A U.S. judge has granted preliminary approval to Bank of America’s $72.5 million settlement with women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan has scheduled a hearing for August 27 to consider final approval of the settlement. Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investment, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. It operates through various subsidiaries both domestically and internationally.
David Boies, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, anticipates that between 60 and 75 victims will submit claims. The victims are primarily based in the United States and Eastern Europe. Lawyers for the plaintiffs may seek up to 30% of the settlement amount, approximately $21.8 million, to cover legal fees. Judge Rakoff emphasised the importance of compensating Epstein’s victims by any parties that unlawfully facilitated his sex trafficking activities. However, he cautioned against penalising entities that were merely associated with Epstein but did not play a role in assisting or benefiting from his misconduct.
Rakoff stated that he would continue to scrutinise the settlement until the moment of final approval. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The proposed class action, initiated in October by a woman under the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused Bank of America of disregarding suspicious financial transactions linked to Epstein, despite extensive information regarding his crimes. The lawsuit claimed that the bank prioritised profit over the protection of victims.
In March, Bank of America agreed to settle the civil lawsuit, asserting that it did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes. The bank stated that the settlement would allow it to move forward and provide closure for the accusers. Lawyers for the plaintiffs previously reached settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank on behalf of Epstein’s accusers. They are also appealing the dismissal of a similar lawsuit against Bank of New York Mellon.
