A U.S. judge granted preliminary approval to Bank of America ($BAC) for a $72.5 million settlement resolving claims that the bank facilitated sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, with a final approval hearing scheduled for August 27.
- U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff approved the preliminary settlement in Manhattan federal court.
- The class action lawsuit alleged Bank of America ignored suspicious transactions tied to Epstein despite awareness of his conduct.
- Bank of America denied facilitating sex trafficking and said the settlement allows closure for all parties.
- Plaintiffs’ attorneys may seek up to 30% of the settlement, or about $21.8 million, in legal fees.
- The case included scrutiny of payments made to Epstein by individuals such as Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black.
- Black previously paid Epstein $158 million for financial services and has denied wrongdoing.
- Related cases resulted in prior settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank.
Relevant Companies
- BAC – Directly involved in the settlement tied to Epstein-related claims.
- APO – Linked through disclosures involving its co-founder’s financial transactions with Epstein.
- JPM – Previously reached a major settlement in related Epstein litigation.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. This article may be updated as more details become available.
