Judge approves $290 million settlement between victims of Jeffrey Epstein and JPMorgan

JPMorgan Chase will pay $290 million to sexual abuse victims of Jeffrey Epstein to settle a class-action lawsuit that claimed the bank ignored warnings about the financier.

The New York Times reported that a federal judge approved the settlement Thursday.

JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, and lawyers for the victims reached a preliminary settlement in June, which averted a civil trial in federal court in Manhattan.

According to The Times, citing legal filings, the money JPMorgan is paying to settle the case could provide compensation to nearly 200 victims of Epstein.

Fifteen of those unidentified victims submitted letters in support of the settlement. One, who was just 13 when she says Epstein first assaulted her, said she continues to suffer from depression, anxiety, panic attacks and eating disorders, according to The Times.

According to the lawsuit, JPMorgan ignored repeated indications that Epstein was trafficking in teenage girls and young women for sex, even after pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl in Florida.