Bank of America has consented to pay $72.5 million to resolve a civil lawsuit filed by women who accused the bank of enabling their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, as revealed in court documents on Friday. Earlier this month, attorneys representing both the bank and the plaintiffs informed U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan that they had reached a “settlement in principle,” though the specific terms were not disclosed at that time.
A spokesperson for Bank of America stated, “While we maintain our previous assertions in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this settlement allows us to move forward and offers additional closure for the plaintiffs.”
In a joint filing, plaintiffs’ lawyers David Boies and Bradley Edwards described the settlement as the most viable option for their clients, noting that many class members endured harm years ago and are now in urgent need of financial compensation. Court records indicate the plaintiffs’ attorneys may request up to 30% of the settlement, approximately $21.8 million, to cover legal fees.
The settlement awaits Judge Rakoff’s approval, with a hearing scheduled for Thursday to consider the agreement.
The class action, initiated in October by a woman identified as Jane Doe, accused the second-largest U.S. bank of disregarding suspicious financial activities linked to Epstein despite abundant evidence of his crimes, prioritizing profits over victim protection. Bank of America countered that Doe’s allegations only claimed the bank provided routine services to individuals who, at the time, had no known connections to Epstein, dismissing any deeper involvement as “threadbare and meritless.”
In January, Judge Rakoff ruled that Bank of America must face Doe’s claims that it knowingly profited from Epstein’s sex trafficking and obstructed enforcement of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Among the transactions highlighted were payments to Epstein made by Leon Black, billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management. Black resigned as Apollo’s CEO in 2021 following an external law firm’s review that revealed he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning services. Black has denied any wrongdoing and stated he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal activities.
Doe’s legal team has also pursued lawsuits against other alleged facilitators of Epstein’s trafficking network, securing settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank in 2023 on behalf of Epstein’s accusers. Additionally, the lawyers are appealing Judge Rakoff’s dismissal of a similar lawsuit filed against Bank of New York Mellon in January.
Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, as determined by New York City’s medical examiner.
