A federal judge warned that sealed records in a sex-trafficking suit against the bank that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein used could expose Justice Department documents and court files identifying alleged co-conspirators.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff issued the protective order Monday in Jane Doe v. FirstBank Puerto Rico, a suit alleging the bank was Epstein’s longest banking partner and knowingly funded his sex-trafficking operation.
The order placed all parties on notice that the court is “unlikely to seal or otherwise afford confidential treatment” to any discovery material introduced as evidence at trial, even if it had previously been designated confidential.
Rakoff added that he retains “unfettered discretion” over documents filed in connection with any motion — meaning records could become public before trial.
That warning lands as the Justice Department is separately fightingto keep co-conspirator identities hidden.
Last month, according to court records, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was ordered by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to release more Epstein files — including the unredacted names of potential co-conspirators — or explain why he refused.
On July 2, Blanche refused, arguing in a court filing that releasing more materials would harm Epstein’s victims and offering instead to share additional details with a judge behind closed doors.
In a separate proceeding, a federal judge has also ruled to keep the identities of two women permanently sealed. Prosecutors had identified them as Epstein ‘co-conspirators’ whose names had been publicly associated with his alleged sexual assault of girls and young women for two decades, the Associated Press reported.
In a 2019 court filing, prosecutors said Epstein paid the two women $100,000 and $250,000 in late 2018.
From 2011 through 2019, the new lawsuit alleges, Epstein sexually abused the FirstBank suit’s lead plaintiff on at least 100 occasions — including forcibly touching her, raping her, and forcing her to engage in sexual acts with other women.
Epstein and his co-conspirators constantly reminded her of his power and influence, the complaint alleges.
FirstBank processed wire transfers to pay “co-conspirators whose role in the venture was the recruitment, transportation, and control of women and girls,” the complaint alleges. The late-2018 payments to the two sealed women fall within the $21 million in transactions the suit says the bank processed after JPMorgan exited Epstein in 2013.
First BanCorp, FirstBank’s parent company, said in a statement that both firms “categorically deny the claims alleged in the complaint and intend to vigorously defend against them.”
Defendants FirstBank Puerto Rico and First BanCorp have until July 30 to file a motion to dismiss the case.
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