Epstein’s top advisers reportedly under federal investigation, marking major development for survivors

Federal investigators are reportedly probing two of Jeffrey Epstein’s closest advisers – his longtime lawyer Darren Indyke and his accountant Richard Kahn – marking a major development for the hundreds of survivors and victims who have pushed for accountability for those who may have aided the notorious sex offender.

The Wall Street Journal first reported this week that federal authorities have opened an investigation into Indyke and Kahn. CNN spoke with a source who was interviewed by investigators earlier this year about Epstein, including the two men. Investigators are speaking with potential witnesses who had dealings with Epstein, including survivors, the source said. Officials from a number of agencies including the US Attorney’s office for Southern District of New York (SDNY) are soliciting documentation connected to Epstein, such as emails and checks, they added.

According to the source, who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, investigators appeared interested in a wide range of topics that Indyke and Kahn would have had knowledge about, including Epstein’s numerous shell companies like the Florida Science Foundation. The non-profit was created in November 2007, and multiple survivors have told CNN that Epstein abused them there while he was also serving jail time.

A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to CNN: “We don’t comment on the existence, or lack thereof, of investigations. We have always said with regard to Epstein that if the evidence presents itself, we will investigate.” A spokesperson for SDNY declined to confirm the investigation or comment.

CNN has reached out to lawyers for Indyke and Kahn for comment on reports they are under investigation. They have both previously denied wrongdoing and claimed they have no knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

Indyke and Kahn are among the most controversial and villainized men from Epstein’s inner circle, known to have had intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of Epstein’s business dealings over many years. In addition to being co-executors of Epstein’s estate , they are also among the first beneficiaries in line to receive millions of dollars from Epstein’s trust should it ever pay out.

That arrangement has drawn scrutiny from victims as the estate defends itself against civil litigation from Epstein’s victims and pays for the defense of its co-executors in civil suits seeking damages for their alleged role in enabling Epstein.

Epstein died in prison in 2019 while waiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges. Only one person, his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, has been prosecuted in the US in relation to Epstein’s vast sex trafficking operation.

Survivors and advocates have long pushed for more investigations and prosecutions related to Epstein’s crimes, as well as transparency about the vast amount of information various agencies have collected about Epstein over the years. The passage of a new law last year forced the Justice Department to release millions of documents related to Epstein, but millions more remain in the DOJ’s possession and have yet to be made public.

Illustration by Leah Abucayan/CNN/Getty

Epstein left millions to his closest advisers. A shrinking estate and new lawsuits may stand in the way

Lauren Hersh, the co-founder of World Without Exploitation, which works closely with Epstein survivors, said in a statement that Epstein’s crimes were only “made possible by a network of people and institutions around him that enabled exploitation, protected powerful people and failed the women and girls who were harmed.”

“We welcome the news that federal prosecutors are investigating Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn and asking questions that should have been asked years ago,” Hersh said. “Survivors deserve a full accounting of how Epstein and those in his orbit were able to operate for so long, and accountability for everyone who enabled or participated in their exploitation.”

Indyke and Kahn have also both been the subject of litigation in recent months, including a class-action suit filed in August by Epstein survivors alleging they enabled Epstein’s crimes.

“Each played critical roles in enabling Epstein’s acts,” the victims alleged in the lawsuit filed in August, “by providing Epstein the necessary financial and legal support for his sex trafficking operation.”

Their overlapping roles as both beneficiaries of and coexecutors for Epstein’s estate has led to allegations in court recently that they have an inherent conflict of interest.

“They had all these contradictory roles. As an executor of an estate, you are a fiduciary, which is a very high standard for your conduct,” Jennifer Freeman, an attorney representing Epstein victims, told CNN in an interview last week. “And I don’t see how, as executors of the estate, they could also make the decision about whether they were responsible in any way. You’re making a decision about your own personal liability, so they decided they had no liability. Surprise, surprise.”

At a class-action settlement hearing last week in Manhattan, Freeman raised the issue in an objection. Though the judge dismissed her argument, the point underscores the unusual roles Indyke and Kahn hold, as among Epstein’s closest advisors in both life and his affairs after his death.

Publicly, both have said they do not expect to receive their bequests, given the estate’s depleted finances and expected litigation and settlements still to come.

Daniel Weiner and Daniel Ruzumna, attorneys for Indyke and Kahn respectively, recently told CNN that it will likely take at least three more years for the estate to complete the probate process and that neither of their clients have received any funds from the estate.

If Indyke and Kahn “were to receive any funds from the 1953 Trust, they would do so only after all claims against the Estate are finally resolved and the Estate is fully probated,” the two said in a joint statement.

Indyke testified to lawmakers earlier this year that he “had no knowledge whatsoever” of Epstein’s wrongdoing and rejected “any suggestion” he assisted or facilitated his former boss’ crimes. Kahn told Congress that his relationship with Epstein had been “strictly on a professional level.”

“I never observed any sexual abuse or trafficking of women and never received a complaint – either by one of Epstein’s victims or any one else – of such abuse or trafficking,” Kahn said .

CNN’s Em Steck contributed to this story.

据报道，联邦调查人员正在调查杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的两名最亲密的顾问——他的长期律师达伦·因迪克和他的会计师理查德·卡恩——这对数百名幸存者和受害者来说是一个重大进展，他们一直致力于追究那些可能帮助过这位臭名昭著的性犯罪者的人的责任。

《华尔街日报》本周率先报道，联邦当局已对印迪克和卡恩展开调查。CNN采访了一位消息人士，该消息人士今年早些时候曾接受调查人员关于爱泼斯坦的问询，其中包括印迪克和卡恩。该消息人士称，调查人员正在与曾与爱泼斯坦有过接触的潜在证人进行交谈，其中包括受害者。他们还补充说，包括纽约南区联邦检察官办公室在内的多个机构的官员正在征集与爱泼斯坦有关的文件，例如电子邮件和支票。

据一位因担心遭到报复而要求匿名的消息人士向CNN透露，调查人员似乎对印迪克和卡恩可能了解的诸多话题都感兴趣，包括爱泼斯坦名下的众多空壳公司，例如佛罗里达科学基金会。这家非营利组织成立于2007年11月，多名幸存者告诉CNN，爱泼斯坦在服刑期间曾在那里对她们进行性侵。

美国司法部发言人在给CNN的一份声明中表示：“我们不对是否存在调查发表评论。我们一直就爱泼斯坦一案表示，如果出现证据，我们将展开调查。”纽约南区联邦检察官办公室发言人拒绝证实该调查或发表评论。

CNN已联系Indyke和Kahn的律师，就他们正在接受调查的报道寻求置评。两人此前均否认有任何不当行为，并声称对爱泼斯坦的性交易活动毫不知情，也未参与其中。

印迪克和卡恩是爱泼斯坦核心圈子中最具争议和最受唾弃的人物之一，据称他们多年来对爱泼斯坦的商业交易了如指掌。除了担任爱泼斯坦遗产的共同执行人外，如果爱泼斯坦的信托基金最终支付，他们也是最先获得数百万美元的受益人之一。

这种安排引起了受害者的关注，因为该遗产需要应对爱泼斯坦受害者提起的民事诉讼，并支付其共同执行人在民事诉讼中的辩护费用，这些诉讼旨在因其涉嫌协助爱泼斯坦而寻求损害赔偿。

爱泼斯坦于2019年在狱中去世，当时他正等待联邦性交易指控的审判。在美国，只有一人因与爱泼斯坦庞大的性交易网络有关而被起诉，此人即他的同谋吉斯莱恩·麦克斯韦。

幸存者和维权人士长期以来一直呼吁对爱泼斯坦的罪行进行更多调查和起诉，并要求公开各机构多年来收集的大量关于爱泼斯坦的信息。去年一项新法律的通过迫使司法部公布了数百万份与爱泼斯坦有关的文件，但仍有数百万份文件掌握在司法部手中，尚未公开。

插图：Leah Abucayan/CNN/Getty

爱泼斯坦将数百万美元留给了他最亲密的顾问。不断缩水的遗产和新的诉讼可能会成为阻碍。

与爱泼斯坦的幸存者密切合作的“无剥削世界”组织的联合创始人劳伦·赫什在一份声明中表示，爱泼斯坦的罪行之所以能够“成为可能，仅仅是因为他周围的人和机构网络助长了剥削，保护了有权势的人，却辜负了那些受到伤害的妇女和女孩”。

赫什表示：“我们欢迎联邦检察官对达伦·因迪克和理查德·卡恩展开调查，并提出一些本应在多年前就提出的问题。幸存者理应得到关于爱泼斯坦及其同伙如何长期作恶的全面解释，以及所有纵容或参与剥削他们的人的责任。”

近几个月来，Indyke 和 Kahn 也都成为了诉讼的对象，其中包括 8 月份由 Epstein 的幸存者提起的集体诉讼，该诉讼指控他们助长了 Epstein 的犯罪行为。

受害者在 8 月份提起的诉讼中声称：“他们每个人都在促成爱泼斯坦的犯罪行为中扮演了关键角色，为爱泼斯坦的性交易活动提供了必要的经济和法律支持。”

他们既是爱泼斯坦遗产的受益人又是共同执行人，这种角色上的重叠导致最近法庭上有人指控他们存在固有的利益冲突。

“他们扮演着如此矛盾的角色。作为遗产执行人，你既是受托人，又要恪守非常高的行为准则，”代表爱泼斯坦受害者的律师詹妮弗·弗里曼上周接受CNN采访时表示，“我不明白，作为遗产执行人，他们怎么能同时决定自己是否负有任何责任。这关乎你个人的责任，所以他们决定自己不承担任何责任。真是令人匪夷所思。”

在上周于曼哈顿举行的集体诉讼和解听证会上，弗里曼提出了这一异议。尽管法官驳回了她的论点，但这一点凸显了印迪克和卡恩所扮演的特殊角色，他们既是爱泼斯坦生前最亲密的顾问，也是他死后事务的幕后推手。

两人都公开表示，鉴于遗产资金耗尽，以及预计未来还会有诉讼和和解，他们不指望能收到遗赠。

Indyke 和 Kahn 的律师 Daniel Weiner 和 Daniel Ruzumna 近日告诉 CNN，遗产的遗嘱认证程序可能至少还需要三年时间才能完成，而且他们的两位客户都没有从遗产中获得任何资金。

印迪克和卡恩在一份联合声明中表示，如果印迪克和卡恩“要从 1953 年信托基金中获得任何资金，那也只有在针对遗产的所有索赔最终得到解决，并且遗产得到完全遗嘱认证之后才会这样做”。

印迪克今年早些时候向立法者作证称，他对爱泼斯坦的违法行为“毫不知情”，并否认“任何”他曾协助或促成其前老板犯罪的说法。卡恩告诉国会，他与爱泼斯坦的关系“纯粹是职业关系”。

卡恩说：“我从未发现任何性虐待或贩卖妇女的行为，也从未收到过任何关于此类虐待或贩卖的投诉——无论是爱泼斯坦的受害者还是其他人。”

CNN的Em Steck对本文亦有贡献。