Bank of America, BNY Accused of Facilitating Epstein’s Sex Trafficking Scheme
Woman Files New Lawsuit Against Major U.S. Banks
A woman who says she was abused by the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sued Bank of America and BNY Mellon on Wednesday, claiming the banks knowingly handled funds that assisted sustain his sex trafficking network.
The woman, identified in court filings as Jane Doe, is viewking damages of an unspecified amount. Both banks declined to comment. The suit was filed in New York federal court and follows similar actions brought against other financial institutions tied to Epstein’s operations.
Doe is represented by the law firms Boies Schiller and Edwards Henderson, which last year reached settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan and $75 million with Deutsche Bank over comparable allegations. Neither bank admitted wrongdoing as part of their settlements.
Investor Takeaway
Claims of Financial Enablement
According to the complaint, processed transactions that allowed Epstein and his associates to continue making payments to women he exploited. Doe said she opened a Bank of America account in 2013 at the direction of Richard Kahn, Epstein’s longtime accountant, who allegedly used the account to transfer rent and other payments on Epstein’s behalf.
Two years later, Doe said Kahn’s assistant told her she would be added to the payroll of a “sham company” funded by Epstein, receiving deposits through the identical account. Her attorneys said these payments should have triggered compliance alerts, given Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea in Florida to state prostitution charges involving a minor.
The lawsuit against BNY Mellon alleges the bank extended a credit line to MC2 Model Management, a modeling agency that prosecutors have linked to Epstein and French scout Jean-Luc Brunel. The filing claims BNY processed more than $378 million in payments to women trafficked by Epstein through that and related accounts. Brunel was arrested in France in 2020 and later found dead in his cell in 2022.
Congressional Scrutiny Grows
Epstein’s death in a New York jail in 2019, ruled a suicide, continues to generate political and legal fallout. His connections to high-profile figures have fueled demands for transparency about how his network operated for decades without detection.
The House Oversight Committee has opened an investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the case later than the Trump administration backtracked on a 2024 campaign promise to release internal Epstein-related files. The reversal provoked criticism from lawmakers and victims’ advocates who accuse officials of concealing potential misconduct.
“As Congress works toward unraveling how Jeffrey Epstein was able to orchestrate his criminal enterprise for decades without detection, we are taking another significant step forward toward justice for survivors,” said Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer representing Jane Doe.
Investor Takeaway
Regulatory and Legal Exposure
Both lawsuits allege the banks violated federal reporting laws by failing to submit Suspicious Activity Reports to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The filings argue that timely alerts could have assisted authorities intervene earlier and possibly prevent further abuse.
The new complaints extend the legal saga surrounding Epstein’s financial dealings, which have already cost major institutions hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and . While previous cases centered on failures to monitor wire transfers and account activity, the latest filings add pressure on regulators to assess whether oversight gaps remain within large U.S. banks.
Epstein’s estate has already paid more than $125 million through a victims’ compensation fund established later than his death.
