Leon Black could be deposed in Epstein accusers' lawsuit against Bank of America, judge says

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Billionaire Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black could be deposed as part of a civil lawsuit brought against Bank of America BAC.N by women who accuse the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, court records showed on Wednesday.

In a court filing, Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff set a hearing for Wednesday at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) "concerning the upcoming deposition of Leon Black." The filing did not contain more details.

The lawsuit alleges the nation's second-largest bank ignored suspicious payments by Black to Epstein. Rakoff last month ruled that the accusations that the bank recklessly disregarded information that Epstein engaged in sex trafficking were sufficient to let the proposed class action lawsuit proceed.

A spokesman for Black declined to comment. He has previously denied wrongdoing and said he was unaware of Epstein's criminal conduct.

Bank of America declined to comment on Wednesday. The bank has previously said that the plaintiff in the case, referred to as Jane Doe, had "at best" alleged that it banked high net-worth clients affiliated with Epstein, and did not show it intentionally obstructed law enforcement.

A trial is scheduled for May 11.

Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. The office of the New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.

In 2023, Doe's lawyers reached settlements on behalf of other accusers of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank. Neither bank admitted wrongdoing.

Black stepped down as Apollo's chief executive in 2021 after a review by an outside law firm found he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning.