Bank of America Reaches Settlement in Lawsuit Linked to Jeffrey Epstein

BY MIRRABEL ODETA

Bank of America (Bank of America) has reached a settlement in a civil lawsuit filed by women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, court records show.

Lawyers for both the bank and the plaintiffs informed Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff on March 12 that they had agreed to a “settlement in principle.” Specific terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The deal requires Judge Rakoff’s approval, with legal filings expected by March 27 and a court hearing scheduled for April 2 to consider final approval.

Sigrid McCawley, representing the women, called the resolution “one more step on the road to much deserved justice.” A spokesperson for Bank of America declined to comment.

The proposed class action, originally filed in October by a woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe, alleged that the bank ignored suspicious financial activity linked to Epstein despite extensive knowledge of his criminal behavior, prioritizing profit over the protection of victims. Bank of America has maintained that Doe’s claims, suggesting the bank did more than provide routine financial services, were “threadbare and meritless.”

In January, Judge Rakoff ruled that the bank must face claims that it knowingly benefited from Epstein’s sex trafficking operations and obstructed enforcement of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Among transactions flagged were payments to Epstein from Apollo Global Management (Apollo Global Management) co-founder Leon Black. Black stepped down as Apollo’s CEO in 2021 after an external review revealed he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning. Black has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s criminal acts.

The planned deposition of Black on March 26 will not occur due to the settlement, and a trial scheduled for May 11 will be canceled if the court approves the deal.

This settlement follows prior resolutions by Epstein’s accusers. In 2023, similar lawsuits resulted in $290 million in settlements with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges; his death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner.