Seeking to move ahead with a victims' compensation fund, lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein's estate have asked a judge to ignore concerns of the attorney general of the Virgin Islands and allow the creation of a fund that's been stymied since last November.
The co-executors of the Epstein estate _ Richard D. Kahn and Darren K. Indyke _ filed their response before the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands last Friday at the start of the Easter weekend, but it became public on Monday. The pair, chosen by Epstein to settle his estate shortly before his reported jail-cell suicide last Aug. 10, angrily fought back against an April 7 filing by Attorney General Denise George that seeks to exert oversight.
"The attorney general has no right to inject herself into the program, dictating its policies, procedures and administration," lawyers for the co-executors wrote. "To allow her to do so would rob the program of its independence, one of its most critical attributes."
The filing called on the Superior Court to give a final OK to creation of the compensation fund, which the estate proposed last November. Attorney General George has thrown a wrench into those plans, putting liens in January on two islands that were owned by Epstein, and the liens have made it difficult for the estate to transfer money around and pay employees and bills for Epstein's far-flung properties.
George wants the estate to allow a noted child-sex victim advocate, Marci Hamilton, to join the proposed fund to review matters. The attorney general also alleged that language that would release the estate from litigation in exchange for compensation would prevent the victims from seeking action against third parties who may have participated with Epstein in his trafficking of women and abuse of underage girls.
Lawyers for the co-executors said the opposite is true and pointed to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's onetime muse and longtime business associate. Maxwell has been hiding since Epstein's death and recently brought a claim against the estate alleging that Epstein promised to pay her legal expenses and asked the estate to also pay for her personal security.
The purpose of the release, lawyers argued, "is to have the estate avoid being pulled into litigation by individuals who claim that the estate is legally responsible for their actions."
George brought a civil enforcement against the estate earlier this year, labeling it a criminal enterprise. She is also trying to push co-executors to step back from nondisclosure agreements Epstein had with his employees, arguing the estate is stymieing her efforts to investigate.
In filing their renewed request for expedited approval of the compensation fund proposed last Nov. 14, lawyers for the co-executors took a swipe at George, who is relatively new to the post, saying that "the attorney general has no business forcing the court to act as umpire on each of her dissatisfactions with the program."
It's unclear when the court might rule, but both sides have now filed documents declaring they are unable to break the impasse and want a judge to do so.
