Jeffrey Epstein arrested in New York on child sex trafficking charges.

[The Romulan Republic]

https://theguardian.com/us-news/2019/au ... ath-estate

Jeffrey Epstein signed a will just two days before he killed himself in jail, new court records show, opening a new legal front in what could be a lengthy battle over the disgraced financier’s fortune.

Court papers filed last week in the US Virgin Islands list no details of beneficiaries but value the estate at more than $577m, including more than $56m in cash.

The existence of the will, first reported by the New York Post, raised new questions about Epstein’s final days inside the Metropolitan correctional center, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

Epstein signed the document 8 August. Less than 48 hours later, he was found dead in his cell, prompting an investigation that has cast a harsh light on staffing shortages at the Manhattan detention center.

Prosecutors on Monday moved to dismiss the indictment against Epstein but have said they are considering charging others with facilitating his alleged abuse of dozens of girls.

The filing of the will, meanwhile, had been closely followed by lawyers representing women who claim they were sexually abused by Epstein when they were teenagers. One woman filed suit against the estate last week, claiming Epstein repeatedly raped her when she was a teenager. Several attorneys vowed to go after his assets even if the will had named beneficiaries, as Epstein’s death means there will be no trial on the criminal charges against him.

“Give his entire estate to his victims. It is the only justice they can get,” one of those lawyers, Lisa Bloom, wrote in an email. “And they deserve it. And on behalf of the Epstein victims I represent, I intend to fight for it.”

David S Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor not involved in the Epstein case, said states and US territories had certain timeframes within which to make a claim against someone’s estate.

“There are certainly going to be a lot of lawyers involved,” Weinstein said. “It’s not going to be over any time soon.”

A hedge fund manager and friend of the rich and famous, Epstein owned a Caribbean island, homes in Paris and New York City, a New Mexico ranch and a fleet of high-price cars. He had more than $112m worth of equities, according to the will, and nearly $200m in “hedge funds & private equity investments”. Among the properties that will be subject to appraisal and valuation are his collection of fine arts, antiques and other collectibles.

As part of his 2008 plea deal to Florida state charges, Epstein made undisclosed financial settlements with dozens of his victims. It’s unclear how those settlements might affect any claims made on his estate.

William Blum, an attorney for Epstein’s estate, said in a statement to the Associated Press that any debts or claims against the estate would be “fairly administered”. He said the document was Epstein’s original last will.

Well, that might suggest that he did intend to off himself.

[The Romulan Republic]

Also:

https://theonion.com/jeffrey-epstein-fr ... 1837375021

THE HEAVENS—In what many are calling a “pathetically soft sentence” for the recently deceased sex offender, multiple angels confirmed Monday that Jeffrey Epstein was free to visit Earth six days a week under the terms of a new sweetheart afterlife deal. “According to heavenly sources, Mr. Epstein was granted entry into an extremely lenient angel-work-release program, where he was permitted to travel back to Earth and visit his West Palm Beach estate up to 12 hours a day,” said spokesperson for God Claudia Thompson, adding that with special permission from the archangel Gabriel, Epstein had also been allowed to leave the pearly gates of Heaven to visit his abode in the Virgin Islands as well as his Manhattan penthouse. “Unfortunately, over the past week, Mr. Epstein also wired hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to secure himself a lax visitation deal, which allowed him to bring friends, family, and colleagues up from Earth to Heaven for private, unmonitored visits. As of now, he has been required to register as a sex offender in the afterlife.” At press time, Epstein had reportedly been taken into God’s custody after undergarments belonging to underage angels were found on his cloud.

[bilateralrope]

It's going to be really interesting to see who is listed as beneficiary on that will. Especially anyone who wasn't listed on the previous will.

[The Romulan Republic]

Footage from outside his cell at the time of his death is "unusable":

https://businessinsider.com/some-footag ... ort-2019-8

Some video footage taken outside criminal financier Jeffrey Epstein's cell the night of his death was deemed unusable by investigators, The Washington Post reported.

Epstein died by suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center earlier this month, prompting a federal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. Both the FBI and the Justice Department's inspector general's office are invest gating.

The Post reported that one of the cameras in the hallway outside of Epstein's cell captured unusable footage, though it is unclear what about the footage made investigators deem it unusable. Clearer footage was captured in the vicinity by other cameras, according to The Post.

Since Epstein's death, reports have surfaceddetailing incidents of alleged broken protocol, including guards reportedly sleeping on their shift, Epstein being housed alone, and the prison facing severe staffing shortages.

After the cause of death was deemed a suicide by the New York chief medical examiner, Epstein's defense team said in a statement that they were "not satisfied" with the conclusion and blasted the "medieval conditions" of the federal prison, blaming their employer's death on broken protocol.

They announced that they would be conducting an independent investigation alongside the federal probes, saying that would use legal action, if necessary, "to view the pivotal videos — if they exist as they should — of the area proximate to Mr. Epstein's cell during the time period leading to his death."

Epstein was charged in July with conspiracy and sex trafficking of minors. He was transferred to suicide watch after he was found unconscious with bruises around his neck, but was taken off constant observation in late July. He was found dead in his cell a little less than two weeks later.

Right. This was definitely a "suicide". Just like all those critics of Putin who mysteriously died were "suicides" and "accidents".

[bilateralrope]

I once worked as a security guard on a factory that produced small, high value product. They had cameras on the site perimeter, with residential properties on the other side of the fence, that were so broken that it was often hard to tell if a person had walked along that fenceline. One camera didn't produce any picture at all. They stayed broken for 18 months until the factory was willing to get them replaced. So this still looks like general incompetence from prison management.

Meanwhile, that updated will Epstein created put most of his estate into a trust. Which makes it harder for any of his victims to get any compensation through the courts while also shielding the identity of any beneficiaries. That looks like a final "fuck you" to his victims.

Jeffrey Epstein signed new will to shield $577m fortune days before death

Financier created trust fund in new will two days before suicide
Experts say prying open fund will be difficult for accusers

The will that disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein signed just two days before his jailhouse suicide puts more than $577m in assets into a trust fund that could make it more difficult for his dozens of accusers to collect damages.

Estate lawyers and other experts say prying open the trust and dividing up the financier’s riches is not going to be easy and could take years.


“This is the last act of Epstein’s manipulation of the system, even in death,” said attorney Jennifer Freeman, who represents child sex abuse victims.

Epstein, 66, killed himself on 10 August in New York while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The discovery of the will with its newly created 1953 Trust, named after the year of his birth, instantly raised suspicions he did it to hide money from the many women who say he sexually abused them when they were teenagers.

By putting his fortune in a trust, he shrouded from public view the identities of the beneficiaries, whether they be individuals, organizations or other entities. For the women trying to collect from his estate, the first order of business will be persuading a judge to pierce that veil and release the details.

From there, the women will have to follow the course they would have had to pursue even if Epstein had not created a trust: convince the judge that they are entitled to compensation as victims of sex crimes. The judge would have to decide how much they should get and whether to reduce the amounts given to Epstein’s named beneficiaries, who would also be given their say in court.

“Wealthy people typically attempt to hide assets in trusts or other legal schemes. I believe the court and his administrators will want to do right by Epstein’s victims, and if not, we will fight for the justice that is long overdue to them,” said attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents several Epstein accusers.

She said attorneys for the women will go after Epstein’s estate in the US Virgin Islands, where the will was filed and where he owned two islands.

Bloom said it was “gross negligence” on the part of Epstein’s lawyers and jail personnel to allow him to sign a new will, given that he had apparently attempted suicide a short time before. Bloom called a will “a classic sign of impending suicide for a prisoner”.

But some tax experts have questioned the validity of the will, which could be challenged if it is deemed improperly witnessed or executed.

“It is far from a given that Mr Epstein possessed mental capacity,” Pace University law professor Bridget Crawford told CBS.“You need to make sure there was no fraud, no undue influence, no duress.”

The assets listed in the 20-page document include more than $56m in cash; properties in New York, Florida, Paris, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands; $18.5m in vehicles, aircraft and boats; and art and collectibles that will have to be appraised.

Epstein’s only known relative is a brother, Mark Epstein, 65, who has not responded to requests for comment.

It is unclear whether he was named a beneficiary and has remained an elusive figure, though the brothers were connected through various financial dealings.

When Epstein was seeking bail on sex trafficking charges in July, Mark Epstein offered to put up a Florida house valued, according the Wall Street Journal, at $100,000 – a fraction of the $100m Epstein offered as security.

The brothers were also linked through a 200-unit condo in Manhattan that was once owned by Epstein’s biggest client, the Victoria’s Secret founder Leslie Wexner. Mark Epstein was once listed in corporate records as president of an Epstein-affiliated holding company.

The executors of Epstein’s estate are named as his longtime lawyers Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn.

Epstein also named the biotech venture capitalist Boris Nikolic as a backup executor. Nikolic, a former science adviser to Bill Gates, told Bloomberg he was “shocked” to find out he was named and would not fulfill the duties, if he was called on.

Nicolic is among a number of science-related figures whom Epstein sought to cultivate in recent years but who are now at pains to distance themselves. Last week, Joi Ito, director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, apologized for the lab’s ties to Epstein.

Under any circumstances, untangling Epstein’s financial affairs is likely to be costly and time-consuming. According to US tax code, the estate can only be taxed once all claims against it have been settled.

Given the growing number of claims against Epstein’s estate, the trust could be wound up if there is nothing left to fund it. Crawford estimates it could up to a decade to sort out.

[The Romulan Republic]

He lived a worthless shit stain, and he died a worthless shit stain.