Jeffrey Epstein’s Estate Sued by Longtime Friend for Legal Fees
Jeffrey Epstein’s Estate Sued by Longtime Friend for Legal Fees
(Bloomberg) -- Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, claims his estate has reneged on promises to support her even as she fights allegations she helped the wealthy financier recruit high-school aged girls for sex.
Maxwell, the youngest daughter of a British publishing tycoon and once a central figure in Epstein’s world, says in a lawsuit that he always pledged to provide her with financial assistance, even beyond the period from 1999 through at least 2006 when she was responsible for managing his properties in New York, Paris, Florida, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.
Maxwell has denied involvement in or knowledge of Epstein’s misconduct and hasn’t been charged with any crime, though prosecutors signaled last year that others may be charged in aiding his predation.
Meanwhile, she has run up significant costs defending herself from legal actions related to the financier, his businesses and victims of his alleged misconduct and has had to hire personal security services and find safe accommodations due to “regular threats to her life and safety,” according to her March 12 complaint in the Virgin Islands, where Epstein’s will was filed.
While Epstein’s estate promised to pay Maxwell’s legal fees after his death, that commitment hasn’t been honored and she got no response to a claim she submitted in November, her lawyers said.
Epstein’s estate and Maxwell’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The lawsuit adds another layer of complications for the estate’s lawyers as they seeks to divide up Epstein’s $600 million in assets, which includes a $77 million townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and two private islands in the Virgin Islands.
The estate last year proposed establishing a settlement fund that would provide a way to resolve claims by Epstein’s victims, but the program has been on hold since the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands froze the assets.
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