New Mexico sues Epstein estate managers over alleged role in Zorro Ranch abuse

A new civil case

NEW MEXICO — Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a federal civil lawsuit Wednesday, October 21, accusing Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime lawyer and accountant of helping finance and conceal sexual abuse and trafficking linked to his former Zorro Ranch near Stanley. The complaint names Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn individually and in their roles as co-executors of Epstein’s estate and administrators of the 1953 Trust; it also names the estate and trust. A filing is an allegation, not a judicial finding, and no criminal charges against the two men were announced in this action. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The state asks the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico to prevent the co-executors from distributing estate assets while the suit is pending. It also seeks restitution, disgorgement, compensatory and punitive damages, and relief under federal trafficking law and New Mexico’s racketeering law. A judge has not granted those requests merely because the complaint was filed. ^[1]

What the state alleges — and the response

According to the complaint, Indyke and Kahn managed financial accounts and corporate entities that enabled payments and travel connected to Epstein’s exploitation of girls and young women. It alleges Indyke arranged cash and other payments, while Kahn oversaw expenditures and transfers. The state says the ranch was one place where survivors were isolated and abused. These are claims the state must prove; the lawsuit does not establish that either defendant witnessed sexual abuse or personally committed it. ^[1]

Daniel Weiner, an attorney for both men, told the Associated Press that they emphatically reject the allegations. He said no woman had accused either man of committing or witnessing sexual abuse or of receiving a report about Epstein’s abuse, and said New Mexico officials had not sought to interview them before filing. Reuters reported that Weiner also disputed that they knowingly facilitated abuse. Their denial is a material dispute in the case, not an answer already resolved by a court. ^{[2] [3]}

The complaint says Indyke and Kahn are beneficiaries of Epstein’s 1953 Trust, potentially eligible for $50 million and $25 million, respectively, if sufficient assets remain. It values the estate at more than $107 million based on a probate accounting for the period ending June 30, 2026. Those figures describe contingent bequests and a reported estate value, not money the men have received from the trust. ^[1]

Why the ranch matters, and what comes next

Epstein bought the Santa Fe-area property in 1993; it was sold in 2023. New Mexico reopened an investigation into alleged crimes at the ranch earlier this year, after an earlier state inquiry had produced no New Mexico charges against Epstein. The state separately sued the U.S. Justice Department in August to obtain unredacted investigative files. That records dispute and the October civil case are distinct proceedings. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting federal sex-trafficking trial. Ghislaine Maxwell was later convicted in a separate federal case and is serving a 20-year sentence. Neither outcome decides the new claims against the estate managers. The next consequential steps are the defendants’ response and any judicial decision on New Mexico’s request to preserve estate assets during litigation; the complaint itself does not freeze a distribution or determine liability. ^{[1] [2]}