New Mexico authorities have initiated a renewed criminal investigation into the Zorro Ranch, previously owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following disturbing allegations contained within recently unsealed Department of Justice documents.
State prosecutors announced they will pursue complete access to unredacted federal files concerning the property held by investigators in Washington DC. The investigation will collaborate with a newly established bipartisan ‘Epstein truth commission’ created by state legislators this week to examine allegations that the ranch served as a site for sexual abuse and trafficking activities.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated on social media platform X that his office would conduct “a broad and comprehensive” examination of the Zorro Ranch operations. The original state investigation was suspended in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York, where Epstein faced charges before his death in a Manhattan jail that same year.
The four-member legislative commission is investigating serious claims, including allegations from a 2019 anonymous email suggesting Epstein ordered the burial of two foreign girls on the property’s periphery. State legislator Andrea Romero, serving on the commission, revealed that there may have been prior reports to the FBI regarding “bodies being buried” and “folks being trafficked” at the ranch.
Commission members are additionally seeking explanations regarding Epstein’s failure to register as a sex offender in New Mexico despite his 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Although Epstein never faced formal charges in the state, prosecutors confirmed in 2019 that they had interviewed potential victims who had visited the property.
Multiple women have previously alleged they were recruited and abused by Epstein at Zorro Ranch, describing the remote property as integral to his trafficking operations. Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez characterized the ranch as “very isolated” with “very beautiful landscape” but noted “very disturbing reports of some of the activity going on there.”
The property, located south of Santa Fe, features prominently in the millions of documents released by the Justice Department in late January, with thousands of references to the ranch. The estate includes a 21,000-square-foot mansion situated on a hilltop overlooking nearly 10,000 acres of desert terrain, complemented by a private airstrip and helipad.
Epstein originally acquired the property in 1993 from former New Mexico Governor Bruce King and subsequently leased approximately 1,250 acres of surrounding state lands. These leases were terminated in September 2019 when authorities determined Epstein used the land primarily as a privacy buffer rather than for legitimate agricultural purposes.
The property now belongs to former Texas state Senator Don Huffines, who purchased it from the Epstein estate in 2023, with proceeds reportedly directed toward compensating Epstein’s victims.