Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 122-cv-10904 (S.D.N.Y. 2022)/037.pdf

Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 37 Filed 01/30/23 Page 1 of 42 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 34 Filed 01/26/23 Page 1 of 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS PLAINTIFF, V. JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. DEFENDANT. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case Number: 1:22-cv-10904-JSR MOTION FOR ISSUANCE OF LETTER OF REQUEST FOR DOCUMENT PRODUCTION NOW COMES, the Plaintiff, in the above referenced action, and moves for the Issuance of a Letter of Request (Letter Rogatory) pursuant to F.R.C.P. 28 requesting an order requiring Barclays Bank PLC, located at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP, United Kingdom, to produce discovery documents requested by Plaintiff, which are set forth in the Letter of Request for Document Production and Schedule A attached hereto, in digital and/or hard copy form. As grounds for this Motion, the Plaintiff states the following: The above captioned case is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Government of the United States Virgin Islands ("Government") brought this civil action against JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("JPMorgan") as part of its ongoing effort to protect public safety and to hold accountable those who facilitated or participated in, directly or indirectly, the trafficking enterprise Jeffrey Epstein ("Epstein") helmed. The Government's investigation revealed that JPMorgan knowingly, negligently, and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which recruiters and victims were paid and was 1 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 37 Filed 01/30/23 Page 2 of 42 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 34 Filed 01/26/23 Page 2 of 3 indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise. Financial institutions can connect--or choke-human trafficking networks, and enforcement actions filed and injunctive relief obtained by attorneys general are essential to ensure that enterprises like Epstein's cannot flourish in the future. Former JPMorgan senior executive Jes Staley ("Staley") developed a close relationship with Epstein when Staley was the head of JPMorgan's Private Bank. Between 2008 and 2012, Staley exchanged approximately 1,200 emails with Epstein from his JPMorgan email account. These communications show a close personal relationship between the two men, and that Staley nonetheless played a role in JPMorgan's compliance decisions with respect to Epstein. They also reveal that Staley corresponded with Epstein while Epstein was incarcerated and visited Epstein's Virgin Islands residence on multiple occasions. Staley left JPMorgan in 2013 and became the Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Bank PLC in 2015 until he resigned in November 2021 after the Financial Conduct Authority began a preliminary investigation into Staley's relationship with Epstein. It has been publicly reported that Barclays Bank PLC produced documents to the Financial Conduct Authority as part of its investigation into Staley's relationship with Epstein. These documents are equally applicable to the Government's case. This evidence will assist the Court in resolving the disputed issues presented in the civil action before it. WHEREFORE Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Honorable Court allow this Motion and issue a Letter of Request for Document Production. A proposed Letter of Request for Document Production is attached to this Motion as Exhibit 1. Dated: January 26, 2023 CAROL THOMAS-JACOBS, ESQ. ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL ls/Linda Singer LINDA SINGER (NYS Bar #2473403) 2 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 37 Filed 01/30/23 Page 3 of 42 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 34 Filed 01/26/23 Page 3 of 3 Admitted Pro Hae Vice Motley Rice LLC 401 9 th Street NW, Suite 630 Washington, DC 20004 Tel: (202) 232-5504 lsinger@motleyrice.com CAROL THOMAS-JACOBS (NYS Bar #2941300) Admitted Pro Hae Vice Acting Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands Virgin Islands Department of Justice 34-38 Kronprindsens Gade St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00802 Tel.: (340) 774-5666 ext. 10101 carol.jacobs@doj.vi.gov DAVID I. ACKERMAN (NYS Bar #4110839) Motley Rice LLC 401 9 th Street NW, Suite 630 Washington, DC 20004 Tel: (202) 849-4962 dackerman@motleyrice.com PAIGE BOGGS Admitted Pro Hae Vice Motley Rice LLC 401 9 th Street NW, Suite 630 Washington, DC 20004 Tel: (202) 386-9629 pboggs@motleyrice.com CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on January 26, 2023, the foregoing Plaintiffs Motion for Issuance of Letter of Request for Document Production was filed with the Clerk's Office using the CM/ECF system. Notice of this filing will be sent to all parties of record by operation of, and parties may access this filing through, the Court's CM/ECF system. ls/Linda Singer Linda Singer 3 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 37 Filed 01/30/23 Page 4 of 42 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 34-1 Filed 01/26/23 Page 1 of 37 EXHIBIT 1 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 37 Filed 01/30/23 Page 5 of 42 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 34-1 Filed 01/26/23 Page 2 of 37 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS PLAINTIFF, V. JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. DEFENDANT. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case Number: 1:22-cv-10904-JSR LETTER OF REQUEST PLAINTIFF'S LETTER OF REQUEST FOR DOCUMENT PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND PURSUANT TO THE HAGUE CONVENTION OF 18 MARCH 1970 ON THE TAKING OF EVIDENCE ABROAD IN CIVIL OR COMMERCIAL MATTERS To the Central Authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and N orthem Ireland: The UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, (the "Court"), presents its greetings and compliments to the Judicial Authority of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ("UK") and respectfully requests its assistance, through its competent judicial authority, in obtaining evidence in connection with a civil proceeding currently pending before this Court. This request is being made pursuant to Article 3 of the Hague Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence in Civil and Commercial Matters, which is codified at 28 U.S.T. 2555. The Court asserts that the documents sought via this Request are directly relevant to the issues in dispute and are not discovery within the meaning of Article 23 of the Hague Evidence Convention; that is, merely testimony or documents intended to lead to relevant evidence for trial. Based on existing timetables, this Court has scheduled trial in this action for September 5, 2023. The deadline for obtaining evidence is currently set for April 24, 2023. The particulars of this Hague Evidence Request are as follows: Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 37 Filed 01/30/23 Page 6 of 42 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 34-1 Filed 01/26/23 Page 3 of 37 1. Sender and Requesting Judicial Authority: Hon. Jed S. Rakoff UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Southern District ofNew York