ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico’s attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney and accountant, accusing them of concealing his sex trafficking operation at a sprawling Santa Fe-area ranch where the disgraced financier entertained guests.
The lawsuit seeks to stop attorney Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn from accepting any payments from Epstein’s estate, estimated at more than $100 million. They serve as co-executors, and New Mexico Atty. Gen. Raúl Torrez said they “stand to benefit substantially” from the estate unless a federal judge intervenes.
Indyke worked as Epstein’s attorney for roughly two decades. Both he and Kahn have testified in Congress that they did not know about Epstein’s abuse, though Torrez has a different view.
“None of this could be done by just one man,” Torrez said at a news conference, where he stood with two of Epstein’s accusers. “This was something that was facilitated, that was made possible by handlers, by lawyers, by accountants, by others who have yet to face real consequences.”
In response to the lawsuit, an attorney for the pair, Dan Weiner, said they “emphatically reject” the allegations and note that New Mexico officials never sought to interview Indyke and Kahn before going to court. Weiner said they would have cooperated.
“Not a single woman has ever accused Mr. Indyke or Mr. Kahn of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she or anyone else reported to them any allegation of Mr. Epstein’s abuse,” Weiner said in an email.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment on any federal investigation of Indyke or Kahn.
Epstein owned the Zorro Ranch for decades
Earlier this year, Indyke and Kahn agreed as executors of the estate to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against them by Epstein accusers for up to $35 million. They did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the deal.
Torrez’s lawsuit is an effort to possibly recover more money for victims, with New Mexico acting as the plaintiff.
Epstein purchased the Zorro Ranch in Stanley, a sparsely populated ranching community about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, in 1993. He built a 26,700-square-foot mansion with a sprawling courtyard, a living room roughly the size of the average American home, and a private airstrip and helipad.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
His former girlfriend and close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 2021 conviction on sex trafficking charges in New York. Witness testimony at Maxwell’s trial alleged that she and Epstein had sexually abused women at the ranch.
“We cannot undo what happened or return what was taken from us, but we can demand answers,” said Epstein accuser Anouska De Georgiou. “We can pursue justice and we can insist that wealth, power and influence never place anyone beyond accountability.”
The Associated Press does not name people who say they were sexually abused unless they have come forward publicly.
Indyke and Kahn played key roles, lawsuit says
The lawsuit accuses Indyke and Kahn of conspiracy and racketeering in supporting the “Epstein Enterprise.”
“They arranged payments to survivors to purchase their silence and leave them indebted to Epstein, handled costs for expenses connected to the abuse, monitored survivors’ spending, and prepared tax returns for some survivors,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit notes a 2017 email from Kahn to Epstein regarding payment of “the latest batch of medical expenses for girls.”
“At the end of the day this is not about the past. It is about the truth. It’s about justice, and it’s about making sure that accountability does not end with Epstein,” said Julia Molchanova, another Epstein accuser.
No crimes were pursued in New Mexico
Epstein never faced charges in New Mexico, though the state attorney general’s office in 2019 confirmed that it was investigating and planned to forward its findings to federal authorities in New York. Hector Balderas, who was attorney general at the time, said New Mexico’s outdated laws failed to protect children from abuse.
Epstein was not required to register as a sex offender in New Mexico, despite a 2008 guilty plea in Florida.
Torrez reopened the state’s investigation this year. In August, he sued the Justice Department, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating alleged sex crimes. The government said it was not releasing some information to the state because disclosing victim-identifying information would violate court orders in New York.
Also in August, a commission established by state lawmakers to investigate whether local authorities looked the other way, released a 119-page report that said authorities repeatedly deferred to investigations in New York, Palm Beach, Fla., and the Virgin Islands, while leaving Epstein’s offenses in New Mexico unexamined and unpunished.
Epstein’s estate sold the ranch in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican who is the Texas state comptroller. The money was set aside for creditors.
Probate proceedings related to Epstein’s will and assets are being handled in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Bryan and White write for the Associated Press. White contributed from Detroit. AP reporter Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colo, contributed to this report.
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