Epstein’s Estate Will Pay $105 Million To U.S. Virgin Islands Over Sex Trafficking Claims

Topline

Jeffrey Epstein’s estate agreed to pay $105 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands over claims he used the territory to operate his sex trafficking ring under the cover of running a financial firm, the New York Times reported Wednesday, ending a roughly three-year-long lawsuit brought against the late disgraced financier.

Key Facts

Epstein’s estate agreed to repay over $80 million in tax benefits one of his companies received from the territory, according to the Times.

The settlement also allows the Virgin Islands to receive half the proceeds from the planned sale of Little Saint James, the small island Epstein lived on that became known as “Pedophile Island,” which could go for $55 million; Half the money from the sale will be put into a trust to provide counseling and other services for victims of sexual abuse.

Epstein’s estate has roughly $159 million in assets locked up in investments, and it will have one year to fulfill the settlement.

Neither the estate, nor Epstein’s business advisors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn admitted to wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Key Background

The suit against the Epstein estate was brought by Denise N. George, the U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general, in 2020, months after Epstein died by apparent suicide in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial over sex trafficking charges. George alleged the territory was duped into granting Epstein’s company, Southern Trust Company, tax benefits, which allowed Epstein to use his residence there to abuse girls and women, according to the Times. Epstein purchased Little Saint James in 1998 through an LLC for nearly $8 million. In addition to his home, the property includes a strange temple-like structure, though it remains unknown what the building was used for. He also owned another island in the territory, Great St. James Island, which he purchased in 2016, and only a small amount of construction had been done on it. Accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre claimed the U.S. Virgin Islands was one of the locations where she was trafficked by Epstein, and where Prince Andrew allegedly raped her. Prince Andrew agreed to pay a settlement to Giuffre in March, and she dropped her lawsuit against him. Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was found guilty last year on five counts of sex trafficking and other crimes for procuring girls for Epstein to abuse. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison, though she has appealed her conviction and punishment. Epstein’s properties in the U.S. Virgin Islands were put up for sale in March.

Tangent

JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank were sued on Thursday by two separate unnamed women who alleged the financial institutions profited from and facilitated Epstein’s abuse of girls and women. Deutsche Bank told Forbes the claim “lacks merit.” Leon Black, a billionaire and the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, was sued Monday by a woman who claimed Black raped her at Epstein’s New York mansion in 2002. A Black spokesperson told Forbes the claims are “categorically false.”

Further Reading

Ghislaine Maxwell Given 20 Years For Sex Trafficking Jeffrey Epstein’s Victims (Forbes)

Prince Andrew’s Sexual Assault Lawsuit Dismissed After Settlement (Forbes)

Billionaire Leon Black Accused Of Rape In N.Y. Civil Suit (Forbes)