Tue, February 24, 2026
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The transfer is just one example of the myriad ways Epstein stayed connected to the biggest US bank after it dropped him as a client in 2013, dozens of emails and other documents recently released by the US Department of Justice show.
Multiple JPMorgan executives stayed in touch with Epstein after he moved his accounts to Deutsche Bank AG, often looping him in on business with other clients, including private equity titan Leon Black. Epstein’s girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, was a JPMorgan client until at least 2019. And one of Epstein's contacts sought to build a professional relationship with a top executive at the bank and kept him plugged in as those ties developed.
That Epstein succeeded in staying in JPMorgan’s orbit for so long shows how his proximity to power lasted well past his guilty plea to state-level charges that included procurement of a minor to engage in prostitution. Since Epstein’s death, the scandal has ensnared dozens of his associates across the globe, from CEOs and academics to politicians and royals.
JPMorgan was, for years, Epstein’s go-to bank. Between the late 1990s and 2013, Epstein moved money through dozens of accounts there. Details of that relationship began emerging after Epstein’s death, and in the years since it's proven costly for the bank. In 2023, it settled a pair of lawsuits against it -- one from Epstein's victims and another from the US Virgin Islands -- for a combined $365 million, without admitting liability.
The bank, according to the Justice Department documents, filed a suspicious activity report on more than $1 billion in transactions involving Epstein and other "current, former and non-JPMC customers." While the document is undated, it references wire activity from October 2003 to July 2019 and lists several people and entities, including Black and Shuliak.
JPMorgan declined to comment, including on behalf of its executives, beyond what it's already said on the matter. Shuliak didn’t respond to a message left with her lawyer.
For much of the time Epstein was a JPMorgan client, former executive Jes Staley was central to the relationship, vouching for Epstein after his controversial plea deal in 2008. JPMorgan has blamed Staley, who ran the private bank and later the investment bank, for the ties, even suing him in 2023. Staley left JPMorgan in 2013 and went on to run Barclays Plc — until his attempts to downplay his relationship with Epstein ended his career there.
great service (joke)
In the years after Epstein moved his accounts out of JPMorgan, executives in the wealth-management division remained in direct contact with him and people who worked for him, documents show. In one example in 2016, Epstein’s accountant, Richard Kahn, asked one of the bank’s investment strategists for feedback on a portfolio of more than two dozen investments.
“Thank you. shows you the great service (joke) we are getting without you,” Kahn replied.
“We both wish that I could cover you,” the executive, Paul Barrett, responded. The banker later told Kahn that his desk was analyzing the positions he sent for review.
Epstein stayed consistently involved in investment decisions for accounts of his associates, such as Black and music mogul Tommy Mottola. Barrett, his longtime investments specialist, added him to messages involving business partners and met with him several times at his Manhattan home.
Another sign of the depth of the relationship between Barrett and Epstein came in 2015, when the JPMorgan banker’s nephew stayed in one of Epstein’s apartments.
“there is little I will not do for either you or your family,” Epstein wrote back.
When Barrett was contemplating leaving JPMorgan to open his own shop, he was concerned about losing more than $1 million in stock incentives. Epstein had a solution: “I don’t mind if you stay there , we keep our arrangements and you get your stock,” he wrote to the JPMorgan executive. It’s unclear what “arrangements” Epstein referred to in that email, but other missives show how Epstein traded his own portfolio on recommendations JPMorgan made for its clients.
Barrett ultimately did leave JPMorgan in 2017 to start his own firm with Epstein as a client. He joined Citigroup Inc. two years later, and was fired from that bank in 2023, when his connections to Epstein became public. Barrett and his lawyer didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
In June 2016, Barrett recommended to one of Black’s aides that Black buy as much as $2 million of Western Digital Corp. bonds, laying out a thesis for how the trade would likely be profitable. Barrett included Epstein on the message chain, and Epstein forwarded the message to Kahn, his accountant, with instructions to “get a price.”
Kahn got back to Epstein with pricing options, and Epstein responded: “2 million gratitude bid 104.” Kahn told a Morgan Stanley banker to buy $2 million of Western Digital bonds in the “gratitude account,” referring to Epstein’s foundation, Gratitude America. A few days later, Epstein also sent the information to Kathryn Ruemmler, then a partner at Latham & Watkins, telling her to “buy 500k.” It’s unclear whether she followed that advice. Ruemmler, who later joined Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as the firm’s top lawyer, said earlier this month that she was leaving that position after her emails with Epstein became public.
A month after the email back-and-forth, Barrett contacted the original group again, noting the profitability of the trade: “Nice move in Western Digital. Trading up at $111.00. We are long from $103.98. Still yielding 8%. Targeting $115 (7% yield).”
JPMorgan has long denied having any knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking and has said repeatedly that it regrets any association with him. But by 2013, shortly after Staley left JPMorgan, executives including Mary Erdoes, the head of asset and wealth management, had grown concerned about Epstein withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars in cash each month. Erdoes ultimately paid him a visit at his New York townhouse to deliver the news that he would have to find a new bank.
Epstein didn’t appear to hold it against Erdoes. At one point, his assistant reached out to Erdoes to connect her to Ruemmler, who was looking to open an account at the bank. And in 2017, one of his associates sent him a message: “Mary erdoes says hi.”
“Give her a hug,” Epstein responded.
“She sends her love and says not to be a stranger,” the associate wrote back.
--With assistance from Max Abelson.
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The transfer is just one example of the myriad ways Epstein stayed connected to the biggest US bank after it dropped him as a client in 2013, dozens of emails and other documents recently released by the US Department of Justice show.
Multiple JPMorgan executives stayed in touch with Epstein after he moved his accounts to Deutsche Bank AG, often looping him in on business with other clients, including private equity titan Leon Black. Epstein’s girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, was a JPMorgan client until at least 2019. And one of Epstein's contacts sought to build a professional relationship with a top executive at the bank and kept him plugged in as those ties developed.
That Epstein succeeded in staying in JPMorgan’s orbit for so long shows how his proximity to power lasted well past his guilty plea to state-level charges that included procurement of a minor to engage in prostitution. Since Epstein’s death, the scandal has ensnared dozens of his associates across the globe, from CEOs and academics to politicians and royals.
JPMorgan was, for years, Epstein’s go-to bank. Between the late 1990s and 2013, Epstein moved money through dozens of accounts there. Details of that relationship began emerging after Epstein’s death, and in the years since it's proven costly for the bank. In 2023, it settled a pair of lawsuits against it -- one from Epstein's victims and another from the US Virgin Islands -- for a combined $365 million, without admitting liability.
The bank, according to the Justice Department documents, filed a suspicious activity report on more than $1 billion in transactions involving Epstein and other "current, former and non-JPMC customers." While the document is undated, it references wire activity from October 2003 to July 2019 and lists several people and entities, including Black and Shuliak.
JPMorgan declined to comment, including on behalf of its executives, beyond what it's already said on the matter. Shuliak didn’t respond to a message left with her lawyer.
For much of the time Epstein was a JPMorgan client, former executive Jes Staley was central to the relationship, vouching for Epstein after his controversial plea deal in 2008. JPMorgan has blamed Staley, who ran the private bank and later the investment bank, for the ties, even suing him in 2023. Staley left JPMorgan in 2013 and went on to run Barclays Plc — until his attempts to downplay his relationship with Epstein ended his career there.
great service (joke)
In the years after Epstein moved his accounts out of JPMorgan, executives in the wealth-management division remained in direct contact with him and people who worked for him, documents show. In one example in 2016, Epstein’s accountant, Richard Kahn, asked one of the bank’s investment strategists for feedback on a portfolio of more than two dozen investments.
“Thank you. shows you the great service (joke) we are getting without you,” Kahn replied.
“We both wish that I could cover you,” the executive, Paul Barrett, responded. The banker later told Kahn that his desk was analyzing the positions he sent for review.
Epstein stayed consistently involved in investment decisions for accounts of his associates, such as Black and music mogul Tommy Mottola. Barrett, his longtime investments specialist, added him to messages involving business partners and met with him several times at his Manhattan home.
Another sign of the depth of the relationship between Barrett and Epstein came in 2015, when the JPMorgan banker’s nephew stayed in one of Epstein’s apartments.
“there is little I will not do for either you or your family,” Epstein wrote back.
When Barrett was contemplating leaving JPMorgan to open his own shop, he was concerned about losing more than $1 million in stock incentives. Epstein had a solution: “I don’t mind if you stay there , we keep our arrangements and you get your stock,” he wrote to the JPMorgan executive. It’s unclear what “arrangements” Epstein referred to in that email, but other missives show how Epstein traded his own portfolio on recommendations JPMorgan made for its clients.
Barrett ultimately did leave JPMorgan in 2017 to start his own firm with Epstein as a client. He joined Citigroup Inc. two years later, and was fired from that bank in 2023, when his connections to Epstein became public. Barrett and his lawyer didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
In June 2016, Barrett recommended to one of Black’s aides that Black buy as much as $2 million of Western Digital Corp. bonds, laying out a thesis for how the trade would likely be profitable. Barrett included Epstein on the message chain, and Epstein forwarded the message to Kahn, his accountant, with instructions to “get a price.”
Kahn got back to Epstein with pricing options, and Epstein responded: “2 million gratitude bid 104.” Kahn told a Morgan Stanley banker to buy $2 million of Western Digital bonds in the “gratitude account,” referring to Epstein’s foundation, Gratitude America. A few days later, Epstein also sent the information to Kathryn Ruemmler, then a partner at Latham & Watkins, telling her to “buy 500k.” It’s unclear whether she followed that advice. Ruemmler, who later joined Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as the firm’s top lawyer, said earlier this month that she was leaving that position after her emails with Epstein became public.
A month after the email back-and-forth, Barrett contacted the original group again, noting the profitability of the trade: “Nice move in Western Digital. Trading up at $111.00. We are long from $103.98. Still yielding 8%. Targeting $115 (7% yield).”
JPMorgan has long denied having any knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking and has said repeatedly that it regrets any association with him. But by 2013, shortly after Staley left JPMorgan, executives including Mary Erdoes, the head of asset and wealth management, had grown concerned about Epstein withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars in cash each month. Erdoes ultimately paid him a visit at his New York townhouse to deliver the news that he would have to find a new bank.
Epstein didn’t appear to hold it against Erdoes. At one point, his assistant reached out to Erdoes to connect her to Ruemmler, who was looking to open an account at the bank. And in 2017, one of his associates sent him a message: “Mary erdoes says hi.”
“Give her a hug,” Epstein responded.
“She sends her love and says not to be a stranger,” the associate wrote back.
--With assistance from Max Abelson.
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