Bank of America has agreed to pay US$72.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that the bank facilitated a sex-trafficking ring orchestrated by Jeffrey Epstein, court documents showed on Friday.
Bank of America said separately that while it continued to deny supporting Epstein’s crimes, “this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs”.
The suit, filed by an unidentified woman on behalf of herself and other alleged victims, claimed the bank’s executives “ignored red flags” about Epstein’s sex-trafficking venture to provide him with banking and investment services.
The settlement, if approved in court, would avoid a potentially lengthy trial process and was deemed to be in the “best interests” of the plaintiffs.
It was the latest bank to settle lawsuits from Epstein’s alleged victims, after a US$75 million agreement by JP Morgan and a reported US$75 million payment by Deutsche Bank, both in 2023.
Jeffrey Epstein in March 2017. Photo: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP
Epstein, a billionaire hedge fund manager with a bevy of powerful and celebrity friends, was charged with sex trafficking of minors after being arrested in July 2019.