NEW YORK — Lawyers say up to 75 women who were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein since 2008 may benefit from a $72.5 million fund set up as part of a settlement Bank of America reached with lawyers representing the women.
U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff gave the deal preliminary approval Thursday and set a final approval hearing for Aug. 27. He also ordered lawyers to submit to him by Friday a broader list of publications to be used to notify Epstein victims that the settlement fund exists.
The judge said he wanted to ensure “nobody is left out.”
Lawyers for women abused by Epstein had sued the bank, saying it ignored suspicious financial transactions involving Epstein that occurred while he was abusing girls and women from June 2008 to his arrest in early July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges.
Epstein died in August 2019 in a Manhattan federal jail. The death was ruled a suicide.
At the hearing Thursday, attorney David Boies said lawyers for the victims believed between 60 and 75 women will make claims that would make them eligible for payouts from the settlement fund.
He said “there may be more we haven't identified.”
Rakoff said that “while it’s perhaps extremely likely that the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s monstrous acts can never be fully compensated, the victims are entitled to receive just compensation from any person or entity that knowingly, recklessly or otherwise unlawfully facilitated his sexual trafficking.”
In a statement, the bank said: "While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs.”