Kathy Ruemmler, former White Space Suggest, seems on “Meet the Press” in Washington, D.C., June 29, 2014.
William B. Plowman | NBCUniversal | Getty Photographs
Intercourse predator Jeffrey Epstein used to be concerned about organising a shopper courting between Obama White Space suggest Kathryn Ruemmler and JPMorgan Chase in February 2019, 4 months ahead of he used to be arrested on federal kid intercourse trafficking fees, a bombshell courtroom submitting published Tuesday.
Ruemmler, who’s now basic suggest for Goldman Sachs, used to be touted via Epstein’s private assistant to JPMorgan as a super buyer, the submitting displays.
The advice that JPMorgan take Ruemmler on as a shopper — which the financial institution warmly embraced — got here virtually six years after JPMorgan mentioned it had successfully fired Epstein as a shopper after repeated pink flags being raised about him for years internally on the financial institution.
And it got here 5 months ahead of Epstein killed himself in August 2019 in a New york federal prison, the place he used to be being held with out bail pending trial.
Ruemmler declined to remark via a Goldman Sachs spokesman.
CNBC one after the other emailed her to invite how she knew Epstein, and what wisdom she had of his historical past of being convicted in 2008 of a intercourse crime in Florida.
The New york federal courtroom submitting detailing her connection to Epstein used to be filed via the federal government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which is suing JPMorgan.
The American territory alleges that JPMorgan enabled and benefitted from Epstein’s intercourse trafficking of younger women to the Virgin Islands, the place he had a house, all over the years he maintained accounts on the financial institution, from 1998 via 2013., claiming the financial institution enabled and benefited from intercourse trafficking of younger women via Epstein.
JPMorgan denies any wrongdoing within the case, the place the territory is looking for no less than $190 million in damages.
The financial institution remaining month agreed to settle a identical lawsuit in the similar courtroom via an Epstein accuser, paying $290 million to her and different Epstein sufferers.
The case is scheduled to visit trial in past due October.
“Even after his go out proper up till his arrest in 2019, JPMorgan endured to paintings with Epstein,” the Virgin Islands mentioned in its submitting.
The submitting says that JPMorgan admits “Epstein used to be concerned within the status quo of a buyer courting with Kathryn Ruemmler,” who used to be the longest-serving White Space basic suggest underneath former President Barack Obama
The submitting says that during February 2019, Epstein’s assistant Leslie Groff introduced to introduce Mary Erdoes, a best JPMorgan government, to Ruemmler, as a result of she sought after to open an account with JPMorgan and Epstein concept the 2 of them “would bond.”
“Erdoes escalated the referral to Stacey Friedman, JPMorgan’s Normal Suggest, who
replied ‘she is a rock megastar litigator at Latham. . . . I might assume she could be a super consumer,’ ” the Virgin Island mentioned in its submitting.
Ruemmler on the time labored on the regulation company Latham & Watkins.
In 2020 she joined Goldman Sachs as a spouse, and now’s Goldman’s leader felony officer and basic suggest.
The submitting additionally mentioned that Epstein at one time referred as a possible JPMorgan consumer Nicholas Ribis, a gaming guide who for many years ran casinos for former President Donald Trump.
Ribis didn’t right away reply to requests for remark.
JPMorgan claims in courtroom filings that the Virgin Islands used to be itself “complicit within the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein,” arguing that he gave high-ranking govt officers there cash, recommendation and favors in alternate for having a look the wrong way when he trafficked younger ladies.
JPMorgan additionally argues that its former government Jes Staley, who used to be buddies with Epstein when he used to be a shopper of the financial institution, is chargeable for any civil legal responsibility of the financial institution because of its trade courting with the intercourse perpetrator.
On Tuesday, newly unsealed courtroom filings via the financial institution display that Epstein used to be requested via former U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. John de Jongh Jr. for a mortgage of $215,000 after de Jongh used to be arrested on embezzlement fees that had been later disregarded.
Epstein’s corporate additionally paid de Jongh’s spouse Cecile a $300,000 lump sum severance cost after Epstein killed himself in a federal prison whilst looking ahead to trial on kid intercourse trafficking fees in August 2019, JPMorgan’s paperwork say. Cecile had labored for Epstein at his Southern Consider Corporate.
The paperwork additionally say that every other Epstein worker who labored for him within the Virgin Islands used to be granted a U.S. Customs and Border Coverage safety seal, which allowed that employee to “escort passengers via” Customs and Border screening spaces.
The financial institution in different courtroom filings has mentioned that Epstein paid for the varsity tuitions of the youngsters of John and Cecile de Jongh, and that Cecile had made efforts to acquire scholar visas and a piece license for younger ladies attached to Epstein.
A spokesman for the Virgin Islands’ Legal professional Normal’s Place of work advised CNBC that Epstein’s mortgage to former Gov. de Jongh happened after he left place of work in 2015. The fees towards de Jongh had been dropped in early 2016 via the Virgin Islands Division of Justice after he agreed to a separate financial agreement.
CNBC has reached out to remark from John de Jongh by way of an asset control corporate the place he’s a director.
The Virgin Islands spokesman additionally mentioned that “it used to be the government and no longer the Virgin Islands govt that granted the ‘U.S. Customs and Border Coverage Safety Seal.’ “
The Virgin Islands has mentioned that JPMorgan’s management saved Epstein as a shopper for years regardless of more than one warnings about him being raised internally on the financial institution, which incorporated bills to younger ladies, and a 2008 intercourse crime conviction in Florida which ended in a prison time period.
In its new courtroom submitting on Tuesday, the Virgin Islands cited a July 2011 e mail between Epstein and Erdoes, after JPMorgan’s fast reaction workforce determined that Epstein will have to be offboarded as a shopper, and after JPMorgan’s basic suggest advised Erdoes that Epstein used to be “no longer an individual we will have to do trade with — duration.”
Erdoes and Epstein emailed after he and the financial institution agreed to settle his lawsuit towards JPMorgan associated with cash he mentioned he used to be owed via Undergo Sterns, the funding financial institution taken over via JPMorgan.
“On July 26, 2011, Epstein wrote to Erdoes, ‘we could [sic] transfer on , [sic] and make some actual cash,’ ” the submitting mentioned.
“Erdoes replied, ‘Onwards and upwards, on such a lot of fronts,’ ” the submitting mentioned.
Epstein used to be no longer severed as a JPMorgan consumer for every other two years.
The brand new Virgin Islands submitting mentioned that Staley, in his deposition for the lawsuit, disclosed the names of other folks and firms that Epstein had referred to the financial institution as possible shoppers. An unsealed portion of Staley’s deposition used to be made public Tuesday.
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A number of the high-powered names indexed within the courtroom submitting are Google co-founder Sergey Brin, the Sultan of Dubai, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, former Microsoft CEO Invoice Gates, former Treasury Division Secretary Larry Summers, and tv journalist Katie Couric.
Staley, who were head of the financial institution’s asset and wealth control department, testified that he met all the ones other folks at Epstein’s townhouse at the Higher East Facet of New york.
The deposition additionally displays that Staley mentioned he had spoken to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon in 2006 when Epstein used to be arrested on Florida state fees of shopping a minor for prostitution, and solicitation of a prostitute.
JPMorgan has denied that declare. “Staley admits that during 2006 Jamie Dimon communicated with him referring to Epstein’s arrest,” the Virgin Islands mentioned within the courtroom submitting.
“Staley additionally testified that on or about July 26, 2006, he spoke to Dimon about Epstein’s indictment as a result of Dimon used to be his boss and the indictment of Epstein, a shopper of the financial institution, ‘used to be an overly public match.’ “
In different places within the deposition, Staley replied questions on going to look Epstein after an editorial used to be revealed in 2006 that mentioned, “Jeffrey Epstein craved giant properties, elite buddies – and, investigators say, underage ladies.”
The thing additionally said that two of “Epstein’s former workers advised investigators that younger having a look ladies confirmed as much as carry out massages two or thrice an afternoon when Epstein used to be on the town.”
The Virgin Islands submitting mentioned, “On July 25, 2006, Staley met with Epstein in particular person at Epstein’s house. In that seek advice from, Epstein admitted to the alleged “habits of enticing in intercourse for cash with younger ladies”—most effective denying the ‘ages.’ “
Staley later on wrote Erdoes.
“I went and noticed him remaining evening. I have by no means noticed him so shaken. He additionally adamantly denies the ages,” Staley wrote Erdoes, the submitting notes.
In his deposition, Staley used to be requested: “The habits that he used to be being accused of, he used to be admitting that he did it. He used to be simply denying that he knew the ages of the sufferers, proper?”
Staley responded, “Right kind.”
“And also you had been reporting that again to the financial institution, that what used to be being denied is the ages, proper?,” a attorney for the Virgin Islands requested.
Staley replied, “Proper.”
He then conceded that the financial institution knew that Epstein had admitted to enticing in intercourse for cash with younger ladies, whilst denying they had been underage.
The attorney then requested, “And so when the financial institution is receiving that knowledge, they now know what you realize, which is, that is the kind of habits that our consumer is enticing in, and the one dispute that he has concerning the allegations are the ages of the sufferers, proper?”
Staley responded, “That is right kind.”
