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Former JPMorgan Banker With Ties to Jeffrey Epstein Leaves Citigroup
Paul Barrett continued to plan meetings with Epstein after JPMorgan closed his accounts, according to documents
Paul Barrett had scheduled at least five meetings with Epstein from 2014 to 2017 before he left JPMorgan.
Photo: CAITLIN OCHS/REUTERS
By
David Benoit
April 25, 2023 6:07 pm ET
Citigroup Inc. has parted ways with Paul Barrett, an executive in its private bank, after The Wall Street Journal reported on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr. Barrett is a former managing director at JPMorgan Chase & Co., which counted Epstein as a client until 2013. Mr. Barrett is among the JPMorgan executives who continued to plan meetings with Epstein after the bank closed his accounts, the Journal reported Friday.
Mr. Barrett scheduled at least five meetings with Epstein from 2014 to 2017 before he left JPMorgan, according to documents viewed by the Journal.
“Until recently, Citi was unaware of Paul Barrett’s association with Jeffrey Epstein, which predated his employment at our firm,” a spokeswoman said. “Mr. Barrett is no longer employed by Citi.”
Mr. Barrett couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008 and forced to register as a sex offender. He was arrested in 2019, accused of orchestrating a scheme to traffic and sexually abuse girls. While awaiting trial, he died in New York jail of what the city’s medical examiner said was a suicide.
The new details of JPMorgan’s relationship with Epstein, reported by the Journal last week, show that JPMorgan was treating Epstein like a star client after his 2008 conviction and despite repeated warnings from its own employees. And after JPMorgan closed Epstein’s accounts, bankers kept meeting with him for years.
JPMorgan has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes and has sued one of its former executives, Jes Staley, accusing him of misleading the bank about Epstein’s character and conduct. Mr. Staley has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, and his lawyers have said the allegations against him are baseless.
Write to David Benoit at David.Benoit@wsj.com