Epstein victims get $72.5M from Bank of America settlement
A Bank of America branch on Saturday, October 11, 2025 in New York, USA.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bank of America It agreed to pay $72.5 million to victims of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to settle a class action lawsuit alleging the bank facilitated his sex trafficking operation. New York federal court application He showed it on Friday evening.
The settlement, in which BoA did not admit wrongdoing, was the fourth settlement by a major bank with legal claims filed by Epstein victims or a government agency alleging they effectively abetted trafficking while he was a customer. The agreement with BoA must be approved by a judge in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where the lawsuit was filed.
“While we stand by our previous statements in filings related to this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this decision allows us to put this matter behind us and provide further closure for the plaintiffs,” a spokesperson for Bank of America said in a statement sent to CNBC. he said.
According to Friday’s filing, the settlement will pay “all women who were sexually abused or trafficked between June 30, 2008, and July 6, 2019, by Jeffrey Epstein or anyone affiliated with or otherwise associated with Jeffrey Epstein or any Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking enterprise.”
Previous bank payments
But Deutsche Bank said at the time of the settlement: “We acknowledge our mistake and the weaknesses in our processes in hiring Epstein in 2013, and we have learned from our mistakes and shortcomings.”
Three previous lawsuits, like the current one against BoA, were filed in Manhattan federal court.
What was alleged in the lawsuit
The lead plaintiff in the Bank of America case filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe is a Russian citizen who met Epstein in 2011.
The complaint against BoA stated that from that year to 2019, “Epstein sexually harassed Jane Doe at least 100 times, including but not limited to forcibly touching her, forcibly raping her, and forcing her to have sexual intercourse with other women for his own depraved sexual gratification.”
The lawsuit states that Jane Doe opened a bank account at Bank of America in May 2013 at the direction of Epstein’s accountant, Richard Kahn, and an immigration attorney as part of a scheme to defraud immigration authorities.
“At the heart of the Amended Complaint, Lead Plaintiff alleges that Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise was facilitated and enabled by her. [Bank of America] “To help Epstein avoid regulatory scrutiny and to provide Epstein with withdrawal and wire transfer services, all so that the Defendant could profit from Epstein and his associates,” the settlement filing states.
“Lead Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant’s assistance in Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise prevented authorities from discovering his illegal scheme and harmed Class members by increasing the size and scale of Epstein’s access to and control of victims,” the filing said.
The bank “has expressly denied and continues to deny that Epstein participated in any way or otherwise aided, supported or facilitated or attempted to obstruct the sex trafficking enterprise.”
Epstein, 66, killed himself in a Manhattan federal prison in August 2019, weeks after he was arrested on child sex trafficking charges.
He previously pleaded guilty in Florida state court in 2008 to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution and was sentenced to 13 months in prison.
