JPMorgan adds two more settlements to global Madoff deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to settle two private lawsuits stemming from its relationship with convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, according to a court filing on Tuesday.

The bank will pay $218 million to resolve a class-action suit and $325 million to resolve claims by Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, the filing in Manhattan federal court shows.

The settlements, which must be approved by a judge, were announced just after the bank struck a deal with U.S. prosecutors and bank regulators to pay more than $2 billion to resolve charges that it failed to follow up on suspicious activity by Madoff, who was a client of the bank for more than two decades.

The bank agreed to pay an additional $18 million to cover legal fees and expenses, also subject to court approval, the filing shows.

Picard has estimated that Madoff's Ponzi scheme cost investors $17.3 billion of principal. Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 and is serving a 150-year prison sentence.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)