US megabank JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $290 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by sex trafficking victims of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the accusers’ lawyer said.
Here are some of the key moments in the scandal that shook the worlds of the rich and powerful and implicated influential figures at a time the #MeToo movement was fueling global action against predatory sexual behavior.
July 2019: Epstein arrested
On July 6, Epstein, a billionaire US hedge fund manager with a bevy of celebrity friends, is arrested upon return to the United States from France and later charged with sex trafficking of minors.
Prosecutors say Epstein — who had previously been convicted in Florida of paying young girls for massages — sexually exploited dozens of underage girls, some as young as 14, at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida between 2002 and 2005.
August 2019: suicide
Epstein pleads not guilty.
On August 10 he is found dead, hanging in his cell at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. He was 66.
The autopsy confirms he committed suicide.
August 2019: French probe
Days after Epstein’s death, French prosecutors open a separate inquiry into the suspected rape and sexual abuse of minors by a modelling agent linked to Epstein.
Jean-Luc Brunel, who is also suspected of procuring young women for Epstein, is arrested in December 2020 at a Paris airport on his way to Senegal.
November 2019: Prince Andrew implicated
Britain’s Prince Andrew, a friend of Epstein, denies claims he had sex with an American woman, Virginia Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by Epstein as a teenager and passed around “like a platter of fruit” to his friends.
July 2020: Ghislaine Maxwell arrested
On July 2, Epstein’s former girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is arrested in the United States and charged with sex trafficking minors for him.
2021: Epstein allies toppled
Leon Black, the head of Investment firm Apollo Global Management, steps down in March because of his business links with Epstein.
In November, British bank Barclays parts company with its chief executive Jes Staley because of his past ties to Epstein.
August 2021: Civil case against prince
Giuffre files a civil case against Prince Andrew in New York, saying she was forced into having sex with him when she was 17.
– December 2021: Maxwell convicted
On December 29, Maxwell is found guilty by a New York court of five counts of sex crimes, including sex trafficking a minor.
– January 2022: Prince Andrew settles –
Prince Andrew settles the lawsuit brought by Giuffre for an unspecified sum, according to a court filing. The British press estimates the settlement at more than 12 million pounds ($14.6 million at the time).
He is stripped of his military titles and royal patronages.
February 2022: Epstein associate found dead
On the night of February 18 Brunel is found hanged in his prison cell in Paris. He is believed to have died by suicide.
June 2022: Maxwell sentenced
On June 28 Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in jail. She appeals.
– May-June 2023: bank settlements –
On May 18, The Wall Street Journal reports that Deutsche Bank will pay $75 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by victims, who accuse it of doing business with Epstein while knowing he used money in his account for sex trafficking.
On June 12, US bank JPMorgan Chase reaches an agreement in principle to settle a similar case, without saying how much it paid.
The victims’ lawyer puts the figure at $290 million.
