Department of Justice
- Jeffrey Epstein victims accused Bank of America and BNY of facilitating his sex-trafficking venture.
- A judge allowed parts of the case against Bank of America to move forward.
- The judge tossed the entire case against BNY.
Sex trafficking victims of Jeffrey Epstein scored a mixed victory in court on Thursday after a federal judge tossed one of their lawsuits against a bank — but greenlit part of another case against a different bank.
US District Judge Jed Rakoff allowed portions of a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by victims against Bank of America to move forward, but dismissed other parts of the case.
Rakoff dismissed the entirety of a similar lawsuit the victims had filed against another bank, BNY.
The Epstein victims had accused Bank of America of ignoring red flags for Epstein's sex-trafficking operation. Their lawsuit said the bank facilitated millions of dollars — including over $170 million from former Apollo CEO Leon Black, who said he paid Epstein for tax advice — into Epstein's accounts. They said the funds were used in part to pay hush money to victims.
Rakoff dismissed the parts of the lawsuit that alleged the bank "knowingly participated" in Epstein's sex-trafficking operation, as well as allegations that it failed to follow know-your-customer laws in monitoring Epstein's accounts.
But the judge allowed the victims' claims that Bank of America was a "knowing beneficiary" of the sex-trafficking operation to move forward.
The judge tossed an entire lawsuit that the same lawyers filed against BNY, also known as Bank of New York Mellon Corp. The lawsuit had alleged BNY ignored red flags while processing Epstein's wire transfers and by extending credit to a modeling agency financed by Epstein and owned by Jean-Luc Brunel, who died in his prison cell in 2022 while awaiting trial in France for rape charges.
David Boies, an attorney representing the Epstein victims, said he would appeal the dismissal of the BNY lawsuit.
"We are pleased that the Court sustained our sex trafficking claims against Bank of America, and we look forward to trying that case in May," Boies said in a statement. "We respectively disagree with the Court's dismissal of the complaint against Bank of New York Mellon and we will seek appellate review."
Rakoff had expressed skepticism about the strength of both lawsuits during a December hearing in his lower Manhattan courtroom. He called them both "a model of high-pitched rhetoric" and compared them unfavorably to earlier lawsuits the same attorneys had brought on behalf of Epstein victims against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, which settled for $290 million and $75 million, respectively.
At the end of the December hearing, Rakoff gave the lawyers two weeks to file amended versions of their lawsuits with more detail.
The revisions appeared not to satisfy Rakoff. He dismissed the counts "with prejudice" — meaning the lawyers won't get another chance to amend their lawsuits — and said he would issue an opinion explaining his reasoning by February 13.
"We are pleased with the court's decision dismissing the lawsuit in its entirety, which reinforces that BNY had no involvement in Epstein's crimes," BNY spokesperson Ryan Wells told Business Insider. "BNY has great sympathy for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and believes his crimes should be fully investigated and prosecuted."
In court, Bank of America lawyers said it offered nothing more than "routine banking services" for Epstein. Bill Haldin, a spokesperson for the bank, said it looked forward to "a full review of the facts" as the case moved forward.
"We are pleased the court dismissed most of the claims," Haldin said. "On the remaining claims, it's important to understand the underlying facts have not been reviewed at this stage of the litigation."
Rakoff had previously put the lawsuits on a fast track, setting deadlines for summary judgment for the spring, which will give Bank of America another chance to have the case dismissed. A trial is scheduled for May.
The litigation is playing out in the same courthouse where victims have pressed judges to force the Department of Justice to publish its internal files related to Epstein, the well-connected pedophile who killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking charges.
The Justice Department has blown past a December 19 deadline required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed in November, to release all of its files. Victims and members of Congress have asked judges to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the release of the files. Judges have said they don't have the power to make such an appointment.
In a court filing Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the department had reviewed "millions of pages of materials, applying redactions as appropriate" and would publish them "in the near term."
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