John de Jongh Jr.

John de Jongh Jr. is an American businessman and politician who served as the 7th Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands from January 1, 2007 to January 5, 2015. Before entering elected office he worked in banking and served as the territory’s Commissioner of Finance.

Emails in the released files show that from 2008 to 2009 Jeffrey Epstein paid tuition for de Jongh’s children. The Elon News Network, reporting on Department of Justice files, states that a tuition request connected to Epstein totaled $70,066 for students attending American University, Elon University, Skidmore College, and Wake Forest University, and that de Jongh’s wife, Cecile de Jongh, asked Epstein to cover tuition for her two children and for two children of Jeanne Brennan Wiebracht, the governor’s former campaign accountant. The Elon News Network quotes Cecile de Jongh describing the arrangement as “a treat,” writing, “Its as if i had my own kids in college.”

Much of the reporting centers on Cecile de Jongh, who served as First Lady during her husband’s terms. HuffPost reported that JPMorgan Chase alleged in a 2023 court filing that Epstein “paid the school tuition for her and the governor’s children” and that Cecile de Jongh acted as Epstein’s “primary conduit” within the territory’s government — claims made in litigation and not findings of wrongdoing against John de Jongh. HuffPost noted that de Jongh “has not returned media inquiries” about the allegations and that a spokesperson for the Virgin Islands attorney general called JPMorgan’s filing “an obvious attempt to shift blame.”

Is John de Jongh Jr. in the Epstein files?

Yes. John de Jongh Jr., former Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, is named in the Epstein files in connection with college tuition that Jeffrey Epstein paid for his children in 2008–2009, as documented in the released files and in reporting by the Elon News Network on Department of Justice files. Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. The documented context concerns tuition payments and related court allegations, much of which focuses on his wife, Cecile de Jongh; see the sources above for specifics.

Documents

Primary-source records that reference John de Jongh Jr. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; the documented context concerns tuition payments and centers largely on his wife, Cecile de Jongh.

• DOJ Epstein Files (EFTA release) — Reporting by the Elon News Network on the Justice Department’s Epstein Files Transparency Act disclosure (the roughly 3-million-page release made on January 30, 2026) describes emails and tuition checks showing Epstein paid college tuition for de Jongh’s children in 2008–2009, including a June 2009 email in which Cecile de Jongh wrote, “Its as if i had my own kids in college.” Separately, JPMorgan Chase alleged in 2023 litigation that Cecile de Jongh acted as Epstein’s “primary conduit” in the territory’s government — a claim made in court filings, not a finding of wrongdoing against John de Jongh, whose office called the filing “an obvious attempt to shift blame.”