JPMorgan accuses wife of former USVI governor in Epstein case
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JPMorgan accused former US Virgin Islands first lady Cecile de Jongh of being Epstein's "primary conduit for spreading money and influence throughout the USVI government."
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Women hold posters of Jeffrey Epstein in front of the New York Tribunal on July 8, 2019. (AFP)
The wife of the former US Virgin Islands (USVI) governor is facing allegations of supporting Jeffrey Epstein's sexual crimes by one of the biggest banks in the world.
Former Virgin Islands first lady Cecile de Jongh, also known by her maiden name, Cecile Galiber, held the position from 2007 to 2015 while her husband served as governor.
Cecile worked for American billionaire Epstein, who was imprisoned for obtaining minors for prostitution and child sex trafficking but allegedly committed suicide in jail while facing prosecution. She supervised Epstein's businesses in the US Virgin Islands, where she got $200,000 in total remuneration for the year 2007.
The bank also accuses Epstein of paying for Cecile's children's tuition while she advised him on how to allegedly "buy control of the USVI political class."
In the court document, JP Morgan stated that Epstein maintained a relationship with USVI's highest-ranking officials, giving them "money, advice, influence, and favors. In exchange, they shielded and even rewarded him."
Last year, the USVI sued JPMorgan, claiming it was "indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise." Their claim against Cecile is a part of their defense in opposition to the case, which asks the court to award the bank money damages.
The bank claims that Cecile enrolled Epstein's victims in "bespoke classes" at the University of the Virgin Islands that were designed to "provide cover for their presence in the territory" and assisted Epstein in obtaining student visas for his victims. When they were "enrolled," Epstein sent the institution $20,000 through one of his businesses.
According to the lawsuit, Cecile suggested Epstein have someone else write the papers for the victims' school payments because she could have been "cognizant of the risk in having a registered sex offender sign the letter.”
The USVI Port Authority, which managed the airport on St. Thomas where Epstein is accused of trafficking his victims, was another place where Epstein met with management. According to the article, Cecile requested Epstein to back a local lawmaker's effort to reapply for a position with the Port Authority since he would be a good fit for the organization.
The filing also said Epstein gave a lot of money to USVI politicians and the government, including $30,000 to Stacey Plaskett's campaign for US House of Representatives delegate since 2015, $25,000 to the inauguration committee of current Governor Albert Bryan, and contributions to a school library.
The court document details how “Based on his government connections, when traveling through the USVI’s airport accompanied by young women as a registered sex offender, Epstein could count on his ‘great relationship’ with the officials there to avoid scrutiny or detection.”
The filing also details how in 2010, Epstein reached out to Cecile to express his dissatisfaction with a "difficult" customs agent at the airport.
In 2011, Cecile also got in touch with Epstein to make sure the language of a measure that would have increased the surveillance of sex offenders "worked for him." Later, once the measure was approved, she expressed her regret to him for "how things panned out."
Last week, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by women accusing the German financial institution of facilitating sex trafficking carried out by Epstein.
The Wall Street Journal also revealed in a report that Epstein's affiliates include world-famous names such as CIA chief William Burns, White House counsel under Obama Kathryn Ruemmler, former Israeli PM Joshua Cooper Ramo, and more.
Moreover, another WSJ report said that JPMorgan Chase maintained contact with Epstein despite shutting his account in 2013.
According to court documents, Epstein was a JPMorgan client from roughly 2000 to 2013 and a Deutsche Bank client from 2013 to 2018.
According to the investigation, which cited persons familiar with the matter, Justin Nelson, a banker of Epstein's at JPMorgan, had many meetings at Epstein's home between 2014 and 2017. According to the article, Nelson also visited Epstein's property in New Mexico in 2016.
