A federal judge in New York is scheduled to review a proposed $72 million settlement between Bank of America and a group of women accusing the financial institution of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes. The decision regarding final approval is expected Thursday.
The plaintiffs, who are suing collectively under the pseudonym Jane Doe, allege that the bank ignored suspicious transactions linked to Epstein. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges. Bank of America agreed to the settlement in March but continues to deny that it facilitated any sex trafficking crimes.
Among the financial activities cited by the accusers were payments made to Epstein by Leon Black, the former chief executive of Apollo Global Management. An independent review commissioned by the company found that Black paid Epstein $158 million for estate planning services.
Black has stated that his relationship with Epstein involved professional advice and described it as a horrible mistake, while denying any knowledge or involvement in Epstein’s criminal conduct.
The same group of plaintiffs previously reached similar settlements with JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank. However, their legal claim against the Bank of New York Mellon was dismissed by a court, which concluded that the complaint failed to adequately allege civil liability under the Trafficking Victims' Protection Act or prove that the bank obstructed investigations.
In court documents, Bank of America had previously argued for dismissal, contending that the lawsuit attempted to radically expand liability for banks providing routine services to customers with no known connection to Epstein at the time. The bank denies each and all claims in the lawsuit.
