The US Virgin Islands’ governor has dismissed the attorney general who prosecuted a number of cases against infamous businessman Jeffrey Epstein, including a protracted court battle that ended in a US$105 million settlement.
Denise George was fired only days after accusing JPMorgan Chase of aiding Epstein in financing the criminal exploitation of women and children in the US Virgin Islands and elsewhere in a complaint she filed in New York.
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In a statement released on Sunday, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said only that Assistant Attorney General Carol Thomas-Jacobs will take over for George’s duties.
Both Jennifer Springette, the attorney general’s executive assistant, and the governor’s spokesperson Richard Motta did not respond to requests for comment.
The US Virgin Islands’ government accused JPMorgan Chase of “knowingly facilitated, sustained, and concealed the human trafficking network operated by Jeffrey Epstein from his home and base in the Virgin Islands, and financially benefited from this participation, directly or indirectly, by failing to comply with federal banking regulations,” according to the lawsuit it filed against the bank on December 27.
The company is also charged with concealing wire and cash transactions.
According to the lawsuit, Epstein’s accounts at JP Morgan were primarily used for human trafficking.
“JP Morgan turned a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking over more than a decade because of Epstein’s own financial footprint, and because of the deals and clients that Epstein brought and promised to bring to the bank.”
In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Tuesday, a JPMorgan Chase spokesperson said she would not comment.
On December 30, JPMorgan Chase requested that two unnamed women’s cases be dismissed on the grounds that large banks should have been made aware of Epstein’s sex trafficking. The bank added that it didn’t act carelessly at all.
After Epstein’s estate and the government of the US Virgin Islands negotiated a settlement in late November for US$105 million, George launched a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase.
Local publication The Virgin Islands Daily News revealed that Epstein had donated to several institutions and groups around the US territory and that the former first lady of the island worked as the office manager for one of his businesses, Southern Trust.
Additionally, it mentioned how Bryan, the governor, gave Epstein’s business a number of substantial tax exemptions when he was the head of the Economic Development Commission.
