![] A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo](https://www.biznob.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/JP_800x500.jpeg)
JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM.N) $290 million deal with women who claimed Jeffrey Epstein harmed them and that the largest U.S. bank ignored his sex trafficking was tentatively approved by a U.S. judge on Monday.
At a Manhattan federal court session, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff approved.
“This is a really fine settlement,” said Rakoff. He added that the arrangement and a similar $75 million agreement with Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) he approved earlier this month were “very large settlements” that would pay Epstein’s victims but not make up for their crimes.
JPMorgan canceled Epstein’s accounts in 2013. JPMorgan missed Epstein’s assaults and kept in touch with him after his departure, according to victims headed by Jane Doe 1.
Given the risks of additional litigation and JPMorgan’s denial of involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking, victims’ lawyers called the proposed all-cash deal “fair, adequate, reasonable” last week.
This month, JPMorgan stated its affiliation with Epstein “was a mistake and we regret it.”
After pleading guilty to a Florida prostitution charge in 2008 and registering as a sex offender, Epstein remained a JPMorgan client for five years.
Rakoff asked Jane Doe 1’s lawyer, David Boies, why there was no minimum distribution for each victim, noting that the Deutsche Bank settlement, which Boies also negotiated, promised each at least $75,000.
Boies said many Deutsche Bank victims were from Russia or Eastern Europe and hard to reach, giving the guaranteed minimum an incentive to come forward. In the JPMorgan case, that was unnecessary.
Rakoff selected Simone Lelchuk, a settlements lawyer, to evaluate claims and calculate compensation in the JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank cases.
JPMorgan is also sued by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owns two nearby islands. On October 23, that case will be tried.
In a Manhattan detention cell, Epstein died at 66. The death was ruled a suicide by New York City’s medical examiner.
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