Bank of America

Bank of America maintained accounts connected to Jeffrey Epstein and his network from at least 2011 through Epstein's arrest in July 2019, a period during which the bank allegedly failed to file legally required suspicious activity reports and processed transactions that plaintiffs argue bore unmistakable hallmarks of a trafficking operation.

In March 2026, the bank agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a class action filed on behalf of survivors—without admitting liability—becoming at least the third major U.S. financial institution, after JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, to reach a financial resolution over its relationship with Epstein.¹

  How the accounts functioned

The complaint, filed October 2025 in the Southern District of New York as case 25-cv-08520, alleged that Bank of America "knowingly and intentionally participated in, assisted, supported, and facilitated" Epstein's trafficking operation by providing financial services despite repeated warning signs.²

The most consequential transaction alleged in the suit was a $170 million transfer routed through a Bank of America account from Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black to Epstein, ostensibly for "tax and estate planning advice."³ Black separately paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2023 to resolve related claims. No documented business deliverables from Epstein justified the sum, and the transfer fell within the class period the lawsuit designated as covered.

A second pattern involved accounts opened in victims' names. In May 2013, the lead plaintiff—identified only as "BOA Jane Doe"—opened a Bank of America account at the direction of Epstein's accountant Richard Kahn and an immigration attorney, allegedly as part of a scheme to deceive immigration authorities. The bank assigned her preferred-customer status though she had no independent income source.⁴ Epstein paid her rent and fabricated employment income through the account, conduct that a functioning anti-money-laundering compliance program should have flagged.

Plaintiffs further alleged the bank failed to file mandatory suspicious activity reports with federal authorities until after Epstein's death in August 2019—a gap spanning at least six years during which red-flag transactions moved without regulatory notification.⁵

  The survivor class

Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who also presided over the JPMorgan settlement in 2023, granted preliminary approval on April 2, 2026.⁶ Plaintiffs' attorneys David Boies and Bradley Edwards told the court they expected between 60 and 75 women to submit claims. The class covers all women sexually abused or trafficked by Epstein, or by those "connected to or otherwise associated" with him, between June 30, 2008 and July 6, 2019—a period that runs from the aftermath of Epstein's Palm Beach plea deal to the date of his federal arrest.⁷

Individual settlement allocations are determined by severity and duration of abuse, nature of the victim's relationship to Epstein, and cooperation with government investigations. Judge Rakoff granted final approval on August 27, 2026. The order and final judgment, Document 165, was entered August 28. The judgment approved the $72.5 million settlement; it does not establish that individual awards have been disbursed. The judgment is not an admission of liability.⁸⁹

  Bank's position

Bank of America denied it facilitated sex trafficking crimes and maintained that position throughout litigation. In agreeing to settle, the bank stated the resolution would "allow us to put this matter behind us" and provide closure for accusers. The settlement carries no admission of liability.¹

  Comparative scale

The three banks combined have committed over $500 million in Epstein-related settlements. Bank of America's figure is smaller than JPMorgan's survivor-class payment and roughly in line with Deutsche Bank's, though the temporal overlap with Deutsche Bank's relationship (Deutsche Bank held Epstein accounts from August 2013 to December 2018, while Bank of America's covered period begins June 2008) means the banks ran accounts for him in parallel for several years.¹⁰

  Wyden's August 2026 report

On August 4, 2026, Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden released a 67-page staff report, Looking the Other Way, based on a review of Treasury suspicious-activity reports and internal bank records. The report alleges that Bank of America failed to screen and report about $170 million in payments from Leon Black to Epstein in a timely way. It says the bank later described some of those transfers, in a February 2020 SAR, as having "no apparent economic, business or lawful purpose," five to seven years after they moved, and that a later filing identified another $13.5 million. Wyden names individual bankers at Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank whose conduct, he says, merits investigation. Those names are recommended investigative targets, not convicted accomplices. The dollar figures describe suspicious transactions, not a court finding that the sums were criminal proceeds.¹¹¹²

A Bank of America spokesperson told Reuters the bank takes its legal obligations seriously and "did not facilitate wrongdoing," the same position the bank took in the civil settlement.¹²

  Timeline

  Footnotes

1. Epstein victims to get $72.5M from Bank of America settlement, CNBC ↩ ↩²

2. Bank of America Epstein Settlement Analysis, All About Lawyer ↩

3. Bank of America reaches $72.5 million settlement in Epstein lawsuit, CBS News ↩

4. Bank of America to pay $72.5M to settle Epstein-related lawsuit, Banking Dive ↩

5. Bank of America agrees to $72.5M settlement with Epstein survivors, UPI ↩

6. Bank of America's $72.5 million settlement with Epstein accusers wins preliminary approval, WHBL ↩

7. 75 women abused by Epstein expected to benefit from Bank of America settlement, AOL ↩

8. Order and Final Judgment, Doe v. Bank of America, No. 1:25-cv-08520 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 28, 2026), ECF 165 ↩

9. Judge approves Bank of America's $72 million settlement with Epstein accusers, ABC News, August 27, 2026 ↩

10. Deutsche Bank Epstein Dossier ↩

11. Looking the Other Way, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, August 4, 2026 ↩

12. US Senator Wyden urges regulators to probe Wall Street banks over Epstein accounts, Reuters, August 4, 2026 ↩ ↩²