New Mexico has filed a civil lawsuit against the former lawyer and accountant of Jeffrey Epstein to block payments by the late sex offender's estate and recover damages for survivors of his alleged sexual abuse.
The suit is the first law enforcement action against Epstein's longtime personal lawyer Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn, according to a statement from New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez.
The lawsuit alleges that Indyke and Kahn facilitated, financed, and concealed Epstein's sex trafficking operation, including at Zorro Ranch, south of the state capital of Santa Fe.
It also names the estate of Jeffrey Epstein and aims to prohibit his private trust - created days before his 2019 death by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell - from spending any of the more than $US100 million it holds. Indyke and Kahn are co-executors of Epstein's estate.
Daniel Weiner, a lawyer representing Indyke and Kahn, rejected allegations the two "knowingly" facilitated Epstein's abuse of women, saying the crimes took place "behind closed doors, in secluded locations" when neither was present.
The suit will test whether authorities are able to pin down allegations that a network of people and financial arrangements helped sustain and conceal Epstein's operations.
"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 at a press conference in Albuquerque.
He was joined by two survivors of Epstein's alleged abuse, Julia Molchanova and Anouska De Georgiou.
Indyke and Kahn have already been named in civil lawsuits against the Epstein estate, including a complaint last month seeking damages for people pictured in the sex offender's collection of child sexual abuse material.
"Not a single woman has ever accused Mr Indyke or Mr Kahn of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse," Weiner said in a statement, adding that the New Mexico attorney general's office had made no effort to interview the men before filing the lawsuit.
New Mexico's lawsuit comes after the Democratic-run state in February reopened an investigation into activities at Epstein's former New Mexico ranch, where he is accused of abusing women and girls for nearly three decades.
New Mexico has sued the US Department of Justice for access to unredacted files on Epstein, accusing the Trump administration of stonewalling its investigation.
The DOJ said it provided some files but was prevented from handing over most material due to privacy protections.
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