Bank of America Agrees to Pay $72.5 Million to Settle Lawsuit Accusing It of Facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Trafficking

Bank of America agreed Friday to pay $72.5 million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit accusing the financial institution of knowingly facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation by providing banking and investment services to the disgraced financier while ignoring red flags about his activities for years. The deal, which must still receive approval from a federal judge at an April 2 hearing, would make Bank of America the fourth major bank to reach a financial settlement with Epstein victims.

The lawsuit, filed in October 2025 in the Southern District of New York, was brought on behalf of a woman identified only as Jane Doe. According to the complaint, Jane Doe first met Epstein in Russia in 2011 and was subsequently controlled by him 'financially, emotionally, and psychologically,' experiencing sexual abuse on at least 100 separate occasions between 2011 and 2019. The suit alleged that Bank of America provided the financial infrastructure that enabled Epstein's trafficking enterprise to function, helping him maintain the appearance of a legitimate business operation even as the bank allegedly failed to file required suspicious activity reports.

At the center of the lawsuit is a financial relationship between Epstein and Leon Black, the billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management. Between roughly 2012 and 2017, Black paid Epstein approximately $170 million — money that flowed through a Bank of America account — ostensibly for tax and estate planning advice. Prosecutors and civil plaintiffs have argued the payments were central to Epstein's operation and that the bank should have flagged them as suspicious. Black, who resigned from Apollo in 2021 after his ties to Epstein became public, was identified in the lawsuit as a 'critical witness' and had been scheduled for a deposition on March 26 before the settlement was reached. Bank of America made no admission of liability or wrongdoing as part of the agreement. In a statement, the bank said 'this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs.'

The settlement follows agreements by JPMorgan Chase, which paid $290 million to victims in 2023 and separately paid $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Deutsche Bank, which paid victims $75 million that same year. A separate $35 million settlement between the Epstein estate and a class of victims was reached in February 2026. Epstein died by suicide in federal custody in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for facilitating his crimes.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, issued a statement praising the settlement and calling for further accountability. 'Bank of America failed its legal and moral obligations for years while Epstein and his enablers profited,' Wyden said. 'Holding financial institutions accountable is essential to making sure this never happens again.' Victims' attorney Sigrid McCawley called the settlement 'one more step on the road to much-deserved justice' for the survivors. The court hearing to consider final approval is scheduled for April 2.