Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein

Court Cases

Epstein lawyer-accountant team

The public docket in Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein (Superior Court, St. Thomas, No. ST-20-CV-14) now runs to almost eighty filings.

The core documents fall into three groups:

  1. The pleadings that framed the civil racketeering claims
  2. Probate materials that exposed the assets available for recovery
  3. The settlement papers

Jordana Feldman, an attorney with prior experience administering the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, was appointed in mid-2020 as the independent administrator of the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program — a fund established by the estate in consultation with the USVI government to provide restitution to survivors of Epstein's abuse.12345

Feldman's mandate was to evaluate claims and determine payouts independently, without interference from the estate. By all accounts, she fulfilled this role successfully, ultimately awarding over $120 million to eligible claimants. Her leadership ensured the compensation process was viewed as credible and fair, lending legitimacy to the estate's efforts to resolve victim claims outside of court.6

  Litigation Pleadings

The Attorney General opened the action with a 48-page complaint on 15 Jan 2020, invoking the Virgin Islands' CICO statute and naming the estate, the 1953 Trust and six Epstein entities.1

A first amended complaint filed in June 2020 added co-executors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn as individual defendants and detailed forced-marriage and tax-fraud allegations.2

A second amended complaint (May 2021) stretched to 76 pages and attached bank-record exhibits obtained through subpoenas, laying out 140 accounts that, the Government said, funneled trafficking money.3

  Discovery Material Made Public

Early joint planning papers and more than two dozen third-party subpoenas—for Schwab, Citibank, Fidelity, Wells Fargo and others—were docketed in April-July 2020.7

The court also released individual motions such as the Government's request to exceed the standard page limit (granted 11 June 2020). An emergency motion to create a voluntary victim-compensation program, filed 24 Nov 2019 and incorporated into the civil case, disclosed draft payout rules and actuarial ranges.1

  Probate and Asset Disclosures

Separate probate filings became essential to the civil action. Epstein's last will (signed 8 Aug 2019) and its inventory showed $577 million in assets, including villas, jets, yachts and hedge-fund stakes.8

A Certificate of Trust dated 26 Aug 2019 confirmed that everything had been transferred to "The 1953 Trust," but withheld the beneficiary list.9

  Court Opinions

Judge Debra Watlington's 4 Feb 2022 memorandum opinion rejected several estate motions and allowed wide-ranging discovery to continue, noting the public interest in tracing "enterprise assets" across shell companies.10

  Settlement and Post-Settlement Accounting

The parties executed a 45-page Settlement Agreement and Release on 28 Nov 2022 and filed it two days later. It obligates the estate, the 1953 Trust and ten shell companies to pay $105 million in cash and half the net sale price of Little St. James, plus $450 k for environmental repairs.4

The Attorney General's press statement summarized the consent judgment and confirmed that the estate must "wind down" operations once payments clear.5 A quarterly accounting lodged in February 2023 shows $117.28 million already remitted to the Virgin Islands treasury.11

    Representative Public Filings

Date (filed)Docket labelKey contents
23 Aug 2019Last Will & inventory$577 m asset list; pour-over to 1953 Trust 8
26 Aug 2019Certificate of TrustConfirms 1953 Trust and co-trustees 9
24 Nov 2019Victim-claims motionDraft rules for voluntary payout program 1
15 Jan 2020ComplaintCICO, sex-trafficking, environmental-damage counts 1
14 Apr 2020Rule 26(f) reportDiscovery plan and preservation protocol 7
08 Jun 2020First Amended ComplaintAdds Indyke & Kahn, details forced marriages 2
09 Jul 2020Bank subpoenas batchSchwab, Citibank, Fidelity, Wells Fargo, SVB 7
12 May 2021Second Amended Complaint140 bank-accounts, new shell-company chart 3
04 Feb 2022Memorandum opinionUpholds most counts; orders discovery 10
30 Nov 2022Settlement Agreement$105 m cash, island-sale share, compliance terms 4
01 Dec 2022DOJ press releaseAnnounces "largest recovery in VI history" 5
15 Feb 2023Quarterly accountingShows transfers, post-settlement balances 11

These filings—the pleadings, discovery, probate papers, court rulings, the settlement instrument and the estate's ongoing accountings—constitute the public record that emerged from the three-year lawsuit and explain how the 1953 Trust's funds were marshalled to satisfy the Virgin Islands' claims.

  References

  Footnotes

  1. Complaint (Jan 15, 2020), Judiciary of the Virgin Islands (PDF) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. First Amended Complaint (June 8, 2020), Scribd (PDF) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Second Amended Complaint (May 12, 2021), DocumentCloud (PDF) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Settlement Agreement (Nov 30, 2022), Inside Edition (PDF) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. USVI Attorney General Press Release (Dec 1, 2022) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Epstein victims' fund ends claims process after awarding $125m (Aug 9, 2021), Al Jazeera ↩

  7. Rule 26(f) Report & Bank Subpoenas, Judiciary of the Virgin Islands ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  8. Epstein Last Will & Inventory (Aug 23, 2019), CNBC (PDF) ↩ ↩2

  9. Certificate of Trust (Aug 26, 2019), Scribd (PDF) ↩ ↩2

  10. Memorandum Opinion (Feb 4, 2022), Judiciary of the Virgin Islands (PDF) ↩ ↩2

  11. Quarterly Accounting (Feb 15, 2023), Inside Edition (PDF) ↩ ↩2

Published on January 15, 2020

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