Two of America’s biggest financial giants, Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), are once again facing serious accusations. Fresh lawsuits claim the banks continued to serve Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, and failed to report suspicious financial activities tied to him until after his death in 2019.
The new legal actions were filed in federal court on behalf of women who say they were abused by Epstein. These women argue that Epstein’s trafficking network could not have existed without the financial systems that enabled it. The lawsuits allege that the banks offered Epstein and his partners special treatment, turning a blind eye to transactions that should have raised alarm.
Each lawsuit seeks financial compensation, although the exact amounts have not been disclosed. The women claim the banks benefited from Epstein’s business while ignoring obvious signs of wrongdoing.
Inside the Lawsuits
In one case, a woman referred to as Jane Doe accuses Bank of America of directly handling transactions for Epstein’s network. She said she was abused between 2011 and 2019, and that Epstein’s accountant helped her open a bank account at Bank of America in 2013. According to the complaint, Epstein himself moved about $14,000 into the account and continued using it for years afterward.
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The second lawsuit targets Bank of New York Mellon. It claims that the bank had ties with MC2, a modeling agency allegedly run by Epstein and French model scout Jean-Luc Brunel. The filings suggest that BNY accounts were used to funnel money that supported Epstein’s trafficking operations. Brunel was arrested in 2020 on sex-trafficking charges but died in custody in 2022.
Lawyers Brad Edwards and David Boies, who have represented many of Epstein’s victims, are leading these new cases. They were also behind earlier lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, which ended in massive settlements in 2023.
Edwards said in a statement that it was disappointing that more banks had not come forward voluntarily to compensate victims, remarking that it should not take lawsuits and congressional inquiries to bring justice to survivors.
Both Bank of America and BNY have declined to comment on the lawsuits so far.
What the Records Reveal
The lawsuits arrive after Congress received a list from Epstein’s estate identifying more than 20 banks that handled his accounts over the years. Reports indicate that several of these banks continued doing business with Epstein even after his 2008 conviction for soliciting minors.
In the United States, banks are legally required to flag suspicious transactions to the government through “Suspicious Activity Reports,” or SARs. These reports help prevent money laundering and financial crimes. However, lawmakers say that many banks only filed SARs after Epstein’s arrest in 2019, long after red flags should have been raised.
Senator Ron Wyden, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, revealed that a number of financial institutions submitted their suspicious activity reports years too late. According to him, the delay raises questions about how such large transactions went unnoticed.
Documents later showed that Bank of America reported about $170 million in transactions between Epstein and billionaire investor Leon Black, but only after Epstein’s death. Meanwhile, BNY Mellon reportedly flagged $378 million in questionable transactions connected to Epstein’s accounts.
These revelations have reignited public anger over how financial institutions failed to act, despite repeated warnings and investigations into Epstein’s conduct.
Background of Earlier Settlements
The Epstein scandal has already forced some of the world’s largest banks to pay hefty settlements. JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank both reached agreements with victims in 2023. JPMorgan paid $290 million, while Deutsche Bank paid $75 million, though neither admitted wrongdoing.
Those settlements came after lawsuits accused the banks of profiting from Epstein’s wealth while ignoring warning signs about his crimes. Now, these new cases against Bank of America and BNY Mellon could lead to further scrutiny of how financial giants handled one of the most infamous figures in modern U.S. criminal history.
In addition to the lawsuits, the House Judiciary Committee has demanded explanations from the CEOs of the four major banks—BNY Mellon, Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank. Lawmakers want to know how Epstein and his associates managed to move more than $1.5 billion in suspicious transactions without triggering earlier alerts.
For many survivors and advocates, the growing list of lawsuits represents not only a search for compensation but also an effort to hold powerful institutions accountable for ignoring warning signs in pursuit of profit.
