JPMorgan Chase & Jeffrey Epstein

15 years · $1.08 billion in suspicious transactions · Zero SARs filed

JPMorgan Chase banked Jeffrey Epstein from 1998 to 2013. Internal emails show employees knew he was “a known child sleaze.” The bank’s own compliance staff wanted him gone by 2010. Senior executives overruled them. An FBI expert concluded JPMorgan had “actual knowledge” of trafficking and could have prevented years of abuse.

Contents

The Numbers

15 years
Banking relationship (1998–2013)
$1.08B
Suspicious wires (4,725 transactions)
$5M+
Cash withdrawals for trafficking
0
SARs filed during the relationship
$365M
Settlements paid ($290M victims + $75M USVI)
63,341
EFTA documents mentioning JPMorgan

DOJ Document Deletions

In spring 2026, the DOJ quietly removed 1,000 consecutive bank statement PDFs from its public EFTA server — the largest single financial records deletion from the EFTA corpus to date.

EFTA rangeEFTA01514806 – EFTA01515805 (Dataset 10)
ContentJPMorgan Chase bank statements for Jeffrey Epstein accounts
Period coveredOctober 2009 – at least April 2012
Stamp“Confidential Treatment Requested by JPMorgan”
Prior statusAll previously accessible (HTTP 200); now all return 404

These statements cover the period immediately after Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008–2009 Palm Beach sentence — when USVI-based wire transfers continued (USVI v. Estate settlement: $105M) and before JPMorgan closed his accounts in 2013. The grand jury subpoena that compelled these records is documented in EFTA00178386 and EFTA00193068: “OLY-32 JP Morgan Chase bank records 03/06/2007.”

The deletion is tracked in the EFTA Deletion Audit.

They Knew

JPMorgan employees referred to Epstein internally as:

“Sugar Daddy”
“sleazy PB client”
“a known child sleaze”
“that scum Epstein”
“Maryanne’s perv”

In 2006, JPMorgan's own Rapid Response meeting noted “minors are the issue” and documented cash withdrawals of $40,000–$80,000 several times per month. Their decision: keep the client.

In 2010, JPMorgan ran a Human Trafficking Project. They interviewed a real trafficking victim. They learned the red flags. They exited ~200 suspicious accounts. But not Epstein’s. He had $200+ million in assets at the bank.

Mary Erdoes, CEO of Asset & Wealth Management, admitted in her deposition that JPMorgan was aware by 2006 that Epstein was accused of paying cash to have underage girls brought to his home.

The Cash

Epstein needed cash to pay victims. JPMorgan gave it to him, year after year, without filing a single Suspicious Activity Report:

YearCash WithdrawnSARs Filed
2003$175,3110
2004$840,0000
2005$904,3370
2006$938,6250
2007$526,0000
2008$469,0000 (convicted June 2008)
2009$165,0110
2010$253,3970
2011$260,0000
2012$290,0000
2013$197,1520 (exited mid-2013)
Total$5,018,8330

Source: Expert Report of Jorge Amador, Figure 8: CTRs Relating to Epstein Accounts By Year. Cash withdrawn in $40–$60K increments, typically through accountant Harry Beller via Hyperion Air Inc. account.

After Epstein’s death in August 2019, JPMorgan finally filed a SAR covering 4,725 transactions totaling $1.08 billion. They had this information the entire time.

The Emails

Jes Staley: “Because of Jes Staley”

Jes Staley was head of JPMorgan’s Private Banking division and the single most important reason Epstein remained a client. When JPMorgan’s Private Bank CEO was later asked why Epstein was a client, he answered: “because of Jes Staley.”

The People Who Decided

Senior Executives

Compliance Staff (from O’Neill Expert Report)

The Accounts

Epstein maintained over 100 JPMorgan accounts. Key accounts identified:

Maxwell had 8 accounts and power of attorney over Epstein’s accounts. Money was moved between accounts before being disbursed — a classic layering technique.

For the ten-year period 2003–2013, more than $3 million was paid to women, many with Eastern European surnames. One woman who received more than $700,000 was identified in JPMorgan due diligence documents as having been trafficked as a minor.

Money Flows

Wire transfers, account relationships, and referrals involving JPMorgan (from Money Network analysis).

Into JPMorgan (17)

FromDescription
🏢 Nautilus (Island)Tax account
🏢 Laurel (Palm Beach)Tax account
🏢 Maple (NYC 71st St)Tax account
🏢 Cypress (Zorro Ranch)Tax account
🏢 Hyperion Air LLC$547K+ cash 'fuel'
🏢 Wexner Children's Trust IIOn $1.08B SAR
👤 Jes StaleyHead of Private Bank
👤 Mary ErdoesCEO Asset & Wealth Mgmt
👤 Jeffrey EpsteinPrimary bank (1998-2013), referrals generated $20M+ in fees
🏢 Financial Trust Company$77.3M (JPM Trading)
🏢 Haze Trust$22.2M (JPM Trading)
🏦 Bear StearnsAcquired March 2008
👤 Ghislaine Maxwell8 accounts + PoA, 19 SARs
🏢 C.O.U.Q. FoundationBanking ($2,750)
🏢 Lyn and Jojo LLCAccount (2006-2013)
🏢 Neptune LLCBusiness Checking
👤 Jeffrey Epstein$8M+/yr revenue (2003, #1 client)

Out of JPMorgan (8)

ToDescription
👤 Victims (JPM Fund)$1M per victim (JPM Fund)
👤 Victims (JPM Fund)$290M class action (2023)
🏢 USVI Settlement$75M settlement
🏢 MC2 Model Management$1.5M to recruiters incl. MC2
🏢 Highbridge CapitalAcquired 2004
🏢 Bank Victim Settlements$290M settlement (Jun 2023)
🏢 USVI Settlement$75M USVI settlement (Sep 2023)
🏢 Cash Withdrawals$5M cash withdrawals (2003-2013)

Timeline

DateEvent
2007-03-06Grand jury subpoena (OLY-32) served on JP Morgan Chase for wire transfer records from Epstein to victims EFTA00009440 EFTA00178386 EFTA00186839
2008Epstein convicted of soliciting prostitution in Florida. JPMorgan compliance officers want him gone EFTA00145666
2010KYC 'Smoking Gun': Staley and General Counsel Cutler made the decision to keep Epstein as client despite compliance objections EFTA01480623 EFTA01480542 EFTA01480690
2010-09-28Epstein emails Staley: 'Prince Andrew would like much more to represent Casanov in China than Tim Collins' EFTA00029711
2010-12-31Staley emails Epstein: 'Happy new year. It nice to have u free. Much to come.' EFTA00029710
2012-08Epstein portfolio valued at $293.4M while at JPMorgan EFTA00600099
2013JPMorgan finally exits Epstein — 3 years after compliance recommended it. Paul Morris moves to Deutsche Bank, bringing Epstein as client. EFTA00037187
2013'Project Molecule' emails: Erdoes-Staley-Epstein discuss $100B Gates DAF scheme involving Jamie Dimon EFTA00649282 EFTA00918571 EFTA00918242
2019$1.08B SAR filed only after Epstein's death — 4,725 suspicious wires. Zero SARs filed during 15-year relationship. EFTA01648787
2020-02-03UK Financial Conduct Authority sends 'Confidential & Urgent' request to SDNY about JPMorgan-Epstein EFTA00018110 EFTA00016821
2009-12-04Staley→Epstein email: "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." (doe-v-jpmorgan Doc 59-att2)
2010-07Staley→Epstein: "Say hi to Snow White." Epstein: "what character would you like next." Staley: "Beauty and the Beast." Epstein: "well one side is available." (doe-v-jpmorgan Doc 59-att2)
2011-01-14Rapid Response Meeting: Staley told compliance Epstein "didn't actually do" what he pled guilty to. Private Bank CEO later said: "if I were asked why is Jeffrey Epstein a client, I would have to answer, because of Jes Staley." (doe-v-jpmorgan Doc 205-att68)
2011-01-22Staley visited Epstein at Little St. James, USVI. Also visited Zorro Ranch (Nov 1, 2009) and Manhattan townhouse (6+ times 2010-2011) (doe-v-jpmorgan Doc 205-att68)
2006JPMorgan compliance/due diligence document states Epstein reportedly "purchased" Nadia Marcinkova "at 14 from her parents in Yugoslavia." Bank continued servicing his accounts despite this knowledge. (usvi-v-jpmorgan Doc 238-att31)

FBI Expert Conclusion

Shaun O’Neill, a 23-year FBI veteran and former Human Trafficking Program Coordinator, concluded in his expert report (unsealed October 31, 2025):

  1. JPMorgan had “actual knowledge” of information demonstrating Epstein’s involvement in human trafficking.
  2. Had JPMorgan notified the FBI, there would have been law enforcement inquiry at an earlier stage. This information would have led to federal charges against Epstein.
  3. JPMorgan’s failure to file SARs each time there was suspicious activity impeded federal law enforcement’s ability to learn of Epstein’s crimes as well as the crimes of those who aided him.

The minimum federal sentence for Epstein’s crimes would have been 20 years. Instead, Epstein continued trafficking from 2008 onward while JPMorgan processed his cash withdrawals.

Settlements & Consequences

June 2023$290 million settlement with Epstein victim class
September 2023$75 million settlement with U.S. Virgin Islands government

No JPMorgan executive has faced criminal charges. Jes Staley left JPMorgan in 2013 and became CEO of Barclays. The UK FCA investigated him. He resigned from Barclays in November 2021.

Mary Erdoes remains CEO of JPMorgan Asset & Wealth Management.

All Findings (153)

Every finding in our database that involves JPMorgan Chase, its executives, or its role in enabling Epstein.

Critical (37)

High (86)

Medium (27)

Low (3)

See also: All Banks · Financial Findings · Money Network · Jes Staley · Mary Erdoes

All evidence sourced from the EFTA corpus, court filings, and expert reports filed under seal.