Epstein signed will two days before he died in prison
Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein signed a will just two days before he died by suicide in a New York jail, court records show, leaving behind an estate valued at more than $577 million, including more than $56 million in cash.
The 66-year-old’s death was ruled a suicide by hanging last week by New York’s chief medical examiner.
The will was filed last week with officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands and listed no details of beneficiaries, according to the New York Post.
Court papers filed in St. Thomas reveal that Epstein, a former hedge-fund manager, was worth about $18 million more than what he stated in court papers while trying to land bail for sextrafficking charges related to underage girls, the newspaper reported.
Epstein put all of his holdings in a trust, called The 1953 Trust, which a legal expert told The New York Times may have been an attempt to keep his dealings from public scrutiny.
“It avoids prying eyes because the trust is private,” Patrick D. Goodman, a probate law expert at the University of California-Los Angeles law school, told the Times.
Epstein signed the document Aug. 8. Less than 48 hours later, he was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
He named Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn, two longtime associates, as the executors and his brother, Mark Epstein, as the single remaining heir, according to the Times.
Attorneys vowed to go after his assets even if the will had named beneficiaries, because Epstein’s death means there will be no trial on the charges against him.