Epstein estate agrees to $35 million settlement in victim class action

Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has agreed to pay up to 35 million dollars to settle a new wave of claims from victims who allege abuse and trafficking spanning more than two decades. The proposed class-action judgment, filed Thursday in federal court, covers alleged assaults from January 1, 1995, until Epstein’s death in a New York jail on August 10, 2019.

Under the agreement, the estate will pay 35 million dollars if 40 or more victims qualify under the class, and 25 million dollars if fewer than 40 are deemed eligible. Lawyers for the claimants say they are confident at least 40 women who have not previously settled with the estate will come forward. The co-executors, Epstein’s longtime lawyer Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn, deny wrongdoing and are not accused of crimes, and the deal explicitly states it is not an admission of fault.

The settlement, which still requires approval from a federal judge in New York, comes after the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of documents, photographs, and videos from the Epstein investigation, further highlighting the disgraced financier’s vast network of powerful political, business, academic, and celebrity contacts.