Jess Staley is to be deposed next week in a US lawsuit alleging that JPMorgan Chase facilitated sex trafficking by her former employer, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
JPMorgan sued Staley last week in an attempt to hold it liable for any fines the bank may have to pay if it is found liable in the lawsuit, brought by an alleged Epstein victim and the US Virgin Islands. JP Morgan is accused of facilitating Epstein’s sexual abuse by failing to spot red flags and act on them.
The testimony was revealed at a court hearing in Manhattan on Thursday, where Staley was represented by Brendan Sullivan, a senior partner at Williams & Connolly whose past clients include Oliver North, a former National Security Council aide charged in the Iran-Contra scandal. .
JPMorgan has accused Staley, who worked at the bank for more than 30 years until his departure in 2013, of playing a key role in handling Epstein’s relationship with the bank. Staley previously denied any involvement in Epstein’s alleged crimes.
The judge in the case, Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York, on Thursday moved the trial date from Sept. 5 to Oct. 23, in part to accommodate increased involvement by Staley’s legal team. Staley is not a defendant in either case against JP Morgan.
JP Morgan has said the cases lack merit and asked the court to dismiss them. Rakoff said he would try to rule by the end of March.
The two lawsuits provide the most complete picture yet of JPMorgan’s relationship with Epstein, who was a client of its private bank for wealthy clients from 1998 to 2013.
Court documents allege that JPMorgan executives ignored warnings by its risk and compliance teams about Epstein’s links to child trafficking and molestation of young girls.
They also showed messages in which Staley advocated for JPMorgan to continue its business relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges that he sex-trafficked with underage girls. were
Staley left JPMorgan just months before Epstein’s relationship with the bank ended in 2013, joining hedge fund BlueMountain Capital and later taking over at Barclays in 2015. He stepped down in 2021 after UK regulators investigated his relationship with Epstein.
