Lawyers search for Epstein survivors for Bank of America $72.5m settlement 

Lawyers have estimated that as many as 75 women may have a stake in the $72.5m settlement reached with Bank of America over accusations related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

United States District Judge Jed Rakoff had called on the lawyers to compile a broad list of publications by Friday that could be used to notify Epstein’s victims, who are believed to number in the hundreds.

Rakoff explained he wanted to make sure that “nobody is left out” of the settlement. A final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for August 27.

The settlement was first announced in court filings on March 27, after a proposed class action lawsuit against Bank of America was allowed to proceed.

In October, a woman who went by the pseudonym Jane Doe filed the lawsuit on behalf of herself and the other women and girls who say they were abused by Epstein.

She and her lawyers argued that Bank of America, the second-largest banking institution in the US, had ignored suspicious transactions related to Epstein’s sex-trafficking operations.

The lawsuit further alleged that Bank of America knowingly benefitted from its relationship with Epstein and obstructed enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a federal law designed to prosecute sex trafficking.

As part of the settlement, Bank of America reiterated its position that it did not participate in Epstein’s sex crimes.

“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,” its statement said.

Rakoff gave his preliminary approval to the settlement on Thursday, though he acknowledged that the gravity of Epstein’s crimes go beyond a dollar amount.

“While it’s perhaps extremely likely that the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s monstrous acts can never be fully compensated, the victims are entitled to receive just compensation from any person or entity that knowingly, recklessly or otherwise unlawfully facilitated his sexual trafficking,” Rakoff said.

The Bank of America deal is the third such settlement with a major banking institution.

In 2023, two other financial organisations, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, also agreed to settle with victims over accusations that they overlooked telltale signs of Epstein’s crimes. JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $290m, while Deutsche Bank settled for $75m.

Judge Rakoff, however, dismissed a suit in January against the Bank of New York Mellon. Lawyers for Doe are appealing that decision.

Rakoff has argued that, while it is fair to seek compensation from those who facilitated Epstein’s crimes, not everyone associated with the convicted sex offender should be held liable.

“It’s not fair to penalize those persons or entities that were drawn into his wide orbit but had no role in assisting or benefiting from his egregious misconduct,” Rakoff said.

Prosecutors believe Epstein had been preying upon girls and young women for decades before his death in a New York City jail in 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.

A wealthy financier, Epstein had also cultivated a social circle inhabited by some of the most powerful figures in politics, arts and business.

They included figures like Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a disgraced former prince from the United Kingdom, and two United States presidents, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

Critics have long argued that Epstein’s influential associates helped shield him from accountability during his lifetime.

In 2008, Epstein struck a deal with prosecutors that saw him register as a sex offender and plead guilty to two state charges: solicitation of prostitution and procuring a minor for sex.

But through the deal, he avoided federal charges and a lengthy prison term. He ended up serving only 13 months of an 18-month sentence.

At the time of Epstein’s death in 2019, federal prosecutors had renewed their investigation into the financier and brought sex-trafficking charges against him.

One of the lawyers representing Doe, David Boies, said he believes there are at least 60 to 75 women who may be eligible to participate in the Bank of America settlement.

“There may be more we haven’t identified,” he added.