A Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) is a legal arrangement between a prosecutor and a company in which prosecutors agree to suspend criminal charges in exchange for the company meeting certain conditions typically paying fines, cooperating with investigations, implementing compliance reforms, and submitting to monitoring for a defined period. If the company meets all conditions, charges are dropped. If it fails, prosecution can resume.
JPMorgan and the Epstein Cases: JPMorgan Chase did not enter into a deferred prosecution agreement in connection with the Epstein cases. Instead, it settled civil lawsuits:
- In June 2023, JPMorgan paid ** million** to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre and other Epstein victims (in the case originally called Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase)
- JPMorgan also separately settled a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands
These were civil (not criminal) settlements. No criminal charges were brought against JPMorgan. The bank acknowledged it should have exited the Epstein relationship sooner but did not admit to criminal wrongdoing.
Deutsche Bank similarly settled civil cases (including an NYDFS fine of million in 2020 and a million civil settlement in 2023) without facing criminal charges.