The U.S. Virgin Islands have issued a subpoena to Twitter CEO Elon Musk as part of its lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase over sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein, a longtime customer of the bank, according to a recent court filing.
Efforts to serve Musk with the subpoena have been underway since late April, prompted by suspicions that Epstein may have referred or attempted to refer Musk as a client to JPMorgan.
CNBC reported:
The U.S. Virgin Islands issued a subpoena to Tesla CEO Elon Musk seeking documents as part of that government’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase over sex trafficking by the bank’s longtime customer Jeffrey Epstein, a court filing revealed Monday.
That filing said the Virgin Islands has tried since late April to serve Musk with the subpoena, which was issued because Epstein “may have referred or attempted to refer” Musk as a client to JPMorgan.
The USVI hired an investigative firm to try to locate an address from Musk, and also contacted one of the CEO’s lawyers, who in the past has waived the requirement of him being personally served with legal documents in past federal cases, according to the filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
“The Government contacted Mr. Musk’s counsel via email to ask if he would be authorized to accept service on Mr. Musk’s behalf in this matter but did not receive a response confirming or denying his authority,” the filing said.
The Virgin Islands asked Judge Jed Rakoff to authorize the government to serve Musk with the subpoena through so-called alternative service, which can includes taking out an advertisement alerting him to legal the demand for documents.
The lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase is part of broader efforts to hold financial institutions accountable for their potential role in enabling Epstein’s criminal activities. The government’s subpoena to Elon Musk aims to gather documents that could shed light on any connections or transactions involving Epstein.
In April, legal filings in New York revealed that JPMorgan Chase had knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s illegal activities involving underage girls as early as 2006 but continued doing business with him until 2013, according to a recent deposition by Mary Erdoes, head of asset management at the bank.
The US Virgin Islands are seeking damages from JPMorgan, accusing the bank of profiting from human trafficking by maintaining Epstein as a client. The bank had previously dismissed the lawsuit as groundless.