By Tom Hals
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -The U.S. Virgin Islands has subpoenaed Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk for documents in its lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase & Co of helping enable sexual abuses by late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
According to a Monday court filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the Virgin Islands issued a subpoena to Musk on April 28.
The filing said Musk, one of the richest people in the world, may have been referred to JPMorgan by Epstein. It did not provide further explanation for its interest in obtaining documents from Musk.
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Virgin Islands accuses JPMorgan of missing red flags about Epstein’s abuse of women on Little St. James, a private island he owned there.
The bank has said it should not be held liable for a former top executive’s relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The subpoena sought all communications between the entrepreneur and JPMorgan regarding Epstein as well as communications between Musk and Epstein.
The subpoena also sought all documents regarding fees that Musk paid to Epstein or to JPMorgan regarding Musk’s accounts or relationship with JPMorgan.
It also asked Musk for all documents reflecting or regarding Epstein’s involvement in human trafficking and his procurement of girls or women for commercial sex.
The details were part of a request by the Virgin Islands to serve the subpoena on Musk by alternative means because the government had not been able to serve an initial subpoena on Musk at Tesla or through an attorney who has accepted service on behalf of Musk in the past.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, DelawareEditing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
