The attorney general of New Mexico on Wednesday filed a civil lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime attorney, Darren Indyke, and Epstein’s longtime accountant, Richard Kahn, accusing them of having “facilitated and concealed” Epstein’s crimes, and is seeking to stop them from being paid by Epstein’s estate while the litigation plays out.
asserted
litigation → file → estate
The lawsuit, filed in the US district court for the district of New Mexico, names Kahn and Indyke as defendants both in their individual capacity, and in their capacity as co-executors of Epstein’s estate.
asserted
lawsuit → file → estate
The complaint also names the Epstein’s estate, and the 1953 Trust, which holds the estate’s assets.
asserted
which → name → assets
“Epstein, with the help of his associates, trafficked, isolated, and abused survivors at alluring locations” including at Epstein’s ranch in Stanley, New Mexico, known as Zorro Ranch, the complaint claims.
uncertain
complaint → traffic → Ranch
It goes on to allege that “in exchange for furthering Epstein’s criminal project and remaining silent about it, his associates received generous salaries, access to elite social circles, and lavish gifts, including being named beneficiaries of his multimillion-dollar estate”.
asserted
associates → go → estate
Lawyers for Kahn and Indyke did not immediately respond to a comment request from the Guardian on the new lawsuit.
asserted
Lawyers → respond → lawsuit
Previously, Kahn and Indyke have said that they had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes during their employment.
asserted
they → say → employment
Among the demands the lawsuit seeks is a court order preventing Indyke and Kahn from receiving estate payments while the case proceeds.
asserted
case → seek → payments
The complaint alleges that both men profited personally from their relationships with Epstein.
asserted
men → allege → Epstein
It alleges that from 2011 to 2019, Indyke received more than $16m from Epstein and related entities and that Kahn received more than $10m.
In a statement on Wednesday, Raúl Torrez, New Mexico’s attorney general, said that Epstein “did not operate alone, and his death does not end the pursuit of accountability for the people who helped make his crimes possible”.
asserted
crimes → allege → people
“The allegations in this lawsuit describe a network of people and financial arrangements that helped sustain and conceal the abuse of vulnerable girls and young women, including here in New Mexico,” he said.
asserted
he → describe → Mexico
“Those who allegedly enabled this exploitation should not be allowed to profit from it while survivors continue to live with its consequences.”
uncertain
survivors → enable → consequences
In the complaint, Torrez wrote that “through this action, the State seeks to hold these individuals accountable to the fullest extent possible and to ensure that Epstein’s assets are distributed to the survivors of his horrific crimes”.
asserted
assets → write → crimes
Several survivors of Epstein’s abuse signed a letter on Wednesday in support of Torrez’s lawsuit “because it can expose what roles Indyke and Kahn played in Epstein’s operation, examine how they handled survivors’ claims, and prevent Epstein’s trusted loyalists from being rewarded for their roles in Epstein’s organization”.
“Survivors deserve accountability and answers under oath.
uncertain
Survivors → sign → oath
Epstein’s chosen confidants should not get the last word – or the money,” they added.
asserted
they → choose → word
At a news conference on Wednesday about the new filing, Epstein survivor Anouska De Georgiou thanked Torrez for “standing with survivors”.
asserted
Georgiou → thank → survivors
“We have carried this burden for long enough,” she said.
asserted
she → carry → burden
“It is time for those responsible to answer for their part in it.”
asserted
those → answer → it
The announcement on Wednesday comes amid a separate ongoing dispute between New Mexico officials and the Department of Justice over files Torrez is seeking as part of the state’s investigation into Epstein’s possible crimes in the state, including at his ranch outside Santa Fe, where multiple survivors have said they were abused.
asserted
they → come → Fe
Torrez sued the DoJ in August, accusing the department and Todd Blanche, the attorney general, of “stonewalling” the state’s investigation, which was reopened in February.
asserted
which → sue → February
Torrez asked the court for access to unredacted Epstein-related files held by the DoJ, and said in its filing his prosecutors had requested access to the records but had “faced sustained resistance” from the department.
asserted
prosecutors → ask → department
The case is ongoing and the DoJ recently filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that “decisions about law-enforcement information sharing are committed to the agency’s discretion” and that turning over unredacted files would violate victims’ privacy.
asserted
turning → file → privacy
Epstein’s Zorro Ranch came under renewed scrutiny after the DoJ’s release of roughly 3m files related to Epstein late last year and early this year.
asserted
Ranch → come → Epstein
The Guardian reported in early February that the newly disclosed Epstein files contained thousands of references to Zorro Ranch, and numerous photos of men and young girls at the property, and that several survivors of Epstein’s abuse had also previously given testimony about abuse they say they were subjected to there.
asserted
they → report → abuse
The Guardian investigation also revealed that, unlike Epstein’s other properties in Palm Beach, in New York and on his private Caribbean island, federal authorities had apparently never searched the New Mexico ranch.
asserted
authorities → reveal → ranch
Epstein, who died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, bought the property in New Mexico 1993.
asserted
who → die → Mexico
It was later sold by his estate in 2023.
asserted
It → sell → 2023
In late February, Torrez announced that New Mexico would reopen its investigation into Epstein’s activities at the ranch, after the state’s initial investigation was put on hold in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York, who were pursuing the investigation into Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation that led to his arrest.
asserted
that → announce → arrest
In March, New Mexico authorities launched a search of the ranch.
asserted
authorities → launch → ranch
Torrez has said that he wants to establish what took place at Zorro Ranch.
asserted
what → say → Ranch
New Mexico lawmakers also established a “truth commission” to examine activities at the ranch.
asserted
lawmakers → establish → ranch
The Aporia
