Edited by: JV Staff
A deal has finally been struck with the many victims of the notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein over how the compensation fund of his estate should be operated.
Epstein died under mysterious circumstances while incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in August of 2019.
According to a New York Post report, the announcement of the long awaited deal was made by Denise George, the attorney general of the US Virgin Islands on Friday.
In January of 2020, George said that she did not trust the two executors of Epstein’s estate to handle the case because they have a conflict of interest, according to a New York Post report.
The Post reported that George said there is a conflict of interest because the two executors of the financier’s estate, Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, “served as officers or trustees” of companies and Epstein’s trust which are named in her lawsuit.
“The Government has an interest in the assets of the Estate, as well as an interest in ensuring that the laws of the Virgin Islands are enforced for the benefit of the Government and victims of Epstein’s crimes,” George wrote in the court filings. “The Executors of the Estate, who are alleged to have been affiliated with various entities that participated in Epstein’s criminal enterprise, cannot adequately protect the rights of the interest of the Government.”
“Intervention is the only vehicle available to assure that the Government will not suffer detrimental harm by the actions of the Executors,” George said.
Under the agreement, the fund would have safeguards in place including appointing a victim advocate, putting aside money for victims who may not have come forward yet or who opt out of the program, implementing protections to make sure information divulged by victims wouldn’t later be used against them and other measures, the AG said, according to the Post report.
In January, the Post reported that George wanted to intervene in Epstein’s estate case to make sure her claims are represented and to ensure VI laws are followed especially given the fact that the executors of the estate have a conflict of interest.
A VI judge must still approve the agreement.
“I’m hopeful the Agreement will receive final approval, so these women are able to receive the help they need,” George said in a statement.
The NY Post reported that William Blum, a lawyer for the executors, said his clients “are extremely pleased that the USVI Attorney General has dropped her opposition to the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program, and allowed it to proceed as funded entirely by the Estate.”
“We are pleased that the parties have reached a resolution that allows victims the opportunity to resolve their sexual abuse claims through this independent, voluntary, non-adversarial process,” fund designers Camille Biros, Kenneth Feinberg and Jordana Feldman said. “Over the last several months, we designed the Program with the input of victims’ counsel and other interested parties, and we are preparing to move forward to implement the claims process.”
