Epstein's old accountant sheds light on the businesses of disgraced financiers

One of Jeffrey Epstein's closest business associates testified in May that he was unaware of allegations during his employment that the financier had sexually abused dozens of teenage girls and young women, two people briefed on the matter said.

Richard Kahn, who was Mr. Epstein's accountant for 14 years, said in a confidential statement that he did not know about Mr. Epstein's worst activities until after his death, the people said. Mr. Epstein committed suicide while being held in a federal prison on sex trafficking charges after his arrest in July 2019.

Why witness testimony matters

The statement was made in connection with a class action lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase of facilitating Mr. Epstein's sex trafficking during the years he was a customer. JPMorgan agreed last year to pay $290 million to nearly 200 victims in a settlement.

What Mr. Kahn was asked about

The two people briefed on Mr. Kahn's testimony, who requested anonymity because the statement has not been made public, said he had been questioned about topics such as cash paid to women linked to Mr. Epstein and allegations that the financier had forced some into the same sex. marriages.

Mr. Kahn said he was unaware that women were being abused and that no one had ever asked for help, according to the people who described some of his testimonies.

Mr. Kahn and Darren Indyke, Mr. Epstein's longtime lawyer, were responsible for managing some of the financier's business affairs. Mr. Kahn, who has not spoken publicly about his time with Mr. Epstein, said during the deposition that he had met with him at least once every three weeks but said he had never paid Mr. Epstein's taxes. Mr. Epstein named both men co-executors of his one-time $600 million estate and they set up a lawsuit that has yielded about $155 million in restitution to Mr. Epstein's victims.

A lawyer for Mr. Epstein's estate declined to comment.

Cash paid to female 'assistants'

Mr. Kahn said in the statement that he did not know how much cash was kept in a safe at his Manhattan office to reimburse or pay off some of Mr. Epstein's employees and female associates, whom the sources said Mr Kahn had described as being Mr Epstein's 'assistants'. Mr. Kahn said he had not been directly involved in paying the women, who he said would run errands for Mr. Epstein and travel with him. Mr. Kahn said he had helped a few women open bank accounts. Mr. Kahn said that Mr. Epstein sometimes asked him to prepare itemized reports detailing a particular woman's spending habits.

Same-sex marriage arrangements

Some lawsuits against Mr. Epstein's estate allege that he pressured six women to marry each other to help some with their immigration status. In the testimony, Mr. Kahn said he knew that several women associated with Mr. Epstein were married to each other, but he did not know the details. He also said he did not know whether Mr. Epstein had arranged the same-sex marriages, which took place after those unions became legal in New York. Mr. Kahn said he had prepared tax returns for one of the couples. All couples have now divorced.

Epstein's consulting activities shrouded in secrecy

Mr. Kahn said he was aware that Mr. Epstein, who considered himself a tax and estate planning expert, had 10 or fewer business clients. He said he was not at liberty to name them because of non-disclosure agreements. Mr. Kahn said he had attended some of Mr. Epstein's client meetings, according to the sources. He said much of what the lender had done involved assessing clients' assets and discussing various tax implications and strategies for their heirs.

'Carve-out' provisions in settlements

Mr Kahn said one of Mr Epstein's female victims had received a “carve-out” provision in a settlement with the estate that would allow her to pursue any claims against Leon Black, the private equity billionaire , and James E. Staley, a former JPMorgan executive. He said he believed another victim had received a similar settlement. At a hearing last year, it was revealed that Jane Doe's lead plaintiff in a separate class action lawsuit involving Deutsche Bank had reached such a settlement.

Lawyers for Mr. Staley did not respond to a request for comment.

Susan Estrich, a lawyer for Mr. Black, one of Mr. Epstein's largest tax and estate clients, said that “there was no suggestion that Mr. Black engaged in the sex trafficking that Mr. Epstein” and to suggest otherwise ” would be false and defamatory.”

What's next

Mr. Kahn said the estate's assets were probably worth about $40 million as of last spring, taking into account settlements and costs. He said any remaining assets would be distributed according to the terms of a trust that Mr. Kahn had described as poorly drafted.