Bank of America to Pay $72.5 Million in Epstein Lawsuit Settlement

Bank of America has agreed to pay $72.5 million to resolve a legal dispute that claimed the bank maintained connections with individuals close to Jeffrey Epstein and failed to report unusual financial transactions between the convicted sex offender and his associates and victims.

The lawsuit, which was filed as a class-action suit, represented a woman who alleged she was sexually abused and trafficked by Epstein from 2011 to 2019, along with other victims. The case accused Bank of America of “financially benefiting” from Epstein’s network and not submitting required suspicious activity reports to authorities, despite knowing details about the accounts it managed for people around him.

Unlike other legal actions against banks that led to settlements, this case wasn’t primarily focused on Epstein having personal accounts at Bank of America. Instead, it centered on the bank’s awareness of the individuals connected to Epstein and their financial activities.

Jeffrey Epstein faced federal charges in 2019 related to sex trafficking involving underage girls. He had previously been convicted in the early 2000s for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Bank of America emphasized that the settlement did not constitute an admission of guilt. A spokesperson stated, “While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs.”

The agreement is still pending court approval. According to the lawsuit, a Bank of America account was used by Leon Black, the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, to transfer over $170 million to Epstein over the years. A separate settlement between Black and the U.S. Virgin Islands included an acknowledgment that “Epstein used the money Black paid him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands,” as per the lawsuit.

A representative for Black declined to comment. Previously, Black has stated that he paid Epstein for estate planning, tax work, structuring of art entities, and philanthropic advice, and denied any wrongdoing. Black was scheduled to be deposed as part of the Bank of America lawsuit before the parties reached a settlement.

The lawsuit also alleged that Bank of America was aware that known associates of Epstein, such as Ghislaine Maxwell, had accounts with the bank. In 2013, a woman identified as Jane Doe opened an account at Bank of America at the direction of Epstein’s associates as part of a plan to defraud immigration officials. She had met Epstein in Russia in 2011 and was allegedly sexually abused by him on at least 100 occasions between that time and 2019.

Epstein and his associates reportedly used the Jane Doe accounts for several years, including at least one until 2019. One of these accounts was used to regularly provide Jane Doe with reimbursement money from Epstein’s accounts at other banks, including Deutsche Bank, according to the lawsuit.

JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank have previously settled similar lawsuits, paying hundreds of millions of dollars in total. These cases were based on accounts that Epstein held under his own name.