Epstein survivors sue Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon
After Epstein victims reached major settlements with JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, two more shoes dropped on allegedly "complicit" financial institutions.
Follow the public record to places that rarely receive public attention.
Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors filed a pair of federal lawsuits against the Bank of America and the Bank of New York Mellon on Wednesday, accusing them of ranking among the “complicit financial institutions” who valued proximity to a wealthy and connected predator more than complying with anti-trafficking law.
“Rather than merely providing routine banking services to Epstein, Bank of America went far beyond what a non-complicit bank would have done and instead assisted Epstein in setting up the necessary financial structure to operate his sex-trafficking venture,” the 49-page lawsuit says.
In 2023, survivors settled similar lawsuits against J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank for $290 million and $75 million.
Another lawsuit filed today estimates that Bank of New York Mellon processed $378 million in payments to women trafficked by Epstein.
Both lawsuits cite the ongoing “follow-the-money” investigation by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) into Epstein for the Finance Committee.
During the investigation, Wyden found that billionaire Leon Black paid $170 million to Epstein for purported “tax and estate planning advice” from his Bank of America account, compensation that he found “far exceeded” that of other professional attorneys and advisors involved in Black’s estate planning.
Attorneys David Boies and Sigrid McCawley filed both class action complaints on behalf of an anonymous Jane Doe, who says she met Epstein in Russia in 2011 and was sexually abused by him until 2019, the year of Epstein’s prosecution and death.
In 2013, accountant Richard Kahn and immigration attorney Arda Beskardes directed Doe to open a Bank of America account as part of a plan to “defraud immigration officials,” according to the complaint.
“As soon as the account was opened, Kahn wired $14,073.00 into the account,” the complaint says.
According to the lawsuit, Epstein and Kahn began to use the account “without explanation,” wiring money for immigration and monthly rent.
Kahn is one of the executors of Epstein’s estate, along with attorney Darren Indyke. Only the banks are named as defendants in the lawsuits, but survivors sued Kahn and Indyke in a separate, pending lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court. Virgin Islands investigators called Indyke and Kahn the “indispensable captains” of Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise in an enforcement action ultimately settled for more than $105 million, without an admission of wrongdoing. Neither of the men has been criminally charged and deny the allegations against them.
The survivors’ lawsuit against Bank of New York Mellon focuses on Epstein’s relationship with French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, who also died in his jail cell before he could stand trial on child sex crimes.
“Epstein enlisted Brunel to recruit new victims from all over the world, enticing them with promises of modeling careers before sexually abusing and trafficking them through a modeling agency Epstein and Brunel established called MC2,” the lawsuit notes. “The name referred to the math equation ‘E=MC2,’ where ‘E’ stood for Epstein.”
According to the lawsuit, MC2 had a banking relationship with BNY, dating back at least until 2006.
Both lawsuits allege multiple violations of the Trafficking Victim Protection Act and negligence.
Bank of America and BNY did not have an immediate comment.
May the victims prevail and expose the dirty money handlers.
Illuminating report, Adam!