A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday granted preliminary approval to a $72.5 million settlement between Bank of America and women who say the bank facilitated sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff set a hearing for August 27 to decide whether the settlement will receive final court approval.
The suit originated in October with a woman filing under the pseudonym Jane Doe. Her complaint accused the second-largest U.S. bank of overlooking suspicious financial activity tied to Epstein, alleging the bank had a "plethora" of information about his crimes but put profit ahead of protecting victims.
In a January ruling, Judge Rakoff concluded that Bank of America must face Doe’s claims that the bank knowingly benefited from Epstein’s sex trafficking and interfered with enforcement of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial; New York City’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
Bank of America agreed in March to resolve the civil lawsuit but maintained it did not facilitate sex trafficking. The bank said the settlement would allow it to move on and provide closure for the accusers.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs, David Boies and Bradley Edwards, said the settlement represented the best available option for their clients, noting the harm the women suffered occurred many years ago and that immediate financial relief was needed. The plaintiffs’ legal team may seek up to 30% of the settlement, which would amount to about $21.8 million, as attorneys’ fees.
The complaint referenced specific transactions, including payments to Epstein by Leon Black, the billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management. Black stepped down as Apollo’s chief executive in 2021 after an outside law firm’s review found he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning. Black has denied any wrongdoing and said he was not aware of Epstein’s criminal conduct.
Doe’s lawyers have pursued litigation against other individuals and institutions they describe as enablers of Epstein’s trafficking. In 2023 those lawyers reached settlements totaling $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank on behalf of Epstein’s accusers. They are also appealing Judge Rakoff’s January dismissal of a similar suit they brought against Bank of New York Mellon.
Context on investor questions and tools referenced in the original filing
The filing included a question directed at Bank of America investors about whether to buy shares of BAC at present. The source referenced an AI-driven stock selection tool called ProPicks AI that evaluates BAC along with many other companies using more than 100 financial metrics, and said the tool generates stock ideas by assessing fundamentals, momentum, and valuation. The material noted the tool is data-driven and cited prior notable winners it identified, and invited readers to check whether BAC appears in any current strategies or whether there are alternative opportunities in the same sector.