© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A J.P. Morgan logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo
By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday approved JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:)’s $290 million settlement with women who said Jeffrey Epstein abused them, and that the largest U.S. bank turned a blind eye to the late financier’s sex trafficking.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff granted final approval to the deal at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. He had previously granted preliminary approval to the deal in June, calling it a “really fine settlement.”
The settlement covered more than 100 women, led by a former ballet dancer known as Jane Doe 1, who said Epstein abused them.
It followed embarrassing disclosures that JPMorgan ignored internal warnings and overlooked red flags about Epstein because he had been a valuable client.
Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 1998 to 2013. The bank kept him on even after he was arrested in 2006 on prostitution charges and pleaded guilty two years later.
JPMorgan did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
JPMorgan in September agreed to pay $75 million to settle related claims by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two islands.
Rakoff on Oct. 20 gave final approval to a similar $75 million settlement between Epstein’s accusers and Deutsche Bank, where Epstein banked after JPMorgan fired him.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 at age 66 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. New York City’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and longtime associate, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in December 2021 of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for him to abuse. She is appealing her conviction.
