Business

US Virgin Islands Gave Jeffrey Epstein $300 Million In Tax Incentives, JPMorgan Filing Says

(Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Will Kessler Contributor
Font Size:

The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) gave deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than $300 million in tax incentives and other benefits, according to a court filing from JPMorgan Chase.

JPMorgan Chase alleged that Epstein was given over $300 million in tax incentives and had sex offender monitoring requirements lifted thanks to bribes and help given to USVI officials, enabling his sex trafficking operation, according to Tuesday court filings. JPMorgan Chase previously paid $290 million in a class action lawsuit to Epstein’s victims after ignoring internal warnings about Epstein. (RELATED: JPMorgan Demands $80 Million From Epstein-Linked Exec)

“For two decades, Epstein maintained a quid pro quo relationship with USVI’s highest ranking officials,” the filing alleges. “He gave them money, advice, influence, and favors. In exchange, they shielded and even rewarded him, granting him more than $300 million in tax incentives, waiving sex offender monitoring requirements, looking the other way when he walked through USVI airports accompanied by girls and young women, and even facilitating ESL classes and visas that allowed Epstein to bring victims to his island. ”

The USVI has previously taken action to address the fallout around Epstein and Little St. James, his private island where many of his alleged crimes were committed, by extracting proceeds from the sale of the island, according to a press release from the USVI Attorney General. The Epstein estate and co-defendants were ordered by a USVI court to pay the territory’s government $105 million and half of the proceeds from the sale of the private island, as well as another $450,000 in environmental damages.

JPMorgan Chase announced June 12 that it had reached an agreement in a case involving victims of Epstein’s child sex trafficking operation. The case claims that JPMorgan Chase enabled Epstein’s child sex trafficking operation by keeping him as a client even though he was found guilty of sex crimes in the late 2000s.

When contacted by the Daily Caller News Foundation, JPMorgan Chase deferred to the statements made in the filing and pointed to previous statements, saying, “We all now understand that Epstein’s behavior was monstrous – any association with him was a mistake and we regret it. We would never have continued to do business with him if we believed he was using our bank in any way to help commit heinous crimes.”

The U.S. Virgin Islands’ Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.