Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Federal Judge Allows Epstein Survivors’ Claims Against FirstBank to Proceed (9/30/26)

Transcript

Federal Judge Allows Epstein Survivors’ Claims Against FirstBank to Proceed (9/30/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. Back in June of this year, there was
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: a lawsuit filed by Epstein survivors that targeted First Bank
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: of Puerto Rico. And according to the lawsuit, First Bank
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: of Puerto Rico and their financial relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: helped Jeffrey Epstein continue the abuse for years. Now, of course,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the bank denies all of that. And they say that
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: they had no idea what Jeffrey Epstein really was or
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: what he was up to. But it doesn't look like
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Judge Rakoff is ready to buy that excuse. And Judge
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Rakoff has ruled that the lawsuit can go forward and
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: that First Bank is going to have to defend themselves
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: in a court of law. And look, anytime you have
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: this kind of situation and you're a bank, things are
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: not looking good. Now, of course, we know nobody's going
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: to go to prison, but it does open the curtain
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: once again. and give you a look in the room.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: And the fact that all of these financial institutions were
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: able to do what they did with Epstein for so
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: long is a gigantic problem. And if you think that
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein's the only one, you have not been paying attention.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Because I assure you, the next Jeffrey Epstein, or the
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: current Jeffrey Epstein, is active as we speak. And unless
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: we have real transparency, and we hold people accountable, this
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: carousel of terror is just going to continue to spin.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: So today, we have an article from Law Commentary and
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: the headline, First Bank Must Face Epstein Survivor Sex Trafficking
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Lawsuit Judge Rules. This article was authored by Bridget Lucky.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: A federal judge in New York has allowed Jeffrey Epstein
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: survivors to pursue most of their lawsuit, accusing First Bank
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Puerto Rico of helping sustain a sex trafficking operation through
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: a banking relationship that allegedly lasted more than two decades.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: And what I hope is that this doesn't end up
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: in a settlement. I hope that they see this all
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: the way through. I want to get to discovery. I
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: want to get to an actual trial. And I want
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: to see what's what. All these banks talk a big game. Oh,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: we had no idea what Epstein was. We had no
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: idea what he was doing. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: And then all of them settle for a king's ransom.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: And then they want us to believe that they had,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: you know, no liability. They did nothing wrong. Have you
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: ever heard of a bank just shelling out money for
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: no reason if they did nothing wrong? Have you ever
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: tried to claw back a couple of bucks that might
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: have been misappropriated from you by some scumbag? You know
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: the hoops you have to jump through? But if you're
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein, we're going to make sure that everything's all good.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: And if you're abusing girls, what do we care? U.S.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: District Judge Jed S. Rakoff rejected First Bank, Puerto Rico,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: and parent company First Bank Corp. 's bid to dismiss
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: the Survivor Central claim that the bank knowingly benefited from
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: participating in Epstein's trafficking venture. The September 25th, 2026 order
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: also allows the claim under New York City's gender-motivated Violence
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Protection Act to proceed. So look, the bank is going
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: to have to defend this. And if I have to
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: pull out my crystal ball and go Miss Cleo on you, well,
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: I would say that it's going to end in a settlement.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Not the desired outcome. but certainly the outcome that's probably
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: being queued up for us. Now, of course, First Bank
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Puerto Rico is going to deny the claims, and they're
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: going to act like they had no idea, right? Like
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: we talked about in the opening. But they knew. They knew.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Epstein was already convicted. All those rumors were already out there.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: Glenn Maxwell had already lost her lawsuit. So what are
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: they even talking about right now? Rakoff dismissed a separate
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: claim accusing First Bank of obstructing enforcement of the Federal
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Trafficking Victims Protection Act. He rejected the bank's challenges to
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: jurisdiction and venue, allowing the remaining claims to proceed in Manhattan.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: A more detailed opinion explaining his reasoning will follow. And
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: chances are this ends up being a class action, right?
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: There's going to be more women. There's going to be
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: more people who assign their names to this. And I
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: think that when all is said and done, we have
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: a pretty big claim here. Now again, that doesn't mean
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: that it's going to progress the way people want it
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: to progress. And it doesn't mean that it's going to
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: come to a conclusion that everybody wants. But if history
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: is any guide, when it comes to the banks that
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: were involved with Epstein, they're pretty much the only entity
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: that's ended up really being grilled, right? When you look
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: around at everybody else, the banks have received the deepest colonoscopy.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: And even with that, we hardly know anything. So that
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: just shows you and tells you how deep the hole goes.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: The lawsuit was filed June 24th by Epstein's survivor, Julia Malkanova,
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  Speaker 1: who initially proceeded as Jane Doe. She's seeking to represent
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: women who say they were sexually abused or trafficked by
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Epstein or his associates. Malkanova alleges First Bank was Epstein's
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: longest-serving banking partner and provided financial services connected to him
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: and disorganization from at least 1998 through 2020. The complaint
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: accuses the bank of maintaining more than 30 accounts tied
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: to Epstein, his companies, and associates while receiving financial benefits
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: from the relationship. Well, yeah, that's what happened. Jeffrey Epstein
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: was the kind of guy that opened doors, created conversations
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: for rich people, and the financial sector. And that's why
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: he was so useful. He was able to open doors
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  Speaker 1: that other people weren't able to open. This man could
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: reach out to somebody in Russia, and before you know it,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: he has Putin's ear. Same goes for in Israel. Let's
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: not act like that's not true. It is. This man
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: was very good friends with Ehud Barak, one of the
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: most powerful men in Israel for a very long time.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Or what about Mr. Burns here in America? You know,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: the guy that was running the CIA under Joe Biden? Yeah.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Also one of Jeffrey Epstein's compatriots. Also one of Jeffrey
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Epstein's buddies. So when you're talking about somebody like Epstein,
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: who can open doors, he has a lot of potential
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: to be useful, right? Especially if you're some big-wig businessman
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: or financial guru who's looking to get their foot in
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: the door in a place like, oh, I don't know,
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Mongolia or Afghanistan. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act allows survivors
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: to seek damages from entities they allege knowingly benefited from
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: participating in a trafficking venture. Malkinova claims First Bank meets
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  Speaker 1: that standard because it continued providing financial services to Epstein
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: while possessing information that should have alerted the bank to
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: his conduct. Look, there is no doubt. And all they
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: have to do is follow the blueprint that they used
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: against J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank. Because that's a winning formula.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: And I think that's what we'll see here. When all
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: is said and done, it's going to be some kind
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: of agreement. And the bank will pay out X amount
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: of millions and they'll keep it moving. On to the
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: next scumbag. Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: state charges involving prostitution and a minor and was required
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: to register as a sex offender. Malkinova, alleged's first bank,
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: continued handling accounts and transactions connected to him long after
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: his conviction and after other financial institutions ended their relationship
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: with him. Well, they had to make more money, right?
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Gotta make a couple extra bucks. on the back end
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse and carnage. I mean, what, you
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: think we're not going to profit off of this? According
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: to the complaint, First Bank maintained a primary account in
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Epstein's name from November 2000 through October 2019. The filing
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: alleges the account was used for cash withdrawals that helped
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: finance his abuse and says the bank continued providing services
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: after Epstein's July 2019 federal arrest on sex trafficking charges.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Imagine keeping a relationship with somebody who gets nailed for
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: this shit. And don't give me the whole, oh, well,
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: he's innocent until proven guilty. Bro's already a registered sex offender.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: Shut the fuck up. And you know what the funniest
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: thing about that is? All the people that say that shit,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: I wonder if they'd let Jeffrey Epstein come over to
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: their house and have some dinner with their kids, especially
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: if they have some teenage daughters. I'm sure you'd be very,
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: very gung-ho about that, right? But if that daughter is
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: somebody from across the tracks, from a poor family, then
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: who gives a shit? That's how they feel. That's how
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: they think. And that's certainly what they think about your
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: kids and you. Makanova also claims First Bank processed at
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: least $ 21 million in wire transfers involving Epstein's accounts from
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: 2013 until his death in August 2019. By 2016, according
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: to the filing, Epstein had been designated a platinum banking
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: client whose account and wire transfer fees were waived. Well, yeah, look,
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: he's bringing in a bunch of money. He's going to
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: get some benefits from the bank, right? That's how it works.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: But once the banks realize the kind of scumbag, the viper,
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: that they're dealing with, they should cut off ties. And
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: if they don't, then they have to answer for that
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: later on. And well, it's later on. The lawsuit further
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: alleges First Bank waited until after Epstein's 2019 arrest to
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: file a suspicious activity report concerning transactions associated with him.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: And that's something that we've seen over and over again.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: It's an ongoing theme. These banks should have been filing
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: these SARs as they were coming in, but instead, they
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: waited for him to be arrested to file them. Those
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: allegations remain unproven. First Bank has argued that it provided
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: routine banking services and had no knowledge of Epstein's sex
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: trafficking operation. First Bank Corp has said it and First
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: Bank categorically deny the claims, intend to vigorously defend themselves
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: and maintain compliance and anti-money laundering programs. Okay, great. Can't
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: wait to see you guys in court. Since you're so
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: gung-ho about defending your behavior, let's actually go to trial.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: What do you think? First Bank joins other financial institutions
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: sued by Epstein survivors over banking services provided to the
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: late financier. You mean pedophile. JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank
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  Speaker 1: previously reached settlements in separate litigation without admitting liability. In August,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: a federal judge approved a $ 72. 5 million settlement between Bank
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: of America and and Epstein accusers, who alleged that the
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: bank ignored warning signs while processing transactions tied to his operation.
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  Speaker 1: Malkinova is seeking certification of the case as a class action.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: A class certification hearing is scheduled for October 15th before
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Judge Rakoff in Manhattan. Alright, so things are moving quickly here,
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: and this is just one of the other offshoots of
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: the main story. And as you all know, there are
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: plenty of these side battles occurring. The good news is
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: we're going to be here following along every step of
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: the way. And when we have some more information about
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: this lawsuit, we'll get that added to the catalog as well.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: All the information that goes with this episode can be
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: found in the description box.