Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / The USVI And Their Motion In Opposition To JP Morgan's Request For Dismissal (Part 2) (9/20/26)

Transcript

The USVI And Their Motion In Opposition To JP Morgan's Request For Dismissal (Part 2) (9/20/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: In this episode we're picking up where we left off
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  Speaker 1: with the USVI's motion to deny the request to dismiss
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  Speaker 1: made by J.P. Morgan. The argument. 1. The government pleads
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  Speaker 1: an actionable TVPA claim. A. Section 1595D applies to J.P.
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  Speaker 1: Morgan's conduct. In 2018, Congress added Subsection D, which recognizes
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  Speaker 1: a right of action for State Attorneys General to to
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  Speaker 1: prosecute sex trafficking to Section 1595's existing civil remedy. See
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  Speaker 1: Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act
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  Speaker 1: of 2017. J.P. Morgan argues that Section 1595d increased its
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  Speaker 1: liability by widening the universe of possible plaintiffs and relief
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  Speaker 1: and thus cannot be applied retroactively. There is no increased liability.
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  Speaker 1: Section 1595D applies to a defendant whose conduct violated Section 1591,
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  Speaker 1: a criminal prohibition enacted in 2000. See Victims of Trafficking
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  Speaker 1: and Violence Protection Act of 2000. This conduct was also
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  Speaker 1: a basis for civil liability in 2003. See Trafficking Victims
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  Speaker 1: Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003. So too was relief the
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  Speaker 1: government seeks under Section 1595D, including damages and attorney fees
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  Speaker 1: previously recoverable under Section 1595A. Injunct of relief and civil
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  Speaker 1: fines were also recoverable under SECO for violations of the TVPA,
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  Speaker 1: as the government seeks in Count 2 and in its
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  Speaker 1: prayer for relief. C. Alvarez, Machain v. United States, 107 F. 3D
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  Speaker 1: 696-702 9th Circuit, 1996 Act does not impose new duties
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  Speaker 1: or liabilities on defendants where other laws, including state laws,
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  Speaker 1: already prohibited conduct and afforded relief. In Velez-Sanchez, cited by J.P. Morgan,
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  Speaker 1: Motion Act 5, by contrast, the 2003 TVPA amendment, created
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  Speaker 1: a civil remedy where only criminal liability previously existed. Hughes
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  Speaker 1: Aircraft Company v. U.S., Schumer 520 U.S. 939 1997 does
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  Speaker 1: not support J.P. Morgan's argument against retroactivity. There, the Supreme
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  Speaker 1: Court held that the extension of an FCA cause of
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  Speaker 1: action to private parties in circumstances where the action was
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  Speaker 1: previously foreclosed essentially creates a new cause of action because
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  Speaker 1: it materially changed the incentives and stakes of False Claims
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  Speaker 1: Act cases. As a class of plaintiffs, QTAM realtors are
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  Speaker 1: different in kind than the government, They are motivated primarily
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  Speaker 1: by prospects of monetary reward rather than the public good,
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  Speaker 1: and have greater incentives than the public vessel to prosecute
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  Speaker 1: claims under the strong stimulus of personal ill will or
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  Speaker 1: the hope of gain. Qui tam realtors are, Hughes concluded,
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  Speaker 1: thus less likely than the government to forego an action
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  Speaker 1: arguably based on a mere technical noncompliance with reporting requirements,
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  Speaker 1: that involved no harm to the public first. In these
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  Speaker 1: particular circumstances, Hughes held the amendment essentially creates a new
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  Speaker 1: cause of action, not just an increased likelihood that an
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  Speaker 1: existing cause of action will be pursued. Idea 950, citing
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  Speaker 1: Winfrey v. North Pacific Railroad, 227 U.S. 296-302-1913. Here, the
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  Speaker 1: legislative history makes clear that the amendment created a right
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  Speaker 1: of action, not a new cause of action, for state
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  Speaker 1: attorneys general to pursue sex trafficking. 164 congressional record. Further,
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  Speaker 1: the government has no incentives, making it more likely than
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  Speaker 1: victims to bring a civil action under Section 1595. J.P.
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  Speaker 1: Morgan has asserted none. The legislative history shows that the
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  Speaker 1: amendment was intended to have states fight alongside victims to
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  Speaker 1: provide extra litigation leverage for individuals who are impacted in
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  Speaker 1: a devastating manner. Congress intended more resources, more investigators, and
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  Speaker 1: more prosecutors for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. thereby
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  Speaker 1: increasing the likelihood an existing cause of action would be pursued.
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  Speaker 1: Such a more efficient and complete remedy is not impermissibly retroactive.
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  Speaker 1: Even if the amendment did not apply retroactively, the government
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  Speaker 1: alleges post-enactment conduct by J.P. Morgan, violating Section 1591a and 2,
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  Speaker 1: next part redacted. J.P. Morgan's wrong that the post-enactment conduct
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  Speaker 1: is irrelevant because, it contends, it no longer was processing
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  Speaker 1: new payments. The government alleges J.P. Morgan continued facilitating Epstein's
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  Speaker 1: ongoing trafficking by redacted for over a year after Section
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  Speaker 1: 1595's enactment. Section 1595D thus does not have impermissible retroactive effect. B.
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  Speaker 1: The government has Perrin's Patriot standing under Section 1595D. J.P.
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  Speaker 1: Morgan's wrong that the government does not assert any quasi-sovereign
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  Speaker 1: interests sufficient to support Perrin's Patriot standing. The Supreme Court
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  Speaker 1: has long recognized that a state has a quasi-sovereign interest
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  Speaker 1: in the health and well-being, both physical and economic, of
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  Speaker 1: its residents in general. The government asserts that interest here.
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  Speaker 1: CEG FAC-3 Attorney General brings this action in her ongoing
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  Speaker 1: effort to protect public safety and to hold accountable those
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  Speaker 1: who facilitated or participated in the trafficking enterprise. Financial institutions
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  Speaker 1: can connect or choke human trafficking networks, and state enforcement
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  Speaker 1: actions filed are essential to ensure that enterprises like Epstein's
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  Speaker 1: cannot flourish in the future. J.P. Morgan has caused serious
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  Speaker 1: harm to the Virgin Islands and its residents by facilitating
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  Speaker 1: the Commission of Sexual Abuse Against Young Women and Underage Girls,
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  Speaker 1: including their engagement in commercial sex acts in the Virgin Islands. J.P.
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  Speaker 1: Morgan's conduct furthered a widespread and dangerous criminal sex trafficking
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  Speaker 1: venture operated in and from the Virgin Islands, and demonstrated
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  Speaker 1: such wanton disregard for the safety of young women and
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  Speaker 1: underage girls in the Virgin Islands. JPMorgan argues the government
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  Speaker 1: does not allege that Epstein's victims included any USVI residents,
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  Speaker 1: but even if it did, USVI would still need to
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  Speaker 1: articulate how JPMC's conduct directly or indirectly injured a substantial
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  Speaker 1: portion of its population. The government alleges that a number
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  Speaker 1: of Epstein's victims were trafficked to, held captive in, and
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  Speaker 1: sexually abused in the Virgin Islands, causing them grave physical, mental,
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  Speaker 1: and emotional injury. The government also alleges that it has
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  Speaker 1: substantial interest in assuring its residents it will act to
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  Speaker 1: protect them from the harmful effects of criminal sex trafficking
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  Speaker 1: enterprises flourishing in the islands that are their home. C.F.
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  Speaker 1: Snap 458, U.S. at 609. The state has a substantial
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  Speaker 1: interest in reassuring its residents that it will act to
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  Speaker 1: protect them from the harmful effects of discrimination. In any event,
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  Speaker 1: neither Section 1595-D nor In interest of the residents, North
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  Speaker 1: Perrin's Patriot requires the government to allege injury to specific
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  Speaker 1: numbers of persons. See United States v. Hooker, Chemicals and
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  Speaker 1: Plastics Corporation 749 F. 2D, 968-984, 2nd Circuit, 1984. Injury to
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  Speaker 1: a fairly narrow class of persons. J.P. Morgan also argues
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  Speaker 1: in Perrin's Patriot cases, a state seeks injunctive relief for
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  Speaker 1: ongoing conduct. This argument fails under the plain language, of
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  Speaker 1: section 1595d which provides the government with a right of
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  Speaker 1: action where an interest of its residents has been or
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  Speaker 1: is threatened or adversely affected and under snap which involved
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  Speaker 1: the 1978 apple harvest on the east coast but was
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  Speaker 1: filed in 1979 after the conduct occurred and sought relief
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  Speaker 1: for the past practices of petitioners and sought injunctive relief
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  Speaker 1: not to enjoin ongoing conduct but to require defendants to
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  Speaker 1: conform to the relevant federal statutes and regulations in the
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  Speaker 1: future 458 U.S. at 597-99. Whether the state seeks damages
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  Speaker 1: or restitution that may inure to individuals does not alter
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  Speaker 1: the state's quasi-sovereign interest where the purpose of the case
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  Speaker 1: is the protection of the public, health, and safety of
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  Speaker 1: the residents of the Virgin Islands. CAU Optronics Corporation, South Carolina, 699, F. 3D 385-394,
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  Speaker 1: 4th Circuit, 2012. Claim for restitution is when tacked onto
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  Speaker 1: other claims being properly pursued by the state, does not
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  Speaker 1: alter the state's quasi-sovereign interest. C. The government pleads all
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  Speaker 1: elements of a Section 1591 A2 violation. 1. J.P. Morgan's
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  Speaker 1: participation in Epstein's commercial sex trafficking venture. J.P. Morgan is
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  Speaker 1: wrong that the government fails to allege that it participated
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  Speaker 1: by knowingly assisting, supporting, or facilitating a sex trafficking venture.
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  Speaker 1: The government alleges that J.P. Morgan is participated by facilitating
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  Speaker 1: payments to women and girls who were Epstein's victims and recruiters,
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  Speaker 1: channeling funds to Epstein to fund the operation and redacted. J.P.
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  Speaker 1: Morgan's facilitation and redacted made the sex trafficking venture possible
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  Speaker 1: and allowed ongoing and future sex trafficking. Financial institutions can
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  Speaker 1: connect or choke human trafficking networks. The government's allegations are
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  Speaker 1: on all fours with Canossa v. Ziff, Number 18, Civ 4-1-1-5, 2019. There,
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  Speaker 1: the courts found that a Weinstein victim plaintiff sufficiently alleged
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  Speaker 1: participation by production companies where they can plan alleged specific
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  Speaker 1: means and methods used by multiple company employees to facilitate
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  Speaker 1: Weinstein sexual assault and to cover them up afterwards, with
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  Speaker 1: a predictable effect of enabling future assaults by Weinstein. Canossa, 2019. So,
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  Speaker 1: to hear the government alleges JP Morgan facilitated Epstein's sex
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  Speaker 1: trafficking by facilitating payments to women and girls who were
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  Speaker 1: Epstein's trafficking victims and recruiters, totaling millions of dollars, and redacted,
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  Speaker 1: which also allowed Epstein to continue to engage in sex
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  Speaker 1: trafficking until he was arrested in 2019. In efforts to
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  Speaker 1: distinguish Canossa, J.P. Morgan argues there the production company gave
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  Speaker 1: Weinstein medications and other paraphernalia to perform sex acts. No
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  Speaker 1: different here where J.P. Morgan processed the payments for Epstein
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  Speaker 1: and his associates to perform sex acts. The government, who
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  Speaker 1: also alleges J.P. Morgan, issued payments to recruiters like the
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  Speaker 1: Canossa companies paying employees, whose responsibilities included introducing Weinstein to
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  Speaker 1: young women. J.P. Morgan is also wrong that the allegations
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  Speaker 1: as to J.P. Morgan are even more deficient than those
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  Speaker 1: deemed insufficient in Geese, Noble, and Lawson. In Geese and Lawson,
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  Speaker 1: the only purported participation alleged was making hush payments or
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  Speaker 1: drafting NDAs, conduct that took place after the trafficking and
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  Speaker 1: was not alleged as here to have enabled ongoing sex trafficking.
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  Speaker 1: In those narrow circumstances, the allegations were deemed insufficient to
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  Speaker 1: demonstrate participation in the trafficking. Noble v. Weinstein involved only
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  Speaker 1: allegations that defendant facilitated perpetrators' travel. Here is explained J.P.
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  Speaker 1: Morgan was involved in both carrying out and redacted. In
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  Speaker 1: further contrast, redacted-redacted enabled ongoing and future sex trafficking by
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  Speaker 1: Epstein until his arrest in 2019. All right, we're going
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  Speaker 1: to wrap up right here. And in the next episode,
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  Speaker 1: we're going to pick up with GG versus salesforce.com incorporated.
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  Speaker 1: All of the information that goes with this episode can
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  Speaker 1: be found in the description box.