yahoo news | BofA to Pay $72.5 Million to Settle Epstein Victim Lawsuit

Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex‑trafficking scheme. The settlement, presented to U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan, does not include an admission of wrongdoing by the bank. Bank officials said the agreement allows the matter to be closed and provides “further closure for the plaintiffs,” while a mediator, former federal judge Layn Phillips, described the amount as the highest the plaintiffs could have achieved at the time.

The deal is markedly smaller than the $290 million JPMorgan Chase & Co. paid in 2023 to Epstein victims, though the two cases differed. JPMorgan’s case focused on its direct client relationship with Epstein, whereas the Bank of America suit alleged that the bank was used by Epstein’s co‑conspirators, associates and victims to move funds that financed the trafficking operation. The settlement will be distributed to a class of women abused or trafficked by Epstein or his associates between June 30 2008 and July 6 2019.

The lawsuit also implicated other high‑profile figures. It alleged that Leon Black, co‑founder of Apollo Global Management, used Bank of America accounts to transfer $170 million to Epstein—a sum prosecutors said funded the sex‑trafficking venture. Additionally, the suit claimed Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, used the bank’s accounts, and that the bank actively concealed evidence of its role. Alongside Bank of America, Deutsche Bank reached a $75 million settlement in 2023. The case is filed as Doe v. Bank of America, No. 25‑cv‑08520, in the Southern District of New York.

Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/bofa-to-pay-72-5-million-to-settle-epstein-victim-lawsuit

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