The estate of Jeffrey Epstein has agreed to pay up to $35 million (R566m) to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that two of the late financier’s advisers assisted in his sex trafficking of young women and teenage girls, according to a court filing submitted Thursday.
Boies Schiller Flexner, which represents Epstein’s victims, disclosed the proposed settlement in a brief filed in federal court in Manhattan.
If approved by a judge, the agreement would resolve a 2024 lawsuit brought against Epstein’s former personal attorney Darren Indyke and former accountant Richard Kahn, who serve as co-executors of the estate.
The estate previously established a restitution program that distributed $121 million (R1.9bn) to victims and has paid an additional $49 million (R792m) through separate settlements.
Indyke and Kahn did not “made any admission or concession of misconduct” as part of the settlement made public on Thursday, their lawyer Daniel H Weiner said in an emailed statement.
“Because they did nothing wrong, the co-executors were prepared to fight the claims against them through to trial, but agreed to mediate and settle the lawsuit to achieve finality as to any potential claims against the Epstein estate,” Weiner said.
Weiner said the settlement would provide “a confidential avenue for financial relief” for Epstein victims who have not resolved claims against the estate.
Epstein died in a New York jail in August 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.
In the 2024 lawsuit, attorneys at Boies Schiller Flexner alleged that Indyke and Kahn helped Epstein establish a network of corporations and bank accounts that enabled him to conceal his abuse and make payments to victims and recruiters, while leaving them “richly compensated” for their work.
The firm previously secured $365 million (R5.9bn) in settlements with JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank after accusing the financial institutions of overlooking warning signs linked to Epstein, who had been a profitable client.
