The estate of Jeffrey Epstein has agreed to pay over $105 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle a lawsuit that said he used his private island for sex-trafficking, per The New York Times.
The disgraced financer and convicted sex offender, who was found dead in his prison cell in August 2019, had a private home in the archipelago on Little St. James, which he owned from 1998 until his death. The settlement will wrap up a three-year lawsuit by U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general Denise George, who accused Epstein’s estate of deceiving the government into granting lucrative tax benefits to his financial company.
The estate of the late pedophile will pay $80 million in tex penalties, and half of the proceeds from the sale of the island, which is currently on the market for $55 million. He purchased the island in 1998 under his company L.S.J. LLC for $7.95 million, although it was valued at over $63 million in 2019. Despite agreeing to pay a substantial sum to the U.S. Virgin Islands, neither the estate or his two business advisers Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn admitted to Epstein’s crimes.
“At the very start of the case, I was so honored to have met three very courageous young women who were trafficked and sexually exploited on Little St. James,” said George in a statement. “Our work has been inspired, humbled and fortified by the strength and courage of all of those who survived Epstein’s abuse.” The estate has been given a year to acquire the funds to fulfill the terms of the settlement. As recently as June, the estate had $22 million in cash available, with much of the wealth remaining in investments.
Settlements to many of his victims, alongside upkeep and lawyers, have seen his $600 million wealth dramatically reduced in the years since his death. Epstein’s longtime associated was Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in June after she was found guilty of assisting his sex-trafficking ring.
