EP GAL TRYING TO DUCK HIS VIC

Crime probe cited in move to freeze suit by accuser

Ghislaine Maxwell can’t be questioned under oath about Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme because she is under criminal investigation, an attorney for the accused madam writes in new papers.

The argument by Maxwell’s attorney, Laura Menninger, is a rare acknowledgment of the risk facing the British socialite who is said to be in hiding.

Menninger asked a federal judge to freeze a lawsuit brought by alleged Epstein victim Annie Farmer due to the investigation by federal prosecutors in New York. Farmer claims that both Epstein and Maxwell sexually abused her at the multimillionaire sex offender’s New Mexico ranch. Farmer seeks damages from Maxwell and Epstein’s $634 million estate.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York has publicly and repeatedly announced its ‘ongoing’ criminal investigation into alleged Epstein ‘co-conspirators’ on the same topic as [Farmer] alleges in this case,” Menninger wrote in a letter last week.

“Denial of a particularly a stay stay, of Ms.

Maxwell’s deposition, pending outcome of the criminal investigation could impair her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination … expose the defense’s theory to the prosecution in advance of trial, or otherwise prejudice the criminal case.”

Farmer’s attorney, David Boies, wrote that Maxwell hadn’t shared enough details about the nature of the criminal probe to justify a delay.

“Maxwell has provided no information about the subject matter of the criminal investigation into Epstein’s co-conspirators, the status of the investigation, or even disclosed whether she herself is a target of the Southern District’s investigation,” Boies wrote Monday.

“Maxwell therefore cannot use the existence of a criminal investigation to dodge her discovery obligations in this matter, particularly while at the same time refusing to provide any details or reasons as to why the investigation is a reason to stay the action.”

A hearing that will address Maxwell’s request for a delay is scheduled for Friday.

Many Epstein accusers say that Maxwell, 58, lured them into his underage sex trafficking scheme. They claim she recruited new young victims, helped arrange abusive “massages” of Epstein and sometimes participated in depraved acts.

Maxwell, the daughter of British press baron Robert Maxwell, has adamantly denied wrongdoing and kept a low profile since Epstein killed himself in a jail cell last year while awaiting trial. Victims’ attorneys have formally served Maxwell lawsuits via email because they could not determine her whereabouts.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman has vowed that the investigation into Epstein’s enablers is ongoing. Berman called out Prince Andrew, who is a friend of Maxwell’s, in March for refusing to cooperate with the probe.

Maxwell sued Epstein’s estate, arguing it should cover legal fees and personal security costs. She claims Epstein’s longtime attorney Darren Indyke assured her the financier would support her financially.

But Indyke, who is now co-executor of Epstein’s estate, has allegedly ignored Maxwell’s requests for money since Epstein hanged himself.

The Daily News exclusively reported that Indyke faces questioning under oath next month about his decades of work for Epstein.