Nearly five years after Jeffrey Epstein’s death, the long hunt for accountability for his co-conspirators has entered a new phase: prosecutors in New Mexico have filed a landmark civil lawsuit against two of the disgraced financier’s closest, longest-serving aides, alleging they actively facilitated his sex trafficking operation and continue to profit from it decades later.
The targets of the suit are Darren Indyke, Epstein’s longtime personal lawyer, and Richard Kahn, his accountant. The two men also serve as the sole executors of Epstein’s estate, putting them in control of the late financier’s sprawling $635 million fortune, a sum estimated at the time of his death in 2019. Both men have forcefully denied all allegations of involvement in Epstein’s criminal activity.
At the center of the new legal action is Epstein’s remote Zorro Ranch, located outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez alleges that Indyke and Kahn knowingly helped conceal ongoing sexual abuse of underage victims at the property for years, and have continued to block efforts by survivors to secure rightful compensation from Epstein’s estate even after his death.
This civil lawsuit is separate from a criminal investigation into Epstein’s activities in New Mexico that state officials reopened back in February 2024. The new complaint was filed Wednesday in state court, citing both the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act and New Mexico’s state-level Racketeering Act.
During a public press conference announcing the suit, Torrez emphasized that the $635 million in assets controlled by the two aides should rightfully go to Epstein’s survivors, not to the men who helped enable his crimes. Torrez argued, “Those resources rightfully belong in the hands of survivors – there should be no distribution of Mr Epstein’s remaining assets to people like Mr Indyke and Mr Kahn for participation in what I think is one of the most horrific criminal enterprises in modern America.”
Indyke and Kahn have worked alongside Epstein for decades. Both previously testified before Congress that they had no knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes, which he committed alongside his longtime accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021 and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Daniel Weiner, an attorney representing both Indyke and Kahn, issued a formal statement to media rejecting all claims in the lawsuit. Weiner said his clients “emphatically reject” the allegations, and are confident they will prevail in court. He added, “Both Mr Indyke and Mr Kahn reject as categorically false the allegations that they knowingly facilitated or assisted Mr Epstein in his sexual abuse or trafficking of women, or that they were aware of Mr Epstein’s actions while they provided legal or accounting services to him.”
Weiner also claimed that New Mexico prosecutors never reached out to interview either man before filing the lawsuit, calling the action “baseless.” He countered that the two aides have fully cooperated with all official investigations when requested.
The legal role of Indyke and Kahn as estate executors dates back to just two days before Epstein’s suicide in a New York jail in August 2019, where he was being held while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges. Shortly before his death, Epstein revised his last will and testament to transfer all of his assets into a trust named after his birth year, naming Indyke and Kahn as the administrators of the fund.
In their role as executors, the pair previously negotiated partial compensation packages for survivors, but these agreements included clauses that barred survivors from taking further legal action against Indyke and Kahn personally. Even so, a number of legal claims against the estate remain unresolved. As named beneficiaries of the trust, legal analysts note that Indyke and Kahn stand to collect tens of millions of dollars each once all outstanding claims against the estate are settled.
Torrez’s core argument in the new suit echoes a long-held belief among prosecutors and survivor advocates that Epstein’s widespread abuse was only possible because of a network of enablers who have yet to face justice. “Jeffrey Epstein did not operate alone, and his death does not end the pursuit of accountability for the people who helped make his crimes possible,” Torrez said. “Those who allegedly enabled this exploitation should not be allowed to profit from it while survivors continue to live with its consequences.”