A second amended complaint filed Friday in Manhattan federal court by six victims of Jeffrey Epstein who are suing the V.I. government for alleged violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act claims territory officials actively conspired with the late multimillionaire to perpetuate his sex-trafficking scheme for their own gain.
In effect, the U.S. Virgin Islands became “a government-sanctioned sanctuary” for wealthy men who paid Epstein “substantial” sums of money to travel from New York to engage in commercial sex acts with women also traveling from that state, the amended suit alleges. Epstein would then deposit the funds in his New York bank accounts, from which he paid the defendants in the USVI, it says.
It was a quid pro quo arrangement where Epstein could make a fortune providing wealthy men with women and girls to abuse at his private island off St. Thomas, and USVI officials could tap him for money for everything from political campaigns to Little League programs, legal bills and even a $50 million loan when the territory was short on cash, the lawsuit alleges. In return, Epstein had free rein to travel as he pleased between New York and the USVI, with whom he pleased, without any oversight from Customs, police, Coast Guard and other officials, it says.
It’s an allegation that is repeated throughout the amended complaint — which is 83 pages and also claims negligence and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — that seeks to show why the federal court in the Southern District of New York is the right venue and New York State the correct jurisdiction for the case.