Epstein Estate Agrees to Pay U.S. Virgin Islands More Than $105 Million - The New York Times

The property of Jeffrey Epstein has agreed to wage what could magnitude to much than $105 cardinal to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settee claims that the disgraced financier utilized the territory for his decades-long enactment trafficking cognition nether the guise of moving a fiscal advisory firm.

The settlement, approved connected Wednesday, caps a nearly three-year-old lawsuit brought by the bureau of Denise N. George, the lawyer wide for the U.S. Virgin Islands.

After a twelvemonth of negotiations, Mr. Epstein’s property agreed to repay successful currency much than $80 cardinal successful taxation benefits that 1 of his companies had received from the Virgin Islands. The colony volition besides licence the authorities to get astir fractional the proceeds from the estate’s planned merchantability of Little Saint James, the secluded backstage land wherever Mr. Epstein had resided. The merchantability could fetch astir $55 million.

Ms. George, whose bureau filed a civilian racketeering suit against Mr. Epstein’s property successful January 2020, had argued that the U.S. territory was deceived into granting lucrative taxation benefits to Mr. Epstein’s Southern Trust Company. That enabled Mr. Epstein to use his land residence arsenic a spot to sexually maltreatment young women and concern his lavish lifestyle, Ms. George argued.

“At the precise commencement of the case, I was truthful honored to person met 3 precise courageous young women who were trafficked and sexually exploited connected Little St. James,” Ms. George said successful a statement. “Our enactment has been inspired, humbled and fortified by the spot and courageousness of each of those who survived Epstein’s abuse.”

Neither the property nor Mr. Epstein’s 2 agelong concern advisers, Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, admitted immoderate wrongdoing arsenic portion of the settlement.

“The coexecutors yet concluded that the colony is successful the champion interests of the estate, including its creditors and claimants, to debar the time, disbursal and inherent uncertainties of protracted litigation,” a lawyer for the estate, Daniel Weiner, said successful an email.

The negotiations were analyzable by the information that Mr. Epstein’s onetime $600 cardinal property had conscionable $22 cardinal successful currency connected manus astatine the extremity of June aft paying hundreds of millions of dollars to victims, lawyers and the Internal Revenue Service. Much of the estate’s remaining $159 cardinal successful assets are locked up successful investments. The property volition person up to a twelvemonth to travel up with the indispensable currency to fulfill its colony terms.

The colony closes 1 much section successful the agelong and sordid ungraded of the secretive financier, who managed to forge adjacent associations with a long database of affluent men, politicians and celebrities contempt whispers and allegations that helium had sexually abused teenage girls and young women.

Last December, Ghislaine Maxwell, 1 of Mr. Epstein’s longtime associates and a erstwhile girlfriend, was convicted successful national court successful Manhattan connected charges that she helped him sexually postulation and maltreatment young women and teenage girls. Ms. Maxwell, a former socialite, was sentenced to 20 years successful prison.

Federal authorities person not charged anyone other successful transportation with Mr. Epstein’s activities, which reportedly occurred astatine his residences successful the Virgin Islands, Manhattan, New Mexico and Palm Beach, Fla., according to tribunal papers and lawsuits.

Mr. Epstein’s property agreed to supply Ms. George’s bureau with documents to assistance with further investigations. Over the people of the litigation, Ms. George, moving with lawyers from Motley Rice, has served subpoenas connected banks that worked with Mr. Epstein and immoderate of the affluent men that did concern with him, including the Wall Street billionaire Leon Black.

Mr. Black, a co-founder of Apollo Global Management, a backstage equity firm, and a person of Mr. Epstein’s, had paid at slightest $158 cardinal to Southern Trust for fiscal and taxation advice. Mr. Black accounted for astir 80 percent of the revenue taken successful by Southern Trust, which Mr. Epstein had told Virgin Island officials was processing blase algorithms to excavation fiscal and DNA databases.

On Monday, Mr. Black was sued by Cherie Pierson, who claimed that helium raped her portion receiving a massage astatine Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan mansion successful 2002. Her lawsuit, filed successful New York State Court, said Mr. Epstein had helped put the gathering with Mr. Black.

According to the lawsuit, Mr. Epstein told Ms. Pierson, who was a azygous mother, that helium was going to present her to a “very almighty and wealthy” antheral who mightiness beryllium capable to supply her with fiscal help.

Susan Estrich, a lawyer for Mr. Black, said successful a connection that the assertion was “categorically false” and “part of a strategy to extort wealth from Mr. Black.”

One of the aims of Ms. George’s litigation was to marque definite Mr. Epstein’s victims were appropriately compensated. A restitution money established by the estate and approved by her bureau has paid retired much $129 cardinal to much than 125 victims. The property has separately paid retired astir $30 cardinal to respective different victims.

As colony talks dragged connected this year, the property enactment Little Saint James and different land Mr. Epstein owned, Great Saint James, up for sale. The asking terms for each land is $55 million.

Under the presumption of the settlement, fractional the proceeds from the merchantability of Little Saint James volition spell into a government-administered spot that volition supply counseling and different societal services for victims of intersexual maltreatment successful the U.S. Virgin Islands.