New Mexico sues Epstein’s longtime lawyer and accountant over alleged role in abuse network

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a civil lawsuit on Wednesday against Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime attorney, Darren Indyke, and his longtime accountant, Richard Kahn. The state alleges that the two “facilitated and concealed” Epstein’s crimes and asks the court to prevent them from receiving estate payments while the case proceeds.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of New Mexico, names Kahn and Indyke as defendants both individually and in their capacity as co-executors of Epstein’s estate. It also names the estate and the 1953 Trust, which holds its assets.

The complaint alleges that Epstein, with the assistance of his associates, trafficked, isolated and abused survivors at alluring locations, including Zorro Ranch in Stanley, New Mexico. It further claims that his associates received generous salaries, access to elite social circles and lavish gifts, including designation as beneficiaries under his multimillion-dollar estate, in exchange for advancing his criminal enterprise and remaining silent.

Lawyers for Kahn and Indyke did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The men have previously said that they had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes while they worked for him.

Among its requested remedies, the lawsuit seeks a court order preventing Indyke and Kahn from receiving payments from the estate while the litigation continues.

The complaint alleges that both men profited personally from their relationships with Epstein. According to the state, Epstein and related entities paid Indyke more than $16 million from 2011 to 2019, while Kahn received more than $10 million.

In a statement on Wednesday, Torrez said Epstein “did not operate alone, and his death does not end the pursuit of accountability for the people who helped make his crimes possible”.

“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. “Those who allegedly enabled this exploitation should not be allowed to profit from it while survivors continue to live with its consequences.”

Torrez wrote in the complaint 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”.

Several survivors of Epstein’s abuse signed a letter on Wednesday supporting Torrez’s lawsuit. They said it could expose the roles played by Indyke and Kahn, examine how the men handled survivors’ claims and prevent Epstein’s trusted associates from being rewarded for their involvement in his organization.

“Survivors deserve accountability and answers under oath. Epstein’s chosen confidants should not get the last word – or the money,” they added.

At a news conference following the filing, Epstein survivor Anouska De Georgiou thanked Torrez for “standing with survivors”.

“We have carried this burden for long enough,” she said. “It is time for those responsible to answer for their part in it.”

The announcement comes amid a separate dispute between New Mexico officials and the Department of Justice over files Torrez is seeking for the state’s investigation into possible crimes committed by Epstein in New Mexico, including at his ranch outside Santa Fe, where multiple survivors have said they were abused.

Torrez sued the Justice Department in August, accusing the department and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of “stonewalling” the state’s investigation, which was reopened in February. Torrez asked the court for access to unredacted Epstein-related files held by the department, saying state prosecutors had sought the records but encountered “sustained resistance” from federal officials.

The case remains active, and the Justice Department recently filed a motion to dismiss. It argued that “decisions about law-enforcement information sharing are committed to the agency’s discretion” and that releasing unredacted files would violate victims’ privacy.

Zorro Ranch came under renewed scrutiny after the Justice Department released roughly three million Epstein-related files late last year and early this year. A Guardian investigation published in early February found that the newly disclosed materials contained thousands of references to the ranch and numerous photographs of men and young girls at the property. Several survivors have also previously testified that they were abused there.

The Guardian investigation also found that federal authorities appeared never to have searched the New Mexico ranch, unlike Epstein’s other properties in Palm Beach, New York, and on his private Caribbean island.

Epstein bought the ranch in 1993. He died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, and his estate sold the property in 2023.

In late February, Torrez announced that New Mexico would resume its investigation into Epstein’s activities at the ranch. The state had initially suspended its inquiry in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York, who were pursuing the sex-trafficking investigation that led to Epstein’s arrest. New Mexico authorities searched the ranch in March.

Torrez has said the state aims to establish what occurred at Zorro Ranch. New Mexico lawmakers have also created a “truth commission” to examine activities at the property.

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