New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a federal civil lawsuit on Wednesday, October 21, accusing Jeffrey Epstein's longtime personal attorney Darren K. Indyke and his accountant Richard D. Kahn of helping finance and conceal Epstein's sex trafficking operation, including alleged abuse at Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County. The New Mexico Department of Justice called it the state's first law enforcement action against the two men.
The 49-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, also names Epstein's estate and the 1953 Trust, which holds estate assets the state values at more than $107 million — yaani, more than ten crore dollars. According to the lawsuit, Indyke and Kahn are co-executors of the estate and stand to receive bequests of $50 million and $25 million respectively; the state is asking the court to stop them receiving as much as $75 million while it seeks damages and restitution for survivors.
The complaint alleges the two advisers managed corporate entities and financial accounts, authorised transactions and supplied cash that sustained and concealed the trafficking operation, and cites more than $6 million in cash withdrawals by Epstein and his associates between 2002 and 2013. The claims are brought under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the New Mexico Racketeering Act. These are allegations in a civil lawsuit — no criminal charges have been filed against Indyke or Kahn, and the court has not ruled on the claims.
“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. “None of this could be done by just one man,” he told a news conference, arguing the operation was facilitated by handlers, lawyers and accountants.
Indyke and Kahn have denied knowing about or participating in Epstein's sexual abuse. In a statement reported by The Independent, they said they “emphatically reject” allegations of complicity and noted that no woman has accused either man of committing or witnessing sexual abuse. Both testified before the U.S. House Oversight Committee earlier this year that they had no knowledge of Epstein's trafficking. Epstein died in federal custody in New York in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges.
The lawsuit is the latest step in New Mexico's renewed investigation into alleged abuse at Zorro Ranch, the property near Santa Fe that Epstein bought in 1993. Earlier this year the state also sued the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging federal officials blocked access to records its investigators requested for the ranch probe.