New Mexico AG lawsuit accuses Epstein's attorney and accountant of facilitating sex trafficking
Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn allegedly helped finance and conceal Epstein's sex trafficking, which included abuse at his Zorro Ranch, a lawsuit says.
Key points
- New Mexico's attorney general filed a federal lawsuit accusing Epstein's lawyer Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn of facilitating sex trafficking.
- The suit seeks to block Indyke and Kahn from receiving estate payments of $50 million and $25 million while the case proceeds.
- An attorney for Epstein's estate said Indyke and Kahn reject the allegations as categorically false and expect to prevail.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Jeffrey Epstein's longtime personal lawyer, Darren Indyke, and accountant, Richard Kahn, of helping finance and conceal Epstein's sex trafficking. The civil suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Mexico, says the abuse included girls and young women at Epstein's Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County.
The suit asks a judge to block Indyke and Kahn from receiving payments from Epstein's estate while the case proceeds. Torrez's office said the estate is valued at more than $107 million, and the suit says the two men are eligible for bequests of $50 million and $25 million, subject to available funds. Indyke and Kahn are beneficiaries of Epstein's 1953 Trust and co-executors of his estate.
What officials said
Torrez said Epstein "did not operate alone," adding that his death does not end the pursuit of accountability for those who helped make his crimes possible. He said the allegations describe a network of people and financial arrangements that helped sustain and conceal abuse of vulnerable girls and young women, including in New Mexico.
Anouska De Georgiou, a survivor of abuse by Epstein, said at the press conference that her abuse "did not happen in isolation" and that accountability must extend to those who knowingly made it possible, especially those who stand to profit.
Jeffrey Epstein did not operate alone, and his death does not end the pursuit of accountability for the people who helped make his crimes possible
— Raul Torrez
Response and related cases
Daniel Weiner, an attorney for Epstein's estate, told CNBC that Indyke and Kahn reject the allegations as "categorically false" and are confident they will prevail. Weiner said neither man was asked to speak with the attorney general's office before the suit was filed, which he said raises questions about the investigation.
The suit follows a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York opened an investigation into Indyke and Kahn. Torrez said his office is continuing a criminal investigation of Epstein's sex trafficking operation, and no criminal charges have been filed in connection with that probe. In February, Epstein's estate agreed to pay as much as $35 million to settle a class action accusing Indyke and Kahn of aiding and abetting the trafficking, without any admission of misconduct.
