Statues of Presidents Trump and Epstein recreate iconic scenes from ‘Titanic’
The installation featured President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein recreating an iconic scene from the movie “Titanic.”
NEW YORK – Bank of America has agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle civil lawsuits brought by women who accused the bank of aiding and abetting sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, court records showed on March 27.
Lawyers for the bank and the women told Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff this month that they had reached a “settlement in principle,” but terms of the deal were not disclosed at the time.
“While we stand by previous statements we have made in our filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to set aside this matter and provide additional closure for plaintiffs,” a Bank of America spokesperson said in a statement.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys David Boies and Bradley Edwards said in a joint court filing that the settlement is the best option for their clients “given that many class members were harmed years ago and are now in need of financial relief.”
Lawyers for the plaintiffs could seek up to 30% of the settlement, or about $21.8 million, in legal fees, according to court records.
The settlement requires Lakoff’s approval. A judge scheduled a court hearing for April 2 to consider approving the deal.
A proposed class action lawsuit filed in October by a woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe accuses the nation’s second-largest bank of ignoring suspicious financial transactions related to Epstein, despite a “vast amount” of information about his crimes, because it prioritized profits over protecting victims.
Bank of America said Mr. Doe’s claims were merely that he provided routine services to people whose ties to Mr. Epstein were completely unknown at the time, and that any suggestion of deeper involvement was “ridiculous and nonsensical.”
Mr. Rakoff ruled in January that Bank of America must confront Mr. Doe’s claims that it knowingly profited from Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking and obstructed enforcement of federal human trafficking victim protection laws. The transactions Mr. Doe reported included payments to Mr. Epstein by Leon Black, the billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management.
Mr. Black resigned as Apollo’s chief executive in 2021 after an investigation by an outside law firm found that he paid Mr. Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning purposes.
Mr. Black has denied any wrongdoing and said he had no knowledge of Mr. Epstein’s criminal activity.
Mr. Doe’s lawyers have also sued other suspects who led Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, and in 2023 reached settlements on behalf of his accusers with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and $75 million with Deutsche Bank.
Lawyers are also appealing the January dismissal of a similar lawsuit Mr. Rakoff filed against New York Mellon Bank.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner.
Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York. Editing: Rod Nickell
