Jeffrey Epstein-related suit: Virgin Islands says it can’t find Google co-founder Larry Page
FILE - Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page speaks during a news conference at the Google offices on May 21, 2012 in New York City. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The U.S. Virgin Islands government says it's unable to locate Google co-founder Larry Page to serve him a subpoena in an ongoing lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase for allegedly enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, a new federal filing revealed.
The Virgin Islands sued the world’s largest bank in December, alleging it knowingly facilitated Epstein’s exploitation of women and minors.
The lawsuit argues that the bank "turned a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking over more than a decade because of Epstein’s own financial footprint and because of the deals and clients that Epstein brought and promised to bring to the bank."
Page, a reclusive 50-year-old billionaire, co-founded and co-owns Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google.
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According to a three-page motion filed Thursday in the Southern District of New York, Page is a "high-net worth individual who Epstein may have referred or attempted to refer to JPMorgan."
Epstein died of suicide by hanging in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on a federal sex trafficking indictment.
The Virgin Islands said it can’t locate Page despite "good-faith attempts," which included "hiring an investigative firm to search public records databases."
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The government tried to serve Page with a subpoena for documents at an address identified by an investigator, but it wasn't valid, the filing says.
As an alternative, the Virgin Islands has asked Judge Jed Rakoff to let it serve Alphabet Inc. as a substitute for directly serving the tech titan.
FILE - A house stands above a boat on Little St. James Island, owned by fund manager Jefferey Epstein, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Wednesday, July 10, 2019. (Marco Bello/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to a report from Business Insider, Page owns four islands, including one in Fiji.
He reportedly spent most of the pandemic on the property by circumventing COVID-19 travel restrictions, Insider alleged.
Page is one of several billionaire businessmen the Caribbean government has subpoenaed over their purported links to JPMorgan and Epstein.
Previous subpoenas were issued to media tycoon Mortimer Zuckerman, fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Hyatt Hotels Chairman Thomas Pritzker.
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Epstein maintained a banking relationship with JPMorgan from 1998 to 2013, including after his 2008 conviction for procuring an underage prostitute.
Numerous victims have alleged Epstein sexually abused them on his private island, known as Little St. James, located in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
FILE - People walk past a sign outside the JP Morgan Chase headquarters July 5, 2001 on Park Avenue in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The island is central to the ongoing legal proceedings involving JPMorgan and the U.S. Virgin Islands government.
The sprawling compound hosted countless VIP guests, including Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.
JPMorgan Chase has denied allegations it helped Epstein’s sex trafficking operations and filed a motion in February to dismiss the Virgin Islands' lawsuit, which its lawyers described as "legally meritless" and a "masterclass in deflection."
"Having sought and obtained more than $100 million from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate and businesses for damages caused by his sex trafficking crimes, the United States Virgin Islands now casts farther afield for deeper pockets," the bank’s lawyer wrote in the motion. "But this suit involves neither Epstein’s estate, nor his businesses, nor his victims."