” Evangelisti said.
Dimon has insisted that he had nothing to do with Epstein — though Staley claimed otherwise.
Dimon has said that he had barely heard of Epstein and that he didn’t recall knowing he was a bank client until 2019. But Staley said in a sworn deposition that he discussed Epstein with Dimon on at least two occasions.
Concerned employees at least twice suggested that Dimon might be in the loop. In one instance, employees discussed whether Epstein’s accounts would be closed and said the decision was “pending Dimon review.” In another, employees said the bank’s general counsel was reviewing documents associated with Epstein “for Jamie.”
Dimon has a reputation for being detail-oriented and at times micromanaging. David Boies, a lawyer representing some of Epstein’s victims, told us that either Dimon knew about Epstein and lied in a sworn deposition or his subordinates kept him in the dark.
“Neither is good,” Boies said.
Jessica Silver-Greenberg is a Times investigative reporter writing about big business with a focus on health care. She has been a reporter for more than a decade.
Matthew Goldstein is a Times reporter who covers Wall Street and white-collar crime and housing issues.
David Enrich is a deputy investigations editor for The Times. He writes about law and business.
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