2 months ago
3
Bank of America agreed to wage $72.5 cardinal to settee a civilian suit brought by women who accused the slope of facilitating their intersexual maltreatment by Jeffrey Epstein, tribunal records showed connected Friday (March 27, 2026).
Lawyers for the slope and the women had told Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff this period they had reached a "settlement successful principle," but presumption of the woody were not disclosed astatine the time.
"While we basal by our anterior statements made successful the filings successful this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate enactment trafficking crimes, this solution allows america to enactment this substance down america and provides further closure for the plaintiffs," a spokesperson for Bank of America said successful a statement.
In a associated tribunal filing, David Boies and Bradley Edwards, attorneys for the plaintiffs, said the colony represented the champion enactment for their clients "given that galore Class Members suffered harm galore years agone and are successful request of fiscal alleviation now."
The plaintiffs' lawyers whitethorn question up to 30% of the settlement, oregon astir $21.8 million, for ineligible fees, according to tribunal records. The colony requires Mr. Rakoff's approval. The justice scheduled a tribunal proceeding for Thursday (March 26, 2026) to see approving the deal.
The projected people action, filed successful October by a pistillate utilizing the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused the second-largest U.S. slope of ignoring suspicious fiscal transactions related to Epstein contempt a "plethora" of accusation astir his crimes due to the fact that it valued nett implicit protecting victims.
Bank of America has said Ms. Doe alleged simply that it provided regular services to radical who astatine the clip had nary known links to Epstein, and that immoderate proposition that it was much profoundly progressive was "threadbare and meritless."
Mr. Rakoff ruled successful January that Bank of America indispensable look Ms. Doe's claims that it knowingly benefited from Epstein's enactment trafficking and obstructed enforcement of the national Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Among the transactions Ms. Doe flagged were payments to Epstein by Apollo Global Management's billionaire co-founder, Leon Black.
Mr. Black stepped down arsenic Apollo's main enforcement successful 2021 aft a reappraisal by an extracurricular instrumentality steadfast found helium had paid Epstein $158 cardinal for taxation and property planning.
Mr. Black has denied wrongdoing and said helium was unaware of Epstein's transgression conduct. Ms. Doe's lawyers have besides sued different alleged enablers of Epstein's enactment trafficking, and successful 2023 reached settlements of $290 cardinal with JPMorgan Chase and $75 cardinal with Deutsche Bank connected behalf of his accusers.
The lawyers are besides appealing Mr. Rakoff's dismissal successful January of a similar suit they brought against Bank of New York Mellon. Epstein died successful a Manhattan jailhouse compartment successful August 2019 portion awaiting proceedings connected enactment trafficking charges. His death was ruled a termination by New York City's aesculapian examiner.
