Bank of America Just Settled an Epstein Case With a Billionaire Escaping Eight Hours Under Oath

Leon Black was three days away from eight hours in a deposition chair when Bank of America settled – and he walked free.

The deposition is gone.

Now the only question is whether Bank of America's checkbook just bought him the silence that $62 million in criminal immunity couldn't fully guarantee.

$170 Million That Bank of America Apparently Didn't Notice

The class-action lawsuit, filed in October 2025, accused Bank of America of ignoring every red flag imaginable while $170 million flowed from Black's account to Epstein – money the victims' legal team says was "the primary means by which the sex-trafficking venture was funded."

That's not a clerical error.

The bank allegedly watched those transfers roll through for years while a registered sex offender used the funds to control, abuse, and trap young women across multiple countries.

One victim – identified only as Jane Doe – described being lured from Russia in 2011, then kept in a "cult-like life" for eight years.

Epstein paid her rent through a Bank of America account.

He paid her a salary from a fake job through Bank of America.

He held her immigration status over her head until his death freed her.

Bank of America's defense? They were providing "routine services."

The Man Who Almost Had to Answer Questions

Leon Black was originally scheduled to sit for deposition on March 17 – eight hours of sworn testimony with five hours controlled by the victims' attorneys.

Judge Jed Rakoff had already ruled Black a "critical witness."

Black is not a defendant in this case.

But he transferred $170 million from his Bank of America account to a convicted sex offender and called it "tax and estate planning advice."

Senate investigators say that figure is $12 million higher than Apollo's own internal investigation ever acknowledged – and that Bank of America waited seven years to report those transfers to Treasury, potentially violating federal money laundering laws.

Black paid $62 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands for criminal immunity tied to his Epstein payments.

His own settlement with the USVI explicitly states that "Jeffrey Epstein used the money Black paid him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands."

That's not an allegation.

That's a signed agreement.

Wall Street's Epstein Problem Keeps Getting More Expensive

This is the third major American bank to settle Epstein-related claims.

JPMorgan Chase paid $290 million to Epstein victims in 2023 after a judge found the bank "knew or should have known" about the trafficking operation for years.

Deutsche Bank paid $75 million after processing millions in suspicious transactions – including payments disguised as "tuition fees" – for five years after JPMorgan finally cut Epstein off.

The same Judge Rakoff who oversaw both of those settlements is overseeing this one.

A hearing to approve the Bank of America settlement is set for April 2.

Terms have not been disclosed.

What we do know is that the same legal team that extracted $365 million from JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank filed this case – and Bank of America tried and failed to get it dismissed before agreeing to settle.

The pattern is clear: Epstein didn't run his operation alone.

He ran it with the quiet participation of institutions that processed his money, ignored the red flags, and collected their fees.

Every settlement is another institution admitting – without admitting – that it knew enough to stop and chose not to.

The women Epstein trapped paid for that choice with years of their lives.

The banks are paying with other people's money.

Leon Black paid $62 million for immunity, avoided eight hours under oath, and is currently watching his son serve in the Trump administration while Senate investigators still can't get a straight answer about $170 million.

Three banks down, and not one executive has faced a criminal charge.

Every time a settlement gets announced, the press calls it justice — and the men who made Epstein possible write a check, deny wrongdoing, and go back to their offices.

That's not justice. That's the price of doing business with the most protected predator in American history.

Pay attention to who keeps escaping. Because they're counting on you not to.

Sources:

• Associated Press, "Bank of America Settles Lawsuit With Epstein Victims," PBS NewsHour, March 17, 2026.
• "BofA Agrees to Settle Claims It Aided Epstein Sex Crimes," American Banker, March 17, 2026.
• NBC News, "Leon Black, Billionaire Financier, to Be Deposed in Epstein Victims' Suit Against Bank of America," March 13, 2026.
• Senate Finance Committee, "Wyden Releases New Information on Financing of Jeffrey Epstein's Operations by Billionaire Leon Black," March 12, 2026.
• CNBC, "JPMorgan's $290 Million Settlement With Epstein Accusers Wins Approval by U.S. Judge," November 9, 2023.
• CNBC, "Deutsche Bank to Pay $75 Million to Epstein Victims," May 18, 2023.