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One of Jeffrey Epstein’s closest business associates testified in May that he was unaware during his employment of allegations that the financier had sexually abused dozens of teenage girls and young women, two people briefed on the matter said.
Richard Kahn, who was Epstein’s accountant for 14 years, said in a confidential deposition that he learned the worst of Epstein’s activities only after his death, the people said. Epstein committed suicide while being held in federal prison on sex trafficking charges after his arrest in July 2019.
Why Deposition Testimony Is Important
The statement was taken in relation to a class action lawsuit lawsuit that accused JPMorgan Chase of having facilitated Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking during the years he was a client. JPMorgan agreed last year to pay $290 million to nearly 200 victims in a settlement.
What was Mr. Kahn asked about?
The two people briefed on Kahn’s testimony, who requested anonymity because the statement has not been made public, said they had questioned him about topics including cash payments to women associated with Epstein and accusations that the financier forced some to participate. marriages between people of the same sex.
Kahn said he did not know that any women were being abused and that none had asked for help, according to the people, who described some of their testimonies.
Kahn and Darren Indyke, Epstein’s longtime lawyer, were responsible for managing some of the financier’s business affairs. Kahn, who has not spoken publicly about his time with Epstein, said during the deposition that she had met with him at least once every three weeks, but said she never did Epstein’s taxes. Epstein named both co-executors of his former $600 million estate and they established a process that has provided about $155 million in restitution to Epstein’s victims.
A lawyer for Epstein’s estate declined to comment.
Cash payment to female ‘assistants’
Kahn said in the deposition that he did not know how much cash had been kept in a safe in his Manhattan office to reimburse or pay some of Epstein’s female employees and associates, whom sources said Kahn had described as “The assistants” of Mr. Epstein. Kahn said he had not been directly involved in paying the women, who he said would run errands for Epstein and travel with him. Kahn said he had helped some women open bank accounts. Kahn said Epstein sometimes asked her to prepare detailed reports detailing a particular woman’s spending habits.
Same-sex marriage arrangements
Some lawsuits against Epstein’s estate have charged that he pressured six women to marry each other to help some with their immigration status. In testimony, Kahn said he knew that several women associated with Epstein had married, but he did not know the details. He also said that he did not know whether Epstein had arranged the same-sex marriages, which occurred after such unions were legalized in New York. Kahn said he had prepared tax returns for one of the couples. Since then, all the couples have divorced.
Epstein’s consulting business shrouded in secrecy
Kahn said he knew that Epstein, who considered himself an expert in tax and estate planning, had 10 or fewer business clients. He said he was not at liberty to name them because of confidentiality agreements. Kahn said he had attended some of Epstein’s client meetings, according to the sources. He said much of what the financier had done involved reviewing clients’ holdings and going over various tax implications and strategies for his heirs.
‘Exclusion’ provisions in settlements
Kahn said one of Epstein’s female victims had received an “exclusion” provision in a settlement with the estate that would allow him to pursue claims, if any, against Leon Black, the private equity billionaire, and James E. Staley, a former top executive at JPMorgan. He said he believed another victim had been granted a similar settlement. In a court hearing last year, it was revealed that the lead plaintiff, Jane Doe, in a separate class action lawsuit involving Deutsche Bank had succeeded in getting that settlement excluded.
Mr. Staley’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.
Susan Estrich, Mr. Black’s attorney, who was one of Mr. Epstein’s greatest tax and estate clients, said there was “no suggestion that Mr. Black was involved in sex trafficking than Mr. Epstein” and to suggest otherwise “would be false and defamatory.”
Whats Next
Kahn said that as of last spring the estate’s assets were probably worth about $40 million after accounting for settlements and expenses. He said any remaining assets would be distributed according to the terms of a trust that Kahn had described as poorly drafted.
