Paul Morris

Paul Morris is a private wealth manager who served as Jeffrey Epstein's primary banker across three major financial institutions over more than a decade. Morris began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1997 before moving to JP Morgan Private Bank, where he managed Epstein's accounts. In November 2012, Morris joined Deutsche Bank as a relationship manager and immediately brought Epstein with him as a client in 2013, projecting the relationship would generate $2-4 million in annual revenue. Morris managed Epstein's Deutsche Bank accounts until 2016, when he moved to Bank of America Merrill Lynch and continued seeking to meet with Epstein through at least early 2019. The Epstein archive documents 15,568 emails involving Morris between 2011 and 2019. In August 2020, FBI agents engaged Morris for a proffer, during which his attorney characterized him as "just a low level relationship manager" despite his evident financial success in the role.

Background#

Morris began his investment banking career at Merrill Lynch in 1997, later moving to JP Morgan Private Bank where he worked as a relationship manager for high-net-worth clients. According to Deutsche Bank KYC documents, Morris first met Epstein at JP Morgan through "a mutual friend/colleague who introduced them", and "over the course of a few meetings Paul was able to get Jeffrey to bring some of his funds over to JPMorgan". Email exchanges from 2012 show Morris coordinating meetings with Epstein while at JP Morgan, including discussions about "potential LB art loan" financing.

In November 2012, Morris left JP Morgan to join Deutsche Bank's Private Wealth Management division in New York. According to class action complaints filed against Deutsche Bank, Morris pitched Epstein to senior management in spring 2013, projecting "estimated flows of $100-300 [million] overtime [sic] (possibly more) w/ revenue of $2-4 million annually over time" and proposing that all accounts be structured as "entities" affiliated with Epstein, "not personal accounts". Senior executives Charles Packard, John Carruso, and Joe Polizano approved Epstein's onboarding despite awareness of his 2008 conviction.

Morris joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch in August 2016 as managing director and private wealth advisor in the Private Banking and Investment Group, establishing The Morris Group practice at One Bryant Park in New York. He continued attempting to maintain contact with Epstein through at least January 2019.

In May 2023, Bloomberg Law reported that Morris was deposed by lawyers for Epstein victims in lawsuits against JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to Epstein victims in a settlement, while New York financial regulators fined the bank $150 million for its relationship with Epstein.

Correspondence with Epstein#

The archive documents Morris's role as Epstein's primary banker at Deutsche Bank from 2013 through 2016, followed by continued contact attempts through Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 2016 to 2019. The correspondence reveals extensive coordination of account openings, investment trades, and financial services across multiple Epstein-controlled entities.

Deutsche Bank Period (2013-2016)

Morris served as the designated relationship manager for Epstein's Deutsche Bank accounts, listed on KYC documentation covering accounts for Jeffrey Epstein personally, Southern Financial LLC, and Southern Trust Company Inc. A September 2013 email thread shows Morris facilitating ISDA derivative documentation, with Epstein's assistant Tazia Smith sending draft agreements to Darren Indyke while copying Morris.

Morris coordinated with his Deutsche Bank team—including Vahe Stepanian, Daniel Sabba, Amanda Kirby, and Ariane Dwyer—to execute Epstein's investment strategies. In May 2015, Morris questioned whether team members were "reviewing before going out to clients" after Epstein complained that currency option "prices seem wrong". Morris implemented trade tracking systems requiring his team to forward him details of each client transaction including "client, trade type, size, date, P&L."

The archive documents Morris's role facilitating accounts for other high-profile clients Epstein referred. In April 2015, Morris received notification that Leon Black's family office "want to proceed setting up and funding the account" with confirmation that "Jeffrey Epstein will have authority to transact on Leon's behalf". Morris acknowledged having "spoke with Brad and Je" and instructed his team to "generate more ideas and flow". Morris suggested Black "may not know a bank account is opened".

Morris coordinated updates to trust structures within Epstein's network. In February 2015, Amanda Kirby warned Morris that "trustees for Butterfly Trust have changed" and a new KYC would be required, noting "with all the recent press there will be alerts raised on JE's and this will go to High Risk for approval". Morris requested a copy of the trust to review. The new trustees included Erika Kellerhals, "an attorney in the vis" (Virgin Islands).

Morris directly communicated account balances and portfolio details to Epstein. In June 2015, he received a report showing Epstein's Deutsche Bank brokerage accounts held $109,278,134.76 in cash across nine accounts.

Bank of America Period (2016-2019)

After Morris moved to Bank of America Merrill Lynch in August 2016, the archive documents continued attempts to maintain the Epstein relationship. Scheduling emails from Lesley Groff show Morris meeting with Epstein at his New York townhouse on June 3, 2015 at 4:00pm, on February 3, 2016 at 6:00pm, and on February 4, 2016 at 6:00pm.

From Bank of America, Morris sent Epstein investment research and market commentary, including materials on Rockefeller art sales in November 2017, Chief Investment Office viewpoints in March and April 2019, and various market outlooks. Throughout 2017 and 2018, Morris repeatedly contacted Groff seeking meetings with Epstein. In October 2017, Morris asked if Epstein would be "around thurs/fri this week". Groff responded that Epstein was not available, providing similar responses in November 2017, December 2017, January 2018, and May 2018.

In May 2015, Groff relayed an urgent message: "Please call Paul Morris. He is in office today but says you can call over weekend also", providing both Morris's cell and office numbers. In January 2019, Morris wrote: "Happy New Year LesleylI Pls let me know when je in town so I can stop by". Groff replied that "Jeffrey is currently away with no plans to come back soon...ha, he may wait for spring!"

Earlier JP Morgan Period (2011-2012)

The archive contains limited documentation from Morris's JP Morgan tenure, but shows active banker-client coordination. In July 2012, Morris attempted to arrange a call with Epstein and "a sr. lender to discuss potential LB art loan", wanting to "get you proposal ASAP". In September 2012, Morris coordinated meeting times with Groff, stating "I'm pretty flexible next few days". Schedule emails show a September 10, 2012 appointment with Morris "at 5:00".

Connections#

Morris worked most closely with the Deutsche Bank team servicing Epstein's accounts, particularly Vahe Stepanian (4,696 shared emails), Tazia Smith (3,783 shared emails), Daniel Sabba (2,535 shared emails), Amanda Kirby (2,489 shared emails), and Rich Kahn (2,310 shared emails). Morris coordinated directly with Epstein's personal staff, primarily Lesley Groff (1,512 shared emails), who managed Epstein's schedule and facilitated Morris's access.

Morris also interacted with Stewart Oldfield (1,884 shared emails), who took over the Epstein relationship at Deutsche Bank in 2016 after Morris's departure. The archive shows Morris facilitating relationships between Epstein and other high-net-worth individuals including Leon Black, whose account Morris helped establish with Epstein granted trading authority.

Morris coordinated with Epstein's attorneys Darren Indyke (293 shared emails) on trust structures and account documentation, and maintained contact with other members of Epstein's extended financial and advisory network.

Document References#

Morris appears in multiple investigative and legal documents. An August 4, 2020 FBI email states: "we engaged Morris yesterday, and he retained counsel. We will likely be conducting a proffer of him in the near future". The email notes FBI agents were "particularly interested" in Morris regarding Deutsche Bank's decision to allow Epstein to bank with them despite evidence "he was moving money for the payment of women". The FBI agent wrote that Morris's "attorney is already attempting to devalue his roll, indicating he was just a low level relationship manager, amongst many", adding sarcastically "(Note, he appears to have done very well for himself as a low level relationship manager)".

A September 12, 2019 Deutsche Bank attorney proffer confirms Morris "onboarded in 2013 @ DB" after previously onboarding Epstein at JP Morgan. The document states senior executives "Chip Packard + John Karruso + Joe Polizano all approved" Epstein's accounts and that "DB aware of 2008 arrests, but chose to take on, but 'high-risk client' so annual KYC reviews". The proffer notes Epstein was "designated as a PEP (Politically Exposed Person) b/c Clinton + Andrew ties".

Deutsche Bank KYC documentation from 2013 lists Morris as relationship manager for multiple Epstein entities including Southern Financial LLC, Southern Trust Company Inc., and Epstein's personal accounts. The forms indicate assets were transferring from "JPMorgan, NYC" with expected account volumes ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 initially, though actual holdings eventually exceeded $200 million according to the 2019 proffer.

Morris is named in civil litigation filed against Deutsche Bank by Epstein victims and shareholders. Court documents allege Morris pitched Epstein to Deutsche Bank executives with revenue projections and recommended structuring accounts through entities rather than personal accounts. The New York Times identified Morris among Deutsche Bank executives responsible for serving Epstein when reporting on the $150 million regulatory fine imposed by New York's Department of Financial Services.

Visits to Epstein Properties#

The archive documents the following visits to Epstein's Manhattan townhouse:

Manhattan Townhouse (9 East 71st Street):

1. September 10, 2012 - 5:00pm appointment (during JP Morgan tenure)
2. October 22, 2013 - 11:00am appointment "w/Paul Morris and the DB Team"
3. June 3, 2015 - 4:00pm appointment
4. February 3, 2016 - 6:00pm appointment
5. February 4, 2016 - 6:00pm appointment

No visits to Epstein's other properties (Palm Beach residence, Little St. James island, New Mexico ranch, or Paris apartment) are documented in the archive.