New Mexico has filed a civil lawsuit to block payments from Jeffrey Epstein‘s estate to the late sex offender’s lawyer and accountant, and to recover damages for survivors of his alleged sexual abuse, the state’s top law enforcement official said on Oct. 21.
The suit is the first law enforcement action against Epstein’s longtime personal attorney Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn, according to New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez.
The lawsuit alleges Indyke and Kahn facilitated, financed and concealed Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, including at his ranch 30 miles south of Santa Fe. They are co-executors of Epstein’s estate, valued at $107 million, and respectively eligible for bequests of $50 million and $25 million from it, according to the complaint.
Daniel Weiner, a lawyer representing Indyke and Kahn, rejected allegations the two “knowingly” facilitated Epstein’s abuse of women, saying the crimes took place “behind closed doors, in secluded locations” when neither was present.
The suit will test whether authorities are able to pin down allegations that a network of people and financial arrangements helped sustain and conceal Epstein’s operations.
“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,” Torrez said at a press conference in Albuquerque.
Indyke and Kahn have already been named in civil lawsuits against the Epstein estate, including a complaint last month seeking damages for people pictured in the late financier’s collection of child sexual abuse material.
New Mexico’s civil action comes after the Democratic-run state in February reopened an investigation into activities at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, where he is accused of abusing women and girls for nearly three decades.
Eight months into the probe, New Mexico has yet to file any criminal charges.
The state has sued the U.S. Department of Justice for access to unredacted files on Epstein, accusing the Trump administration of stonewalling its investigation.
The DOJ said it provided some files but was prevented from handing over most material due to privacy protections.
