JPMorgan Chase has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit with victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
via: NBC News
The tentative settlement would resolve a suit that was filed in federal court last year by a woman identified as “Jane Doe 1,” who claimed the financial institution turned a “blind eye” toward Epstein’s conduct. The suit also alleged the bank didn’t comply with federal laws for years while providing services to him and benefiting from his business.
“The parties in Jane Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. have informed the Court that they have reached an agreement in principle to settle the putative class action lawsuit related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, which is subject to court approval,” JPMorgan Chase and the victims’ lawyers said in a joint statement.
“The parties believe this settlement is in the best interests of all parties, especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein’s terrible abuse,” the bank and attorneys said.
The unnamed woman filed the lawsuit on behalf of a “large number” of Epstein victims. The judge overseeing the case ruled Monday morning that the case could move forward as a class-action lawsuit.
“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,” JPMorgan Chase said in a separate statement.
Epstein was a JPMorgan Chase client for 15 years until the bank severed ties with him in 2013.
In 2008, Epstein was convicted of procuring a child for prostitution. He later died by suicide in 2019 at a Manhattan correctional center where he was being held on federal sex-trafficking charges.
“The settlements that have been reached are both life-changing and historic for the survivors,” said Sigrid McCawley, the victims’ attorney and managing partner at Boies Schiller Flexner. “Money, which for far too long flowed with impunity between Jeffrey Epstein’s global sex trafficking enterprise and Wall Street’s leading banks, is decisively being used for good.”
The New York Times was first to report that the settlement amount was $290 million.
