The attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands has been fired just days after vowing to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s powerful friends and accomplices.
Denise George was reportedly “terminated” by the territory’s governor during Democrat President Joe Biden’s official visit to the islands.
Deceased child sex trafficker Epstein infamously owned a private island in the Virgin Islands where many of his victims have alleged the abuse took place.
The island, Little St. James, was known by locals and authorities as “Pedophile Island” and was visited by Epstein’s powerful friends.
The news of George’s firing comes just days after she made global headlines by moving to bring justice to those complicit in Epstein’s crimes.
As Slay News reported, George’s office filed a lawsuit last Tuesday against JPMorgan Chase, accusing the Wall Street bank of helping Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
The bank is accused of failing in its duty to report suspicious financial activity.
“Over more than a decade, JPMorgan (JPM) clearly knew it was not complying with federal regulations in regard to Epstein-related accounts as evidenced by its too-little too-late efforts after Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges and shortly after his death, when JPMorgan (JPM) belatedly complied with federal law,” said the complaint filed by then-U.S. Virgin Islands AG George.
The lawsuit added a dagger that should make all of Epstein’s friends nervous: “Human trafficking was the principal business of the accounts Epstein maintained at JPMorgan.”
The complaint accuses JPMorgan Chase of concealing “wire and cash transactions that raised suspicion of a criminal enterprise whose currency was the sexual servitude” of young girls.
She also accused the bank of “knowingly providing and pulling the levers through which [Epstein’s] recruiters and victims were paid.”
“Without the financial institution’s participation, Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme could not have existed,” the lawsuit says.
Bradley Edwards, a lawyer in the case against Deutsche Bank, told the Wall Street Journal earlier:
“The time has come for the real enablers to be held responsible, especially his wealthy friends and the financial institutions that played an integral role.
“These victims were wronged, by many, not just Epstein.
“He did not act alone.”
Despite the heroic nature of the bold move, George, who served as AG for four years, was “terminated” just days after filing the lawsuit.
USVI Governor Albert Bryan Jr confirmed in a statement on Sunday that he had “relieved Denise George of her duties as attorney general this weekend” without offering further details.
Citing a “source familiar with the matter,” the Virgin Islands Consortium reports that Bryan claims he fired George for not consulting him on the lawsuit.
However, Bryan’s spokesman told the Daily Mail that press reports citing the JPMorgan suit as the reason for George’s dismissal were “not entirely accurate.”
The governor’s spokesman, Richard Motta Jr, declined to comment further, saying in a statement, “I am not at liberty to discuss details on personnel matters.”
The governor said that Assistant Attorney General Carol Thomas-Jacobs will serve as acting attorney general.
In November, George reached a settlement of more than $105 million in a sex trafficking case against the estate of Epstein, who owned a private island in the territory where he abused underage girls.
Last week, George filed a lawsuit in Manhattan District Court alleging that JPMorgan ignored the truth surrounding Epstein, such as his 2008 conviction in Florida for procuring a child for prostitution, in order to keep him as a client.
The bank kept Epstein as a client between 1998 and 2013 before finally cutting ties.
The bank has not yet responded to the allegations in the suit.
In court filings on Friday responding to a separate lawsuit, JPMorgan said it did not participate in or benefit from sex trafficking by its former client Epstein.
For years, the secretive financier was based out of his private island, Little St. James in the Virgin Islands.
Victims have alleged that Epstein’s powerful friends, including the Clintons and Prince Andrew, were frequent guests on Epstein’s “Pedophile Island.”
Epstein was found dead in August 2019 in his jail cell in Manhattan in what was ruled a suicide, while awaiting trial on sexual abuse of minors and trafficking charges.
In June, Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking minors for sex.
Epstein first became a client at Chase in 1998.
There have been numerous reports since his death that the bank’s executives sought to keep Epstein as a client due to his connections with some of the richest people in the world.
One section of the lawsuit reads: “Human trafficking was the principal business of the accounts Epstein maintained at JPMorgan.”
AG George said that the suit was part of an “outgoing effort” to bring accountability to those who helped facilitate Epstein’s actions.
The complaint goes on to accuse Chase of concealing “wire and cash transactions that raised suspicion of a criminal enterprise whose currency was the sexual servitude” of young girls.
The damages being sought by the U.S. Virgin Islands are unspecified in the lawsuit.
George had been aggressive in seeking financial damages related to Epstein’s crimes.
In November, Epstein’s estate agreed to pay the territorial government $105 million in cash and half of the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James island, where Epstein owned a home and authorities allege many of his crimes took place.
The estate also will pay $450,000 to repair environmental damage on Great St. James, another island Epstein owned where authorities say he removed the ruins of colonial-era historical structures of slaves.
The money from the sale of Little St. James island will be placed in a government trust to finance projects, organizations, counseling, and other activities to help residents who have been sexually abused, officials said.
