JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $290 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it knowingly benefited from the sex trafficking of former client Jeffrey Epstein, according to a court filing Thursday.
Attorneys for Epstein’s victims filed a notice of settlement in Manhattan federal court, saying the deal had the consent of the lead plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe 1. The deal still needs to be approved by a judge.
$290 million will go to a class of women who claim to be victims of Epstein with 30% earmarked for their lawyers, according to the filing. The number of women was not determined.
“The proposed settlement is in all respects fair, adequate, reasonable, and in the best interest of the class,” according to the filing.
The anonymous woman who filed the lawsuit said the bank negligently acted as a banker to the late financier even though it was aware of his abuse of young women and girls. Epstein was fired as a client of JPMorgan in 2013, after more allegations about his sex trafficking began to emerge in the press.
The bank still faces a lawsuit in the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a private retreat where he took some of his victims. The bank also filed its own lawsuit against the former head of the private bank, Jes Staley, who JPMorgan said should be held accountable for damages caused by ties to Epstein.
The case is Jane Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-10019, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Photo: A protester holds a Jeffrey Epstein sign in front of a federal courthouse in New York on July 8, 2019. Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
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