JEFFREY EPSTEIN SIGNED a will just two days before his suicide in prison, new court records show.
The court papers filed last week in the US Virgin Islands do not list details of beneficiaries but valued his estate at more than $577 million (€520m), including more than $56 million (€50m) in cash.
The existence of the will, first reported by the New York Post, has raised new questions about Epstein’s final days inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Epstein signed the will on 8 August, less than 48 hours before he was found dead in his cell. Prosecutors yesterday moved to dismiss the indictment against him but said they are considering charging others with facilitating his alleged abuse of dozens of girls.
Lawyers representing women who claim they were sexually abused by Epstein as teenagers have vowed to go after his assets now that there will be no trial on the criminal charges against Epstein. One woman filed proceedings against the estate last week, claiming Epstein repeatedly raped her when she was a teenager.
“Give his entire estate to his victims. It is the only justice they can get,” one of those lawyers, Lisa Bloom, wrote in an email. “And they deserve it. And on behalf of the Epstein victims I represent, I intend to fight for it.”
Epstein had more than $112 million (€101m) worth of equities, according to the will. He owned a Caribbean island, homes in Paris and New York City, a New Mexico ranch and a fleet of high-price cars.
As part of his 2008 plea deal to Florida state charges, Epstein made undisclosed financial settlements with dozens of his victims. It’s unclear how those settlements might affect any claims made on his estate.
William Blum, a lawyer for Epstein’s estate, said in a statement that any debts or claims against the estate will be “fairly administered.”
He said the document was Epstein’s original last will.
- With reporting from Associated Press.
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