By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge granted preliminary approval on Thursday to Bank of America’s $72.5 million settlement with women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan scheduled an August 27 hearing to consider final approval.
David Boies, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he expected between 60 and 75 victims to submit claims. The victims are mainly based in the United States or Eastern Europe, he said.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers may seek up to 30% of the settlement, or about $21.8 million, for legal fees.
Rakoff said it was important for Epstein’s victims to be compensated by anyone that unlawfully facilitated his sex trafficking, but that not everyone associated with him 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, without referring to specific people or entities.
“I do want to just keep everyone on notice that I continue to scrutinize this until the moment of final settlement,” the judge said.
SETTLEMENT AGREED IN MARCH
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by New York City’s medical examiner.
The proposed class action, filed in October by a woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused the second-largest U.S. bank of ignoring suspicious financial transactions related to Epstein despite a “plethora” of information about his crimes because it valued profit over protecting victims.
Rakoff ruled in January that Bank of America must face Doe’s claims that it knowingly benefited from Epstein’s sex trafficking and obstructed enforcement of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
In agreeing to settle the civil lawsuit in March, Bank of America said it did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes. It said the resolution would allow it to move on and provide closure for the accusers.
JPMORGAN, DEUTSCHE BANK ALSO SETTLED
Boies and Bradley Edwards, another lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the settlement was the best option for their clients because they suffered harm many years ago and need financial relief now.
Doe’s lawyers have also sued other alleged enablers of Epstein’s sex trafficking, and in 2023 reached settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank on behalf of his accusers.
The lawyers are also appealing Rakoff’s dismissal in January of a similar lawsuit they brought against Bank of New York Mellon.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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