Bank of America has stated Jane Doe alleged merely that it offered routine companies to individuals who on the time had no recognized hyperlinks to Epstein, and that any suggestion that it was extra deeply concerned was “threadbare and meritless.”
Bank of America agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a civil lawsuit introduced by ladies who accused the financial institution of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, court docket data confirmed on Friday (March 27, 2026).
Lawyers for the financial institution and the ladies had informed Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff this month that they had reached a “settlement in principle,” however phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed on the time.
“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,” a spokesperson for Bank of America stated in a press release.
In a joint court docket submitting, David Boies and Bradley Edwards, attorneys for the plaintiffs, stated the settlement represented the best choice for his or her shoppers “given that many Class Members suffered harm many years ago and are in need of financial relief now.”
The plaintiffs’ attorneys might search up to 30% of the settlement, or about $21.8 million, for authorized charges, in accordance to court docket data. The settlement requires Mr. Rakoff’s approval. The decide scheduled a court docket listening to for Thursday (March 26, 2026) to contemplate approving the deal.
The proposed class motion, filed in October by a lady utilizing the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused the second-largest U.S. financial institution of ignoring suspicious monetary transactions associated to Epstein regardless of a “plethora” of details about his crimes as a result of it valued revenue over defending victims.
Bank of America has stated Ms. Doe alleged merely that it offered routine companies to individuals who on the time had no recognized hyperlinks to Epstein, and that any suggestion that it was extra deeply concerned was “threadbare and meritless.”
Mr. Rakoff dominated in January that Bank of America should face Ms. Doe’s claims that it knowingly benefited from Epstein’s intercourse trafficking and obstructed enforcement of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Among the transactions Ms. Doe flagged had been funds to Epstein by Apollo Global Management’s billionaire co-founder, Leon Black.
Mr. Black stepped down as Apollo’s chief govt in 2021 after a assessment by an out of doors regulation agency discovered he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and property planning.
Mr. Black has denied wrongdoing and stated he was unaware of Epstein’s felony conduct. Ms. Doe’s attorneys have additionally sued different alleged enablers of Epstein’s intercourse trafficking, and in 2023 reached settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank on behalf of his accusers.
The attorneys are additionally interesting Mr. Rakoff’s dismissal in January of a comparable lawsuit they introduced in opposition to Bank of New York Mellon. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 whereas awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking prices. His demise was dominated a suicide by New York City’s medical expert.
Published – March 28, 2026 12:06 pm IST