Bank of America this week settled a class-action lawsuit brought by a victim of the deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, pictured in a photo issued by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice while he was awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking. Epstein was found dead in his cell in August 2019 before he could be brought to trial. File Photo by New York State Division of Criminal Justice/EPA-EFE
Bank of America reached a settlement with a survivor of deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein that will distribute $72.5 million to his victims.
The survivor, named in the case as “BOA Jane Doe,” and her attorneys told a federal judge on Friday that a settlement had been reached with the bank on a proposed class-action suit over Epstein’s decades of abuse and trafficking of women and teenage girls, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The suit alleged that the bank ignored signals of Epstein’s crimes by continuing to do business with him while he was committing his crimes.
Doe’s attorneys said they are aware of at least 60 women who were abused or trafficked by Epstein, however the settlement covers all women who experienced either at Epstein’s hands or those “connected to or otherwise associated” with him between June 30, 2008, and July 6, 2019, NBC News reported.
Bank of America, which is the largest bank in the United States, denied liability or wrongdoing in providing Epstein banking services but settled in order to avoid a trial.
“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 bank told The Observer and NBC in a statement.
With the settlement filed, a judge will still have to approve it at a hearing, which is scheduled for April 2.
Bank of America now joins JPMorgan, which settled for $290 million, and Deutsche Bank, which settled for $75 million, in paying what is thought to be more than 1,000 women that Epstein abused in his years-long scheme.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump stands with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins during an event celebrating farmers on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
