Victims to settle case against Epstein's longtime attorney, accountant: Documents
The co-executors of Jeffrey Epstein's estate have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit filed against them by survivors of Epstein's abuse for at least $25 million, without admitting any wrongdoing, according to court documents filed on Thursday.
Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn -- who served as Epstein's personal lawyer and accountant, respectively -- were accused in the complaint of "facilitation, participation, and concealment of Epstein's illegal conduct" for their own financial gain, according to federal court records in New York.
By agreement of the parties, the settlement will be paid from the remaining assets in Epstein's estate, rather than directly by Indyke and Kahn, who are the named defendants in the lawsuit.
The proposed settlement -- which a federal judge will have to approve -- does not include an admission of wrongdoing.
"Neither of the co-executors has made any admission or concession of misconduct," said Dan Weiner, an attorney for the defendants, in a statement to ABC News. "That is not surprising -- not a single woman has ever accused either man of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she reported to them any allegation of Mr. Epstein's abuse."
Indyke and Kahn were selected as co-executors of Epstein's will, which he updated two days before his death in August 2019.
To be eligible for the settlement, victims would agree to release any future claims and cannot have received any prior settlement from the Epstein estate or the Epstein Victims Compensation Fund.
According to the proposed settlement terms, the estate will pay out $25 million if less than 40 class members qualify and $35 million if more than 40 meet the requirements.
The complaint, filed in 2024, alleged that Indyke and Kahn helped conceal Epstein's sex trafficking operation for years by structuring his bank accounts so that Epstein and his associates could "access large amounts of cash in furtherance of sex trafficking."
"Knowing that they would earn millions of dollars in exchange for facilitating Epstein's sex abuse and trafficking, Indyke and Kahn chose money and power over following the law," the complaint said.
The plaintiffs alleged that Indyke and Kahn "organized, controlled, and directed almost every aspect of the Epstein sex-trafficking enterprise," according to the complaint.
They were also accused of participating with Epstein "in coercing and inducing" at least three of Epstein's victims into "arranged and forced sham marriages in order to obtain immigration status for the foreign women so that they could continue to be available to Epstein for his abuse," the complaint said.
The lawsuit contained no allegations that either man directly participated in any sexual exploitation.
Indyke and Kahn have denied any role in or knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
"Neither Mr. Indyke nor Mr. Kahn socialized with Mr. Epstein, and both men reject as categorically false any suggestion that they knowingly facilitated or assisted Mr. Epstein in his sexual abuse or trafficking of women, or that they were aware of his actions while they provided professional services to him," Weiner told ABC News in December.
Counsel for the lead plaintiff in the case said in the proposed settlement documents that they remained "confident in her claims" but acknowledged that "trying her case to a jury as a class action would present risk."
"The settlement is demonstrably the product of well-informed negotiations and vigorous advocacy on behalf of victims of Jeffrey Epstein," wrote Sigrid McCawley, an attorney for the lead plaintiff.
The estate's assets remain tied up in probate court in the U.S. Virgin Islands, pending the resolution of all outstanding claims against the estate.
"Accordingly, upon the Court's final approval of the settlement and as a means of achieving finality as to any claims against it, the Epstein Estate will fund the entire amount of the settlement to be received by the putative class," Weiner said in his statement.
According to a court filing last October, approximately $127 million remained in the estate. Following his death, Epstein's estate was valued as much as $650 million, though it has decreased as other lawsuits were resolved.
Documents disclosed last month by the Justice Department included a copy of Epstein's "1953 Trust," which detailed Epstein’s plans to distribute his considerable wealth among an array of friends, family, employees and associates upon his death. To his longtime lawyer Indyke and his accountant Kahn, Epstein planned to give $50 million and $25 million, respectively, the document shows.
Indyke is due to testify next week in a closed door deposition before the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting a broad inquiry into the federal government's handling of investigations in Epstein's alleged sex-trafficking operation.
Kahn is slated to appear before the committee in March.
