The biggest bank in the country faced a lawsuit for disregarding warning signs related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking activities during his time as a client.
Over 200 individuals who were impacted by the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein might be eligible for compensation from JPMorgan Chase.
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A judge on Thursday approved a settlement in a class-action lawsuit, where JPMorgan Chase will pay $290 million to victims of sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. The victims claimed the bank ignored warnings about Epstein. The money could compensate nearly 200 victims, according to a legal filing. JPMorgan and the victims’ lawyers reached a preliminary settlement in June, avoiding a potential trial. Judge Jed Rakoff gave final approval, closing a significant chapter in the Epstein saga regarding the role of big banks in enabling his conduct for nearly two decades.
Fifteen unnamed victims supported the deal in written declarations. Some, including one who said she was 13 when Epstein first assaulted her, wrote about ongoing struggles with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and eating disorders.
Attorneys general from 16 states and Washington, D.C., expressed concerns about the settlement’s language in a letter to the judge. They said the broad release given to JPMorgan might prevent some states from bringing their own sex-trafficking claims. However, Judge Rakoff considered the issue hypothetical and found no problem with the settlement language.
“This case sent a message through this very substantial settlement that banking institutions have a responsibility,” Judge Rakoff stated.
Given the substantial amount to be disbursed to victims, the judge directed the administrator of the settlement fund to provide periodic confidential reports on her work.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed last November on behalf of victims sexually abused by Epstein over roughly 15 years. It claimed JPMorgan ignored red flags that Epstein was trafficking teenage girls, even after his 2008 guilty plea in a Florida case.
The lawsuit was one of two arising from JPMorgan’s dealings with Epstein, who died in 2019. In September, the bank agreed to pay $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle claims related to a sex-trafficking operation Epstein ran from his private island.
Both settlements followed embarrassing disclosures about how top JPMorgan executives retained Epstein as a client despite warning signs.
Judge Rakoff approved the law firms’ request to keep 30 percent of the settlement as legal fees. The firms will also be reimbursed $1.1 million for litigation expenses from the settlement money. The same law firms received a similar cut from a $75 million settlement negotiated with Deutsche Bank.
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