Former V.I. Sen. Wayne James, who was convicted on wire fraud charges in 2018 and served 30 months in prison, says JPMorgan Chase recently “debanked” him despite an Aug. 7 Executive Order by President Donald Trump aimed at ending the practice of closing customer accounts for a person’s political or religious beliefs.
The notice comes as James has waited more than a year for a ruling on his appeal of his conviction in V.I. District Court.
Trump’s order directed federal regulators to end “reputation risk” as a standard in banking supervision, but on July 1 JPMorgan Chase told James in a letter that, “After careful consideration, we have decided to close your accounts because of your connection to a publicly reported financial investigation that could potentially lead, or has led, to a criminal or civil action.”
James, born on St. Croix, has been a high fashion designer who created garments for Pope Paul II, Queen Margareth of Denmark and Diana, the late princess of Wales. Ebony Magazine recognized him as a “foremost black designer” in 2004. He is also an attorney, historian, has written several books and directed a documentary film.
James served one term as a Virgin Islands senator from 2009-2011 and believes the bank’s actions were political or retaliatory in nature.
He suspects the bank researched his background and discovered his 2018 conviction for wire fraud, for which he was sentenced to three 30-month concurrent prison terms and three years of supervised release. He also paid restitution of $88,000 (including interest). James served his entire sentence in seven different prisons.
He told the Source he also wonders whether the Virgin Islands government’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, over its extensive ties to Jeffrey Epstein — whose primary residence was Little St. James, a private island he owned off St. Thomas — is behind the bank’s decision to cancel his accounts.
The government’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase was settled for $105 million in December 2022.
James said he was offered “preferred customer status” when he opened five accounts with the bank in August 2024, and since their closure, filed a complaint Sept. 4 with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He was told to expect an update within the next 15 days.
“The bank is singling me out as it applies its vague policy against me, while getting even with the U.S. Virgin Islands/U.S. Virgin Islands officials by targeting me, using the vague ‘publicly reported’ language when its real motivation is to mistreat me for having a legitimate website called Sugar Daddies Boy Toys, which states clearly that applicants must be at least 21 years of age and that the contest is between money and love,” he said in a recent interview, noting sex is never mentioned or promoted on the website.
James also believes his “debanking” is the result of the territory’s suit against JPMorgan Chase, which he noted in an email in August claimed the bank “knew or should have known that Epstein was using the bank to conduct illegal sex-related operations and that JPMorgan Chase’s facilitation of Epstein’s criminal enterprise resulted in the U.S. Virgin Islands being tarnished as a result of Epstein conducting his criminal enterprise from (a) private-island home in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” he wrote.
“As you know, the case which led to my 2018 incarceration was financial in nature and was publicly reported around the world. And, while that case is being challenged, the public reporting of that case continues to this day,” James said.
In October 2021, James asked the federal court to vacate his initial conviction and was denied. A motion for reconsideration he filed in April 2024, claiming inadequate legal representation, still awaits a decision by V.I. District Court Chief Judge Robert Molloy, according to the court docket.
St. Croix Source
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