JPMorgan Chase has reached a settlement with women who say they were abused by Jeffrey Epstein, the bank and the women said on June 12.
The parties said in a joint statement that they’ve notified a federal court in New York that they’ve “reached an agreement in principle” to settle a lawsuit filed in 2022 by women who accused the bank of facilitating Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
The settlement is subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, the Clinton appointee overseeing the case.
“We all now understand that Epstein’s behavior was monstrous, and we believe this settlement is in the best interest of all parties, especially the survivors, who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of this man,” a spokeswoman for JPMorgan Chase told The Epoch Times via email.
“Any association with him was a mistake and we regret it. We would never have continued to do business with him if we believed he was using our bank in any way to help commit heinous crimes.”
David Boies, a lawyer representing the women, told The Epoch Times in an email: “While the road to justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring has been too long, and we are not yet at its end, the historic recovery from JPMorgan, individually and in combination with our earlier recovery from Deutsche Bank, is another important step in achieving the vindication, recognition, and compensation they deserve.”
The specifics of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
“JPMorgan has requested that we not reveal the actual amount of the settlement (which is large), and for the moment, we are honoring that request,” Boies said.
Deutsche Bank, which was sued by the same women, in May agreed to pay $75 million to settle the related suit against it.
Rakoff had ruled this year that the banks could be liable for Epstein’s sex trafficking.
“Plaintiffs have pled sufficient facts to support their allegations that JP Morgan had … knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking venture, either directly or by recklessly disregarding what was plainly to be seen,” Rakoff said.
He also said the plaintiffs had presented facts to support allegations that “Deutsche Bank knew or recklessly disregarded that Jeffrey Epstein ran a sex-trafficking venture.”
