Jane Wolfe
Feb 19 (Reuters) – Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has agreed to pay up to $35 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit that accuses two of the disgraced financier’s advisers of aiding and abetting his sex trafficking of young women and girls, according to a court filing on Thursday.
Boies Schiller Flexner, the law firm representing Epstein victims, announced the settlement in a brief filed in Manhattan federal court.
If the deal is approved by a judge, it would end a lawsuit filed in 2024 against Epstein’s former personal attorney Darren Indyke and former accountant Richard Kahn, who are co-executors of Epstein’s estate.
Epstein’s estate previously established a compensation fund and paid out $121 million to victims. The estate also paid an additional $49 million in settlements to victims.
Daniel H. Weiner, an attorney for Indyke and Kahn, said in an emailed statement that neither Indyke nor Kahn “admitted or admitted wrongdoing” as part of the settlement announced Thursday.
“Because they have done nothing wrong, the co-executors are prepared to fight their claims to trial, but have agreed to mediate and resolve the lawsuit in order to reach a final conclusion on any potential claims against Epstein’s estate,” Weiner said.
Weiner said the settlement would provide a “confidential path to financial relief” for Epstein victims who have not yet resolved their claims against the estate.
Epstein died in a New York prison in August 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.
In the 2024 lawsuit, attorneys for Boies Schiller Flexner said Indyk and Kahn helped Epstein create a complex web of companies and bank accounts that allowed him to hide his abuse and pay victims and recruiters while being “well compensated” for their work.
Boyce Law Firm previously helped JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank obtain $365 million settlements after the firm accused them of ignoring red flags about Epstein, a once-lucrative client.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
