In a New York courtroom on Thursday, a federal judge granted preliminary approval to Bank of Americas $72.5 million settlement with survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.An October lawsuit against Bank of America a lleged it knowingly gave Epstein financial backing and a veneer of legitimacy through its business.It claims the bank failed to file required suspicious activity reports in spite of numerous red flags, calling that failure wrongful and purposeful."Jeffrey Epstein apparently had so many excessive high cash withdrawals that it was causing some suspicion with the banks, and what happens when someone is doing excessive cash withdrawals is the bank is required to file an SAR, which is a suspicious activity report," said attorney Stacy Schneider.RELATED NEWS | Epstein survivors sue Justice Department and Google over release of private informationThe Bank of America payout marks the third time a bank has settled with Epstein survivors.In 2023, JP Morgan Chase agreed to pay nearly $300 million to Epstein sexual abuse victims, though it did so without admitting wrongdoing.That year, Deutsche Bank also agreed to a $75 million settlement, not admitting any wrongdoing, but stating it made a critical mistake taking Epstein on as a client.One question everybody has is, How did Epstein accumulate so much wealth?' And I dont know. I dont think anyone does," said House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY).Lawmakers investigating Epstein have continued to look into his wealth and the banks and people who dealt with his finances.Last month, House lawmakers deposed Richard Kahn, Epsteins former accountant, to try to understand Epsteins connections to some of the wealthiest men in the world.We're starting to hear more information about the infrastructure around Jeffrey Epstein that enabled him to commit these crimes and, and do the things he did," said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA). ...read more read less