JPMorgan Chase, the owner of Chase Bank, gave the U.S. Virgin Islanders $75 million to clear their name of any involvement in the Jeffery Epstein Island sex trafficking ring.
According to the Associated Press, Chase had been accused of providing funds to Epstein when he was labeled as a risky business partner and had shown multiple large withdrawals of funds from Epstein’s account.
Due to not placing an investigation into his account and not notifying law enforcement of his suspicious transactions, Chase had been sued by the Virgin Islands for $190 million.
$55 million of the $75 million donation will be used to provide aid to shelters and law enforcement in relation to sex trafficking and $10 million will be going towards mental health treatment for those who have suffered from Epstein’s Island.
The bank claims they had no knowledge of what Epstein’s doings, while the U.S. Virgin Islands claims they were letting it happen.
Epstein had worked in a bank and was a schoolteacher before befriending elites and other powerful people, though it had been believed there was other corruption associated with his apparent wealth.
Epstein had been awaiting trial in Manhattan, NY, since July 6, 2019, for sex trafficking charges until he committed suicide in his jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019.
He had been accused of moving underaged girls from all around the world and taking them to his private island, Little St. James, located in the Caribbean. Epstein was a registered sex offender in 2010, but had been seen on multiple accounts by airline employees with underage girls and ushering them to his private jet.
As stated by Vanity Fair, airline records showed the jet going to multiple places around the world such as Mexico, Paris, London, etc. The airline employees explained seeing underage girls with expensive shopping bags and college sweatshirts on.
There had been no record of law enforcement checking on Epstein to make sure he was complying with his sex offender restrictions.
According to the New York Times, Epstein’s crimes consisted of engaging in sex acts and sex trafficking with underage girls as young as 14. He was facing up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
The U.S. Department of State records that there are an estimated 27.6 million victims who are involved with human trafficking.
Sex trafficking, a subcategory of human trafficking, is “when a trafficker uses force, fraud, or coercion to compel another person to engage in a commercial sex act or causes a child to engage in a commercial sex act,” U.S. Department of State states.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children explains that “In 2021, over 17,200 reports of child sex trafficking from all 50 U.S. States, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.”
There have been many efforts by organizations to provide the signs of a child being a victim of sexual assault such as signs of abuse, malnourishment, in possession of sexual content etc. Sex trafficking is happening everywhere, even in the U.S.
To report a case of child sex trafficking, call 1-800-843-5678, which is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children hotline.
