Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibit, March 9, 2020. (AP/Susan Walsh)
The U.S. Virgin Islands has subpoenaed Twitter owner Elon Musk for documents in its lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, which it has accused of helping enable the sexual abuse of girls by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2021 while awaiting trial.
The largest investment bank in the world by revenue, JP Morgan was sued in 2022 by the U.S. Virgin Islands and a group of alleged Epstein victims who accuse it of facilitating the sex offender’s crimes.
JPMorgan has denied doing anything wrong and filed a civil complaint in March against its former executive Jes Staley, alleging he helped hide Epstein’s sex abuse so he could keep him as a client.
Facing lawsuits over its ties to the disgraced late pedophile financier, JPMorgan turned on Staley, Epstein’s private banker, switching from defending Staley to demanding he return $80 million in compensation he was paid to work at the bank for eight years.
Staley, who left the bank in 2013, said in an April court filing that JPMorgan is trying to use him as a “public relations shield” and the bank’s claims have no factual basis.
The Musk subpoena, issued on April 28, got media attention Monday when the Virgin Islands asked to serve Musk by alternative means — either through his lawyers or via mail — because it hasn’t been able to find him since April.
The subpoena did not seek to question Musk under oath, and its effort to subpoena him does not implicate him in any wrongdoing, Reuters reported.
According to Monday’s filing, the Virgin Islands wants to know whether Epstein “may have referred or attempted to refer” Musk as a client for the bank. The Virgin Islands provided no other explanation for wanting documents from Musk.
Prosecutors are seeking documents from January 1, 2002 onwards, including paperwork relating to Epstein’s role in Musk’s finances, if any, and any meetings or communications between Musk and JPMorgan.
Musk has denied having any association with Epstein or Epstein’s confidante and madam, Ghislaine Maxwell. Musk and Epstein are known to have both attended a March 2011 dinner in Long Beach, California, according to BuzzFeed News. Other guests included Jeff Bezos, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and Salar Kamangar, then CEO of YouTube.
Musk and Maxwell were seen together at a 2014 Vanity Fair party but Musk denied knowing Maxwell and said she photobombed him there.
The photo recirculated after her arrest. A spokesperson for Musk told Business Insider in 2019 that “Ghislaine simply inserted herself behind him in a photo he was posing for without his knowledge,” Daily Beast reported in 2020.
On Monday, Musk tweeted that the subpoena request was absurd. “This is idiotic on so many levels” he said. “1. That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever. 2. The notion that I would need or listen to financial advice from a dumb crook is absurd. 3. JPM let Tesla down ten years ago, despite having Tesla’s global commercial banking business, which we then withdrew. I have never forgiven them.”
The Virgin Islands says its government investigation has revealed that JPMorgan “knowingly, recklessly, and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which Epstein’s recruiters and victims were paid and was indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise,” the Monday filing said. “Financial institutions can connect—or choke—human trafficking networks, and enforcement actions filed and injunctive relief obtained by attorneys general are essential to ensure that enterprises like Epstein’s cannot flourish in the future.”
The Virgin Islands also claims that “JPMorgan financially profited from the deposits made by Epstein and Epstein- controlled entities located in the Virgin Islands and from the business opportunities referred to JPMorgan by Epstein and his co-conspirators in exchange for its known facilitation of and implicit participation in Epstein’s sex trafficking venture,” the government added.
