New complaint claims Jeffrey Epstein forced some of his victims to marry each other
BY KEVIN G. HALL AND BEN WIEDER
FEBRUARY 10, 2021 08:21 PM, UPDATED 8 HOURS 37 MINUTES AGO
Full Article: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/investigations/article249165645.html
“The Epstein Enterprise forced at least three separate arranged marriages, in each case requiring American female victims to marry foreign victims to avoid their deportation,” George wrote. “The victims were coerced into participating in these arranged marriages, and understood that there would be consequences, including serious reputational and bodily harm, if they refused to enter a marriage or attempted to end it.”
Longtime attorney Indyke and accountant Kahn facilitated these fraudulent, coerced marriages and performed the legal and accounting work needed for Epstein to control and abuse his victims, George alleged.
The attorney general cited a particular forced marriage where Indyke and a New York immigration lawyer allegedly prepared the victim for communications with U.S. immigration officials right after the alleged sham wedding.
“Defendant/Co-Executor Kahn provided a letter of reference for the immigration proceedings,” George’s motion said, adding that Indyke allegedly tried to talk her out of a divorce from the other woman and threatened that she would lose Epstein’s and his associates’ protection.
The proposed amended complaint, which must be accepted by the Superior Court, mentioned another victim brought to Little St. James more than 50 times during the years 2000 to 2002, when she was 17 to 19 years old. The victim said she was required to have sexual relations with “guests” of Epstein “and was subjected to sexual abuse virtually every day, and on some days, multiple times a day by Epstein or his guests. “
The victim said there were a large number of young women and girls around Epstein at Little St. James, many of them non-English speakers, “which was Epstein’s preference since they spoke less,” the motion alleged.
The proposed complaint also provided more details on Epstein’s finances in his final years and the web of shell companies that he used to hide his wealth.
Epstein and the companies he owned held at least 140 different bank accounts, according to the amended complaint, many of which were used solely to transfer funds between his companies. A number of his U.S. properties, including his New York and Palm Beach mansions and his New Mexico ranch, were held by shell companies registered in the Virgin Islands to prevent them from being seized in potential legal actions, but Epstein lied about the holdings in his filings to the Virgin Islands government.
The complaint indicates Epstein’s Southern Trust Company, which he pitched as a data mining company, fraudulently obtained $80 million in tax incentives from the Virgin Islands and was funded entirely by a single source who provided the company with $158 million between 2013 and 2017, the exact amount billionaire Leon Black reportedly paid Epstein for help minimizing taxes.
Southern Trust, in turn, was the primary source of funding for Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise in that time period, according to the complaint.