Key facts
- Bank of America agreed to a $72.5 million settlement with Jeffrey Epstein accusers.
- U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff granted final approval to the settlement.
- The settlement will provide compensation to many victims.
- Three accusers argued the deal was overbroad and should not cover their claims.
- The lawsuit alleges the bank ignored suspicious financial transactions related to Epstein.
- Epstein died in jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
A federal judge is set to grant final approval to Bank of America's $72.5 million settlement with women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by financier Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff stated in Manhattan that the settlement would offer many victims substantial compensation and justice, though he rejected arguments from three accusers that the deal was overbroad.
The accusers contended the settlement should not cover claims materially different from the lead plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, a Florida resident. Doe alleged Epstein sexually abused her over 100 times between 2011 and 2019, using Bank of America accounts for money wired for sex trafficking. This lawsuit is among several targeting banks for allegedly ignoring Epstein's suspicious transactions to retain his business, even after his 2008 prostitution conviction.
Doe's legal team previously secured settlements of $290 million from JPMorgan Chase and $75 million from Deutsche Bank in 2023. Bank of America, in agreeing to the settlement in March, maintained it did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, with the medical examiner ruling his death a suicide.