Elon Musk is being asked to turn over documents as part of a civil lawsuit by the US Virgin Islands against JPMorgan Chase over the bank’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, according to court documents filed on 15 May.
The US Virgin Islands said it wants information from Musk because it believes the Tesla chief executive “is a high-net-worth individual who Epstein may have referred or attempted to refer to JPMorgan”, according to the court filing.
Lawyers in the case issued a subpoena for documents to Musk on April 28, but they have been unable to physically serve him with the court papers, according to the 15 May filing. So the lawyers are seeking a judge’s approval to issue the subpoena to Musk by email, the filing states.
In a tweet, Musk called the subpoena “idiotic on so many levels” and said that Epstein never advised him. “The notion that I would need or listen to financial advice from a dumb crook is absurd,” he said.
Musk also said Tesla had a dispute with JPMorgan a decade ago and withdrew its business from the bank. “I have never forgiven them,” he said.
Spokeswomen for the US Virgin Islands and JPMorgan declined to comment.
READ JPMorgan staff internally flagged Jeffrey Epstein’s cash withdrawals before conviction
It is unclear how much business Musk would have done with JPMorgan. He currently has a contentious relationship with the bank and his companies have largely relied on other banks.
Epstein, who had a residence in the US Virgin Islands, banked with JPMorgan for a number of years until it closed his accounts in 2013, though bankers continued meeting with him years later, the Journal has reported. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The US Virgin Islands sued JPMorgan late last year in a Manhattan federal court, saying the bank facilitated Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking and abuse by allowing the late financier to remain a client and helping him send money to his victims.
The civil lawsuit alleges that JPMorgan received referrals of high-value business opportunities from Epstein and turned a blind eye to his activities. The bank has said it didn’t know about Epstein’s alleged crimes and can’t be held liable.
In March, the US Virgin Island issued subpoenas to other billionaires, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, to gather information for its civil lawsuit. In civil cases, lawyers can use subpoenas during the discovery process to get information from people who aren’t a party to a lawsuit but could provide evidence related to the case.
READ Jamie Dimon to face questions over JPMorgan’s ties with Jeffrey Epstein
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is scheduled to be deposed as part of the case. Lawyers have already questioned several JPMorgan employees in this case and one filed by an unnamed woman who accused Epstein of sexual abuse. The cases are running concurrently in Manhattan federal court.
Write to Khadeeja Safdar at khadeeja.safdar@wsj.com and David Benoit at David.Benoit@wsj.com
This article was published by The Wall Street Journal, part of Dow Jones
