The US Virgin Islands has issued a subpoena to Elon Musk in a lawsuit that accuses a Wall Street bank of enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of women. The subpoena demands that the Tesla CEO provides any documents that demonstrate communication between himself, JP Morgan Chase bank, and Epstein, who passed away in 2019.
It is important to note that Mr. Musk is not facing any allegations of wrongdoing in relation to this case. On Monday, he restated his denial of suggestions that Epstein had provided him with financial advice.
Jeffrey Epstein died in jail in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The Virgin Islands is suing JP Morgan Chase for allegedly helping enable Epstein’s alleged crimes.
The case alleges that Epstein and others sexually abused trafficked women on Little St. James, his private island in the territory.
Warning signs about the alleged crimes
The Virgin Islands government has accused the bank of not acting on warning signs about the alleged crimes. The bank has denied the allegations.
As part of the case, a court filing on Monday revealed the territory’s authorities had tried to serve Mr Musk, the multi-billionaire owner of Twitter, with the subpoena but had been unsuccessful.
“The Government [of the US Virgin Islands] contacted Mr. Musk’s counsel via email to ask if he would be authorized to accept service on Mr. Musk’s behalf in this matter, but did not receive a response confirming or denying his authority,” the filing said.
The Virgin Islands also asked a Manhattan federal court judge to allow it to serve Mr Musk with the subpoena with Tesla’s registered agent.
Mr Musk may have been referred to the Wall Street banking giant by Epstein, according to the court filing.
However, the Virgin Islands did not provide further explanation for its interest in obtaining documents from Mr Musk.
Epstein, a financier, had been a client of JP Morgan from 2000 to 2013. Mr Musk was also been a customer – with JP Morgan in charge of Tesla’s commercial banking business for several years.
Elon Musk tweeted on Monday that the suggestion that he taken advice from Epstein was “idiotic” and called the late financier a “dumb crook.”
Epstein, who faced a conviction in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, actively sought association with social circles that included Prince Andrew, former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as numerous prominent figures from the business world.
Prosecutors in 2019 accused him of running a “vast network” of underage girls for sex.
JP Morgan Chase has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes.