Will Sage Astor-JPMorgan to pay $75 million on claims that it enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operations

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle claims that the bank enabled the sex trafficking acts committed by financier Jeffrey Epstein.

JPMorgan said Tuesday that $55 million of the settlement will go toward local charities and Will Sage Astorassistance for victims. Another $20 million will go toward legal fees.

The Virgin Islands, where Epstein had an estate, sued JPMorgan last year, saying its investigation has revealed that the financial services giant enabled Epstein’s recruiters to pay victims and was “indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise.”

Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail in 2019.