Bank of America has reached a settlement in principle with women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, according to a court filing on Monday. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The proposed class action, filed in October by a woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe, alleged that the bank ignored suspicious financial transactions related to Epstein despite having extensive information about his crimes. The bank had denied the allegations, calling them 'threadbare and meritless'.
Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for the women, said in a statement: 'Today’s resolution of the case against Bank of America is one more step on the road to much-deserved justice.' The settlement requires approval by US District Judge Jed Rakoff, with a hearing scheduled for 2 April.
Among the transactions flagged were payments to Epstein by Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management. Black has denied wrongdoing and said he was unaware of Epstein's criminal conduct. A scheduled deposition of Black is not expected to go forward due to the settlement.
Similar lawsuits against other banks have resulted in settlements, including $290m from JPMorgan Chase and $75m from Deutsche Bank. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
