Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, has sued the late financier’s estate, seeking to recoup legal fees to defend herself against claims that she helped recruit women for Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking scheme.
In a complaint filed with the superior court in the US Virgin Islands, Maxwell said she had “no involvement in or knowledge of
Epstein’s alleged misconduct” and the financier had repeatedly promised to support her financially.
Maxwell is also seeking reimbursement for security costs, saying she “receives regular threats to her life and safety” requiring her to hire personal security services and “find safe accommodation”.
A lawyer for Epstein’s estate did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The estate was valued at $636.1m before the recent global markets turmoil. Epstein owned two private islands in the Virgin Islands.
Maxwell has kept a low profile since the financier’s arrest last July on charges that he abused and trafficked in women and girls in Manhattan and Florida between 2002 to 2005.
Epstein, who pleaded not guilty, killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell in August, two days after signing his will.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating others who may have had roles in his alleged misconduct.
Maxwell, whose father was the late British media publisher Robert Maxwell, said Epstein employed her from 1999 to 2006 when she managed homes in New York, Florida, New Mexico, Paris and the Virgin Islands.
She said their employment relationship “formed a legal and special relationship” that obliged the estate to indemnify her, and that one of its executors “made assurances” that it would do so, but the estate had ignored her reimbursement claim.
Denise George, the US Virgin Islands’ attorney general, sued the estate in January, saying Epstein’s sexual misconduct there stretched from 2001 to 2018 and included raping and trafficking in dozens of women and girls. The estate has been trying to resolve differences with George so that it can begin compensating Epstein’s victims.
At least two dozen Epstein accusers have filed civil lawsuits against the estate. Some named Maxwell and other alleged enablers of Epstein’s abuses as defendants.
source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/19/jeffrey-epstein-associate-ghislaine-maxwell-sues-his-estate
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