New Mexico attorney general sues Epstein’s lawyer and accountant, alleging cover-up of abuse at ranch

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyer and accountant, accusing them of hiding his sex trafficking business at a sprawling Santa Fe-area ranch where the disgraced financier entertained guests.

The lawsuit seeks to block attorney Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn from accepting any payments from Epstein’s estate, estimated to be worth more than $100 million.

LEARN MORE: New Mexico prosecutors search Jeffrey Epstein’s remote former Zorro ranch

Indyke worked as Epstein’s lawyer for about two decades. He and Kahn testified before Congress that they were unaware of Epstein’s abuse, although New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez had a different view.

“None of this can be done by one man,” Torrez said. “This is something that has been facilitated, made possible by managers, lawyers, accountants and others who have yet to face real consequences.”

He said Indyke and Kahn would “benefit substantially” from Epstein’s estate unless a court intervened.

“These resources rightfully belong to survivors,” Torrez said, referring to victims of Epstein’s abuse.

LEARN MORE: New Mexico reopens investigation into alleged illegal activities at Epstein’s former Zorro ranch

Telephone and email messages seeking comment from attorneys for Indyke and Kahn were not immediately returned Wednesday. The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately return an email seeking comment on a possible federal investigation into the two men in New Mexico.

Epstein committed suicide in August 2019 in a New York federal prison, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

His former girlfriend and close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking in New York. Witness testimony at Maxwell’s trial claimed that she and Epstein sexually assaulted women at the New Mexico ranch.

Epstein bought the Zorro Ranch in Stanley, a sparsely populated ranching community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Santa Fe, in 1993. He built a 26,700-square-foot mansion with a sprawling yard, a living room about the size of an average American home, and a private airstrip and helipad.

Epstein was never charged in New Mexico, although the state attorney general’s office confirmed in 2019 that it was investigating and planned to forward its findings to federal authorities in New York. Hector Balderas, who was attorney general at the time, said the state’s outdated laws were failing to protect children from abuse.

Torrez reopened the state’s investigation this year. In August, he sued the Justice Department, accusing it of preventing the state from investigating alleged sex crimes at the ranch. The government said it was withholding certain information from the state to avoid disclosing information that could identify victims.

Also in August, a commission created by state lawmakers to determine whether local authorities were looking the other way released a 119-page report revealing that authorities repeatedly deferred to investigations in New York, Palm Beach, Florida and the Virgin Islands, while leaving Epstein’s offenses in New Mexico unexamined and unpunished.

The ranch was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican who is the Texas state comptroller. The money was set aside for creditors.

Probate proceedings related to Epstein’s will and assets are ongoing in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

White contributed from Detroit.