JPMorgan Chase has reached a settlement with the US Virgin Islands (USVI) and former executive Jes Staley to resolve lawsuits over sex trafficking by the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, largely resolving a scandal that has weighed on the largest US bank for months. The settlements conclude the final pieces of litigation in a saga involving women who said Epstein sexually abused them, and which embroiled some of the world's most powerful figures in finance and business.

The $75 million settlement with the USVI includes $30 million to support charitable organizations, $25 million to strengthen law enforcement to combat human trafficking, and $20 million for attorney's fees. JPMorgan did not admit liability in agreeing to settle. The terms of its settlement with Staley, a former Epstein friend who had been JPMorgan's private banking chief, are confidential.

JPMorgan had been facing a lawsuit brought by the USVI accusing the bank of facilitating Epstein's sex trafficking while collecting millions through his client referrals. The settlement comes about a month before the case was scheduled for trial in Manhattan federal court. In July, the USVI stated in legal filings that it was seeking a minimum of $190 million from the bank.

The USVI's litigation revealed new details about Epstein's connections and how JPMorgan catered to him while ignoring its own compliance officials' red flags about his activities. Among the new disclosures were that Epstein was considered a financial adviser to Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the bank flagged $1 billion in Epstein's suspicious transactions to the US Treasury Department after his death, and JPMorgan accepted new client referrals from Epstein after terminating its relationship with him in 2013.

In a press release announcing the settlement, US Virgin Islands Attorney General Ariel M. Smith said JPMorgan has committed to creating safeguards to combat human trafficking. The USVI said the case marked the first time a state attorney general used the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) to justify a lawsuit and the first-ever enforcement action filed against a bank for enabling and profiting off a trafficking network.

The settlement will fund law enforcement anti-trafficking efforts, local nonprofits that support victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, and a $10 million fund to provide counseling services for victims of Epstein. JPMorgan will pay $55 million plus $20 million in attorneys' fees. The bank stated that $30 million will go towards USVI charities aimed at addressing social ills and fighting human trafficking, while $25 million will be paid to law enforcement.

JPMorgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon, testified under oath in May that he had barely heard of Epstein until the financier's arrest in 2019. The bank had argued that the USVI was also to blame for enabling Epstein's sex trafficking by giving him tax incentives and waiving monitoring requirements.

Epstein died in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. The New York City medical examiner called his death a suicide. JPMorgan had been a client of Epstein from 1998 until 2013 when the bank terminated their relationship. The bank stated, "While the settlement does not involve admissions of liability, the firm deeply regrets any association with this man, and would never have continued doing business with him if it believed he was using the bank in any way to commit his heinous crimes."

The settlements with the USVI and Staley mark a rare public relations problem for JPMorgan and CEO Jamie Dimon. However, the bank believes that the settlements are in the best interest of all parties, particularly for those who can benefit from efforts to combat human trafficking and support survivors of abuse.