Alamogordo NM
10-23-2026 10:22am

NM Attorney General Sues Epstein's Lawyer and Accountant, Seeks to Block $75 Million in Estate Payouts

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Wednesday, Oct. 21, filed a federal lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein's longtime personal attorney, Darren Indyke, and his longtime accountant, Richard Kahn, accusing the two men of helping finance and conceal Epstein's sex trafficking operation — including the abuse of girls and young women at his former Zorro Ranch south of Santa Fe.

The case, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal prosecution. Neither Indyke nor Kahn has been criminally charged. Torrez says his office's separate criminal investigation into Epstein's activities in New Mexico, reopened in February, is still under way. The state's Department of Justice describes the suit as the first law enforcement action taken against either man.

"Jeffrey Epstein did not operate alone, and his death does not end the pursuit of accountability for the people who helped make his crimes possible," Torrez said in a news release announcing the suit.

Torrez announced the filing at an Albuquerque news conference alongside two Epstein survivors, Anouska De Georgiou and Julia Molchanova. Staff also handed out a statement backing the lawsuit signed by six people who identified themselves as survivors.

What the lawsuit alleges

According to the 49-page complaint, as described in published reports:

  • Money paid to the two men. Between 2011 and 2019, Indyke allegedly received more than $16 million from Epstein and related entities, and Kahn more than $10 million. The state also points to a $7 million loan to Indyke that it says was never repaid.
  • Running the machinery. The state alleges Indyke and Kahn held leadership roles in Epstein-related companies, managed his financial accounts, and authorized transactions and cash that supported the recruitment, exploitation and control of victims.
  • Avoiding bank reporting. The complaint accuses Indyke of asking Deutsche Bank employees how to pull money from Epstein's accounts without triggering government reporting requirements.
  • Zorro Ranch. The suit describes the Santa Fe County ranch as a place where girls and young women were allegedly recruited, transported, isolated and sexually abused over more than two decades.
  • Legal claims. New Mexico is suing under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the state Racketeering Act, accusing the pair of conspiracy and racketeering in support of what it calls the "Epstein Enterprise."

What New Mexico is asking the court to do

Indyke and Kahn are co-executors of Epstein's estate, which the state values at more than $107 million. Under a will Epstein amended two days before his 2019 death, Indyke stands to receive up to $50 million and Kahn up to $25 million, depending on what funds remain after claims are paid.

The state is asking a jury and the court to:

  • Halt any estate payments to Indyke and Kahn while the case proceeds;
  • Find that the two men engaged in racketeering and trafficking activity;
  • Order them to divest any Epstein-related interests; and
  • Award money damages to survivors, including punitive damages and restitution.

The defense

Daniel Weiner, an attorney for both men, said they "emphatically reject" the allegations that they were complicit in or knowingly facilitated Epstein's crimes. He said no woman has ever accused either man of committing or witnessing abuse, and that the Attorney General's office never tried to interview them before filing suit. Both men previously told congressional investigators they did not know about Epstein's abuse.

Earlier this year, Indyke and Kahn, acting as executors, agreed to settle a separate class-action lawsuit by Epstein accusers for up to $35 million, without admitting wrongdoing.

How we got here

  • 2019: Then-Attorney General Hector Balderas opened an investigation into Zorro Ranch but stood down at the request of federal prosecutors in New York. No New Mexico charges were ever filed against Epstein.
  • 2023: Epstein's estate sold the roughly 7,500-acre ranch to the family of Texas Republican Don Huffines. It has been renamed San Rafael Ranch.
  • Feb. 2026: Torrez reopened the state criminal investigation after reviewing newly released federal Epstein files. The state House unanimously created a bipartisan "Truth Commission" to investigate the ranch.
  • March 2026: State investigators, assisted by New Mexico State Police and the Sandoval County Sheriff's Office, searched the ranch property.
  • Aug. 2026: New Mexico sued the U.S. Department of Justice for access to unredacted Epstein investigative files, accusing federal officials of stonewalling the state probe.
  • Oct. 21, 2026: The state filed the current suit against Indyke and Kahn.

Are any criminal charges pending?

No. As of Oct. 23, no criminal charges have been filed in New Mexico against Indyke, Kahn or anyone else connected to Zorro Ranch.

  • State criminal probe: The New Mexico Department of Justice reopened its criminal investigation into the ranch on Feb. 19 and searched the property in March. It has not announced any charges, and Torrez declined this week to say where the survivors he appeared with were abused, citing the open investigation.
  • Federal records fight: In August, New Mexico sued the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court in Washington, D.C., for access to unredacted Epstein files. The state says those records could help determine whether anyone can be charged under New Mexico law. That case is still pending. Federal officials say they have shared some material but cannot release information that identifies victims.
  • Federal scrutiny of Indyke and Kahn: CNN has reported that both men are under federal investigation. The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.
  • Past cases: Epstein was never charged in New Mexico before his 2019 death in federal custody. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal sentence after her 2021 conviction, in a trial where witnesses described abuse at the ranch.

Anyone with information related to the state's criminal investigation can contact the New Mexico Department of Justice through nmdoj.gov.

Where the Truth Commission stands

The legislature's Survivors' Truth Commission is taking depositions and owes the House a final report by Dec. 31, but internal disputes and a resignation have left it with three members.

The House created the bipartisan panel by unanimous vote in February. It has subpoena power and about $2 million from New Mexico's earlier settlements with banks that did business with Epstein. It cannot prosecute anyone, but it can refer evidence to the state Department of Justice. The panel is set to expire Jan. 1, 2027, unless it is extended.

Key actions so far:

  • Subpoenas: In June the commission issued 14 subpoenas to state and federal agencies, two banks, the Epstein estate, the Santa Fe Institute and the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. In August it added the state departments of Workforce Solutions, Public Safety and Health, along with Ten Thousand Waves, a Santa Fe spa.
  • Interim report (Aug. 5): The report said Epstein ran the ranch with about 50 employees bound by nondisclosure agreements and a $7 million annual payroll. It counted 227 trips on Epstein's aircraft between 1992 and 2019, including 80 with no passenger names. It found evidence supporting allegations that Epstein abused at least five women and girls at the ranch between 1996 and 2012, including local massage therapists recruited through the spa. It also faulted law enforcement for failing to investigate aggressively, and federal authorities for never searching the ranch during Epstein's lifetime.
  • Proposed legislation: Members are preparing bills for the 2027 session to close the loophole that kept Epstein off New Mexico's sex offender registry and to eliminate the statute of limitations for human trafficking.
  • Depositions: The commission's attorneys are deposing survivors, witnesses, former ranch staff and officials. The commission has confirmed it is deposing Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury and former Attorney General Gary King. Being deposed does not mean a person is accused of wrongdoing. The list leaked weeks before the election, and members of both parties dispute how.

The panel has also been marked by turmoil. Republican members accused Chair Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) of removing a reference to Haaland's 2014 flight on an Epstein-chartered jet from the interim report; Romero disputed that. Romero resigned a job with the Santa Fe district attorney's office in September after Torrez advised prosecutors not to hire sitting lawmakers, and Republicans filed an ethics complaint over her use of the commission's public relations firm. Last week, Republican member Andrea Reeb of Clovis resigned from the House after a federal judge ruled her dual roles as legislator and special prosecutor unconstitutional. It is not yet clear who will replace her on the panel.

What happens next

Indyke and Kahn will respond in federal court, and a judge will weigh the state's request to freeze their estate payments. The state's criminal investigation and its records lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department remain open. The Truth Commission's final report is due to House members by Dec. 31.

If you or someone you know is affected by human trafficking, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-888-373-7888.

Sources and further reading

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