Lawsuits

New Mexico Sues Epstein's Lawyer, Accountant

Were this lawyer and accountant enablers of a trafficking machine or convenient targets in a hunt for headlines?

5 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

New Mexico Sues Epstein's Lawyer, Accountant

Story

Above: Protesters at the entrance of Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on March 8. Image credit: Roberto E. Rosales/Getty Images

The Facts

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday against Jeffrey Epstein's attorney Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn, for allegedly concealing his sex trafficking operation at a ranch near Santa Fe.
Pittsburgh Post
The Washington Post
The suit asks a federal court to block payments to the two men from Epstein's estate while the case proceeds. Indyke was left $50 million and Kahn $25 million under Epstein's will, from assets now valued at more than $107 million.
The Telegraph
CNN
The complaint alleges Indyke arranged payments to victims that left them indebted to Epstein. Kahn allegedly monitored spending and prepared tax returns for some, as part of an operation that was concealed at Zorro Ranch.
CBS News
The Wall Street Journal
Torrez said the pair oversaw over $6 million in cash withdrawals over 11 years. The complaint claims Indyke made 97 withdrawals totaling about $200,000 a year from 2013 to 2017, but deliberately structured single payments to fall short of the $10,000 federal reporting threshold.
KOB
Newsweek
Attorney Daniel Weiner said the two reject the allegations as "categorically false" and that state officials never sought interviews before suing. Both have previously told Congress they were unaware of Epstein's abuse while working for him.
Boston Herald
Santa Fe New Mexican
The civil case runs separately from New Mexico's criminal investigation into activity at Zorro Ranch, which reopened in February and has produced no charges. Torrez has also sued the Justice Department over access to the Epstein files.
The Guardian
International Business Times

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

A trafficking operation that size needed bookkeepers and paperwork pushers to keep the machine running. Letting the men who handled the money and the legal cover walk away with fees from Epstein's estate after their complicity in heinous crimes makes a mockery of justice for survivors.

Independent

The Independent

Narrative B

Decades of investigation produced charges against just two people who have already faced the legal ramifications. A lawyer handling transactions and an accountant keeping books are guilty by association, especially after being lied to directly about the Florida case. Suing such people is more likely a hunt for headlines than any genuine pursuit of justice.

FOX News