11 votes

JPMorgan to pay $75 million in settlement involving Jeffrey Epstein

7 comments

  1. [7]
    Amun
    Link
    Luke Barr Know more...

    Luke Barr


    JPMorgan Chase will pay $75 million in a settlement involving the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

    Epstein was found dead in his cell at New York City's Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

    Know more...

    Virgin Islands officials said the bank should have known about Epstein's human trafficking, and that the investigation it conducted into the matter yielded significant information about the bank's dealings with Epstein.

    In its settlement with the Virgin Islands, JPMorgan Chase will contribute $30 million to organizations whose work is aimed at fighting human tracking, and contribute $25.5 million to "enhance" law enforcement infrastructure related to human trafficking. The remaining funds will cover USVI attorneys' fees.

    "JPMorgan Chase believes this settlement is in the best interest of all parties, particularly those who can benefit from efforts to combat human trafficking and for survivors who suffer unimaginable abuse at the hands of these criminals," the company said in a statement.

    The settlement does not involve admissions of liability on JPMorgan's part, although the company said it "deeply regrets" any association with Epstein.

    Another agreement was reached with former JPMorgan Chase executive James Staley, the details of which are confidential.

    3 votes
    1. [5]
      Amun
      Link Parent
      Whats $75 million to a bank which owns more than $3 trillion in assets? nice! So generous so kind so considerate of human suffering By the way, If you did not know it by now: Epstein did not hang...

      Whats $75 million to a bank which owns more than $3 trillion in assets?

      Another agreement was reached with former JPMorgan Chase executive James Staley, the details of which are confidential.

      nice!

      JPMorgan Chase will contribute $30 million to organizations whose work is aimed at fighting human tracking, and contribute $25.5 million to "enhance" law enforcement infrastructure related to human trafficking.

      So generous so kind so considerate of human suffering

      By the way, If you did not know it by now:

      Epstein did not hang himself

      5 votes
      1. cykhic
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        While I understand the broad sentiment, this statement seems somewhat misleading to me. Wikipedia pegs JPMorgan's total assets at over 3 trillion, but most of that belongs to their clients. Their...

        Whats $75 million to a bank which owns more than $3 trillion in assets?

        While I understand the broad sentiment, this statement seems somewhat misleading to me. Wikipedia pegs JPMorgan's total assets at over 3 trillion, but most of that belongs to their clients. Their total equity, which I think is closer to a measure of JPMorgan's actual global wealth, is "merely" about 300 billion.

        The statement also misses that JPMorgan is also paying 290 million directly to Epstein's victims. Considering that JPMorgan processed a total of about 1 billion worth of transactions for Epstein across the entire period, they would need to have been making something like 35% margins to "break even" with the settlements they're paying.

        Considering that JPMorgan's margins were probably [citation needed] closer to 3.5% than 35%, the settlements probably cost them something like 10x what they earned. Overall, my somewhat-informed opinion is that the total settlements were on the harsh side of fair.

        I'm writing this not out of any great love for JPMorgan or Epstein, but because I don't feel this settlement was obviously unfair, and because I think an "unlimited damages!" kind of mindset is more populist than productive.

        I'm not particularly knowledgeable in legal or financial things, I just have access to Google. If I'm wrong in anything here, I'm happy to be corrected.

        4 votes
      2. [2]
        ignorabimus
        Link Parent
        I always think it's strange to compare stocks and flows like this, but for a bank which made in excess of US$30bn in profit last year, it's a tiny amount.

        Whats $75 million to a bank which owns more than $3 trillion in assets?

        I always think it's strange to compare stocks and flows like this, but for a bank which made in excess of US$30bn in profit last year, it's a tiny amount.

        2 votes
        1. vord
          Link Parent
          Those $3 trillion in assets aren't sitting there buried underground waiting to be unearthed by India Jones. They're actively making money. All the time. Though $75 million out of even just $30...

          Those $3 trillion in assets aren't sitting there buried underground waiting to be unearthed by India Jones.

          They're actively making money. All the time.

          Though $75 million out of even just $30 billion is only 0.25%. Where I come from that's a "round to 0" situation.

      3. Caliwyrm
        Link Parent
        Immenint Press Release:

        JPMorgan Chase will contribute $30 million to organizations whose work is aimed at fighting human tracking, and contribute $25.5 million to "enhance" law enforcement infrastructure related to human trafficking.

        Immenint Press Release:

        We here at JP Morgan Chase are proud to reveal our new "Chase Bank Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition" headed by the wives or mistresses of our board and Cxx suite members in all the paid positions!"

        1 vote
    2. Astrospud
      Link Parent
      Yeah, "deeply regrets" getting caught lol.

      Yeah, "deeply regrets" getting caught lol.

      4 votes