Epstein victims’ lawsuits against Bank of America and BNY move forward quickly

A pair of lawsuits against banks by Jeffrey Epstein victims are underway.

At a hearing Monday, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff ordered attorneys to meet speedy turnaround times for complaints filed against Bank of America and BNY.

Both lawsuits, filed in October, alleged that the banks ignored red flags related to Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

Rakoff set November deadlines for motions to dismiss the cases, with oral argument due Dec. 15.

The judge ordered that all preliminary investigations, including depositions, must be completed by February 27.

If the cases go to trial, they will run consecutively in May and June 2026, Rakoff said.

The lawsuit against Bank of America alleges that one of Epstein’s employees asked one of his victims to open an account with the bank in her own name, then used it to pay her rent while Epstein sexually assaulted her over several years. The account was also used for other purposes, which may have facilitated the sex trafficking of other women, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit against BNY alleged that the financial institution processed $378 million in payments to Epstein’s victims without flagging those transactions as suspicious.

“The allegations in the lawsuit are without merit and we will vigorously defend against them,” a BNY spokesperson told Business Insider. A representative for Bank of America did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Ghislaine Maxwell, his former partner, was convicted of trafficking girls for sex in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

The two lawsuits could help shed light on how Epstein earned and moved his money. His estate was valued at approximately $630 million at the time of his death.

Both lawsuits were filed by Boies attorneys Schiller Flexner, along with attorneys Brad Edwards and Brittany Henderson, who have collectively represented more than 100 Epstein victims over the years.

Lawyers filed similar lawsuits in late 2022 against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank.

Rakoff, who also oversaw those prosecutions, also put them on the fast track. JPMorgan agreed to settle the case for $290 million. Deutsche Bank agreed to settle $75 million.

BNY is represented by WilmerHale, with some of the same lawyers who represented JPMorgan in the lawsuit against the bank. Bank of America is represented by the major law firm Jones Day.

At the end of Monday’s hearing, Rakoff said he hoped the parties would not settle the disputes.

“With attorneys of such supreme quality, if this case is settled, I will be extraordinarily disappointed because I will be deprived of two fantastic trials conducted by excellent attorneys,” Rakoff said. “Now, I don’t want to discourage you from settling. Some of my colleagues think settlement is always the way to go. But I’m much more selfish and I’d like to see two really good trials.”