Executors of the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein asked a judge in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday to place under seal the monthly reports coming from the administrator of a special fund created to compensate Epstein's sexual abuse victims.
In a 24-page filing to Judge Carolyn P. Hermon-Percell, the magistrate judge of the Superior Court, the estate did not present a pressing justification for why the reports should be kept secret.
"In order to maintain the confidentiality of the Program Administrator's monthly reports _ as agreed to by the Attorney General and claimants' counsel, given the importance of maintaining an effective, confidential (at claimants' sole discretion) mechanism to provide compensation to those who suffered sexual abuse at Mr. Epstein's hands _ the Co-Executors seek the Court's approval to submit the Program Administrator's monthly reports under seal," said the request from Darren K. Indyke and Richard Kahn, respectively the chief lawyer and accountant for the Epstein estate.
The Epstein Victims Compensation Fund officially opened its doors on June 25, and its new program administrator, Jordana "Jordy" Feldman, filed required monthly reports to the court on Aug. 3 and again last week.
There is no indication that Feldman sought to have her reports filed under seal since all parties had already agreed on their confidentiality. In fact, her fund's website notes that her monthly communication to the court "will report on an aggregate level only. No individual Claimant information will be published or disclosed in a way that compromises Claimant confidentiality."
Tuesday's filing by the co-executors does provide some insight into the compensation fund, which was designed to give Epstein victims a more private forum away from court battles to seek a measure of financial redress for what happened to them. The filing from Indyke and Kahn said 47 individuals have submitted claims to the confidential compensation fund, that eight determinations have been made and individual claimants informed, and that no funds have yet been distributed. The filing also said the deadline for accepting claims is March 25, 2021.
The issue of sealed documents has vastly complicated a number of civil suits involving Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's alleged madam. The Miami Herald sued for the release of documents in a civil suit settled in 2017 between Maxwell and Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Epstein's longtime accuser, who alleges the two trafficked underage girls for sex and abused them. The release of those documents has led to a lengthy legal fight as Maxwell's lawyers attempt to keep secret a deposition from her that they say will prejudice her in her criminal case. She was arrested on July 2 on charges she aided Epstein's alleged sex crimes.
Indyke and Kahn, both longtime Epstein associates, are co-executors of Epstein's will, which was changed shortly before he was ruled dead by hanging in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019. They face a civil enforcement action by the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Denise George, who alleges they are part of an ongoing criminal enterprise.
Lawyers for the Epstein estate had no immediate comment, nor did Feldman's office.
