Jeffrey Epstein's estate settles racketeering suit

NEW YORK » The co-executors of Jeffrey Epstein's estate have agreed to a $105 million settlement to resolve U.S. Virgin Islands' racketeering claims against the late financier and corporate entities he controlled, a lawyer for the estate said Wednesday.

Under the terms of the deal, the estate and 10 Epstein-created entities will pay the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands $105 million in cash plus half of the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James, the secluded island on which Epstein lived, according to a statement released by lawyer Denise George.

The estate also has agreed to pay $450,00 to remediate environmental damage around Great St. James, the second island Epstein owned, after the U.S. Virgin Islands found that he'd razed the remains of a centuries-old historical structures which once housed enslaved workers to make room for his development, George said.

“This settlement restores the faith of the people of the Virgin Islands that its laws will be enforced, without fear or favor, against those who break them,” George said in a statement. “We are sending a clear message that the Virgin Islands will not serve as a haven for human trafficking.”

George said the accord is believed to be the largest monetary settlement in the history of the U.S. Virgin Islands, while the estate's coexecutors said the settlement was consistent with their intent and practice to resolve claims related to Epstein's misconduct.

George sued the estate in 2020, alleging violation of the territory's Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and seeking civil penalties, damages, forfeiture of Epstein's private islands in the territory and restitution for local women who accused him of abuse.

But Wednesday's accord does not include any admission or concession of liability or fault by the estate or any other parties, according to Daniel Weiner, a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed in New York.