By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday said Bank of America must face part of a proposed class action lawsuit accusing it of knowingly aiding Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking by providing banking services to the disgraced late financier.
The judge, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan, also dismissed a similar lawsuit against Bank of New York Mellon.
Rakoff said Epstein’s victims may pursue two claims accusing Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, of knowingly benefiting from Epstein’s sex trafficking, and of obstructing enforcement of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
The judge rejected four other claims in the lawsuit, including that Bank of America participated in and aided Epstein’s sex trafficking, and that it negligently failed to protect victims or refrain from “non-routine” banking services.
Bank of New York Mellon, the world’s largest custodial bank, won dismissal of the same six claims. Rakoff plans to issue an opinion by February 13 explaining his reasoning. A trial for Bank of America is scheduled for May 11.
Bank of America said it was pleased that its case was narrowed, adding: “We look forward to a full review of the facts.”
BNY said its dismissal “reinforces that BNY had no involvement in Epstein’s crimes.”
The lawsuits were filed in October by a Florida woman known as Jane Doe on behalf of herself and other Epstein accusers.
Doe said that despite widespread knowledge of Epstein’s misconduct, both banks did business with him until his arrest in July 2019 because they considered making money a higher priority than protecting victims.
David Boies, a lawyer for Doe, said he looked forward to the Bank of America trial and planned to appeal the BNY decision.
JPMORGAN, DEUTSCHE BANK PREVIOUSLY SETTLED
Bank of America’s lawsuit included previously publicized accusations concerning Epstein’s business ties with prominent people, while BNY’s lawsuit included an accusation that the bank processed hundreds of millions of dollars of wire transfers on Epstein’s behalf.
The lawsuits also accused both banks of failing to file timely suspicious activity reports with the U.S. Treasury Department.
In seeking a dismissal, Bank of America said that Doe “at best” alleged that it banked high-net-worth clients affiliated with Epstein, which it called “insufficient,” and that she did not identify any law enforcement investigation that it intentionally obstructed.
Doe’s lawyers have brought other lawsuits on behalf of Epstein accusers. In 2023, they reached settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank, two of his main banks.
Neither bank admitted wrongdoing. Rakoff approved both settlements.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. New York City’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
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