JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $290 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it knowingly benefited from former client Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking, according to a court filing late Thursday.
Lawyers for Epstein’s victims filed a notice of settlement in Manhattan federal court, saying the deal has the approval of the lead plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe 1. The agreement must still be approved by a judge.
The $290 million will go to a class of women who claim to have been victims of Epstein with as much as 30% set aside for their lawyers, according to the filing. The number of women wasn’t specified.
“The proposed settlement is in all respects fair, adequate, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class,” according to the filing.
The anonymous woman who filed the suit claimed the bank negligently served as the late financier’s banker even though it knew of his abuse of young women and girls. Epstein was dropped as a client by JPMorgan in 2013, after further allegations about his sex-trafficking began to emerge in the press.
The bank still faces a lawsuit by the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a private retreat where he brought several of his victims. The bank is also litigating its own case against former private-banking head Jes Staley, who JPMorgan says should be held responsible for damages it incurs over its Epstein ties.
The case is Jane Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-10019, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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