Former JPMorgan executive Jes Staley and sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein exchanged numerous emails that included photos of women in suggestive poses and Staley’s praise for the sex offender, according to a newly unredacted court filing from the U.S. Virgin Islands. In one message, Staley even told Epstein, “I owe you much.”
The disturbing revelations arrived on Wednesday, after the territory’s attorney general filed yet another version of its lawsuit against JPMorgan—this time, with fewer redactions than its original. The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, paints a picture of a close bond between Staley and Epstein, who made cryptic references to Disney Princesses in their correspondence. (In 2021, the Financial Times reported that U.S. regulators were reviewing around 1,200 emails between the pair, from 2008 to 2012.)
The Virgin Islands AG sued JPMorgan last December, claiming the investment bank “turned a blind eye” to Epstein’s sex ring in order to reap millions by keeping him as a client. The government filed an amended civil complaint weeks later that unredacted some of its accusations about Staley, including the suggestion that he “may have been involved in Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.”
Wednesday’s filing peels the curtain back even further.
“So when all hell breaks lo[o]se, and the world is crumbling, I will come here, and be at peace,” Staley wrote to Epstein in November 2009. “Presently, I’m in the hot tub with a glass of white wine. This is an amazing place. Truly amazing. Next time, we’re here together. I owe you much. And I deeply appreciate our friendship. I have few so profound.”
According to the complaint, the cache of messages reveal that “Staley corresponded with Epstein while Epstein was incarcerated and visited Epstein’s Virgin Islands residence on multiple occasions” and that “Epstein even advised Staley in connection with Staley’s salary negotiations at JP Morgan in July of 2008.”
The filing suggests that Staley was a participant in Epstein’s trafficking scheme and cites emails discussing the banking honcho’s visits to Palm Beach, Florida and London, England, which allegedly coincided with Epstein’s payments to young women in his circle.
In a memorandum also filed on Wednesday, attorneys for the U.S. Virgin Islands said that Epstein “emailed Staley photos of young women in seductive poses.”
The memorandum also claims that Staley’s JPMorgan email account contained messages about “women who they referred to by the names of Disney princesses that Epstein procured for Staley,” and “discussions of sex with young women.”
Meanwhile, the lawsuit claims that at least 20 victims of Epstein were paid more than “$1 million collectively” through JPMorgan accounts between 2003 and 2013.
The filing alleges Epstein withdrew more than $775,000 in cash during that time period and that records show that Epstein’s JPMorgan accounts wired nearly $1.5 million “to known recruiters, including to the MC2 modeling agency, and another $150,000 to a private investigative firm.”
“[W]hat character would you like next?”
— Jeffrey Epstein
As The Daily Beast has reported, MC2 was the former modeling agency of Jean Luc-Brunel, the French modeling agent who was a friend of Epstein’s and faced accusations of sexual abuse from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of the financier’s victims. (Brunel killed himself in a Paris jail last February while awaiting trial on charges that he raped minors.)
JPMorgan, the lawsuit claims, cited Brunel in a review of Epstein’s accounts. The bank also allegedly flagged an account associated with Epstein’s now convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in 2011. According to the suit, “Maxwell wanted to set up an account for her ‘personal recruitment consulting business.’” But one director with the bank’s anti-money laundering program asked in an email: “What does she mean by personal recruitment?? Are you sure this will have nothing to do with Jeffrey? If you want to proceed, I suggest that we flag this as a High Risk Client.”
But before JPMorgan asked these questions, Staley was apparently courting Epstein as a personal contact.
In December 2008, the men allegedly discussed plans for Staley to drop into the sex offender’s Florida lair. Around the time of Staley’s scheduled visit, the complaint alleges, Epstein wired $2,000 to a woman with an Eastern European surname.
According to the filing, Epstein also transferred $3,000 to the same woman in August 2009, just days after Staley emailed Epstein that he’d be in London in a week. The financier asked Staley whether he’d need anything while in the U.K. city, and Staley answered, “Yep.”
In December 2009, Staley sent another alleged missive to Epstein: “I realize the danger in sending this email. But it was great to be able, today, to give you, in New York City, a long heartfelt, hug.”
Epstein replied the next day, saying, “you were with Larry, and I had to put up with…” and included a photo of a young woman.
“Don’t tell me a French wine,” Staley wrote.
“Always thoughts of alcohol,” Epstein replied, according to the lawsuit.
Later that month, the filing states, Epstein sent Staley an email that included only a picture of a young woman.
Staley, who reportedly sailed his yacht to Epstein’s island during the course of their friendship, emailed Epstein again in January 2010.
“Arrived at your harbor,” the banking boss wrote. “Someday, we have to do this together.”
Six months later, Staley fired off another email, saying, “Maybe they’re tracking u?”
“That was fun,” Staley added. “Say hi to Snow White.”
“[W]hat character would you like next?” Epstein replied.
“Beauty and the Beast,” Staley wrote, to which Epstein answered, “well one side is available.”
Earlier this month, JPMorgan filed a scathing memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss the U.S. Virgin Islands’ case.
“Having sought and obtained more than $100 million from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate and businesses for damages caused by his sex-trafficking crimes, the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) now casts farther afield for deeper pockets,” JPMorgan’s filing began.
“USVI’s lawsuit is a masterclass in deflection that seeks to hold JPMC responsible for not sleuthing out Epstein’s crimes over a decade ago,” the document continues. “Yet USVI had access at the time to the same information, allegations, and rumors about Epstein on which it alleges JPMC should have acted.
“Indeed, as a law-enforcement agency, USVI had access to much more, along with the investigative advantage of physical proximity to Epstein’s crimes.”
JPMorgan added that the territory “did nothing to stop Epstein,” who was registered as a sex offender there.
“To the contrary, during the same period, USVI granted Epstein and his businesses lucrative privileges and massive tax incentives,” attorneys for the bank stated. “Nonetheless, USVI’s suit proceeds on the untenable theory that JPMC was a participant in an Epstein sex-trafficking venture and was somehow uniquely situated to bring it to a halt.”
Of the accusations about Staley, the bank continued, “At most, USVI alleges that a JPMC employee developed a personal bond with a wrongdoer customer, which does not suffice to allege JPMC’s own liability.”
The corporation said the government failed to show “Staley acted within the scope of his employment or on behalf of JPMC in a way that would associate JPMC with the Epstein Enterprise and its sex trafficking purpose.”
But in a Wednesday memorandum, the U.S. Virgin Islands argued that Staley’s visits to Epstein’s private island, called Little St. James, “took place as part of [JPMorgan’s] management of its business relationship with Epstein.”
“At the time of these visits, Staley was serving in the role of JPMorgan’s head of Private Bank, which was dedicated to extremely wealthy clients like Epstein,” the filing states. “JPMorgan assigned Staley to manage Epstein and his accounts for his wealth, connections, and referrals of ultrawealthy and powerful clients.
“Thus, Staley’s job was to maintain a close relationship with Epstein so that his money, connections, and referrals would continue to flow to JPMorgan.”
The AG’s office added, “Staley emailed freely with Epstein about his visits to Little St. James over his work email account in full view of JPMorgan.”
Staley, who in November 2021 resigned as Barclays’ chief executive after British regulators probed his claims about his relationship to Epstein, has denied any wrongdoing in connection to the late sex-trafficker.
Staley’s lawyer told the Financial Times that his emails with Epstein “were innocuous.”
“We wish to make it expressly clear that our client had no involvement in any of the alleged crimes committed by Mr. Epstein, and code words were never used by Mr. Staley in any communications with Mr. Epstein, ever,” the attorney said.
