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The two insiders who kept Jeffrey Epstein’s empire running, and now control his fortune

How a lawyer and an accountant handled money, legal structures and women in Epstein’s orbit for decades, and why they stand to benefit from what remains of his wealth.

November 23, 2025 / 12:16 IST
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A protester holds a sign outside the White House demanding the release to all files related to Jeffrey Epstein in Washington, DC, early this year. Trump, this week, signed a bill ordering the release of the files.

For years, Jeffrey Epstein projected the image of a lone predator operating behind closed doors. But newly surfaced records, lawsuits and testimony show that two little-known figures were central to keeping his operation functioning: Richard Kahn, his accountant, and Darren Indyke, his longtime lawyer. They handled everything from cash withdrawals and shell companies to immigration paperwork and payments to women who later said they were abused.

Today, they control access to critical evidence and remain positioned to inherit tens of millions from Epstein’s estate — a reality that infuriates victims and has prompted renewed calls for investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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The financial and legal architects

Indyke began working for Epstein in the 1990s, eventually becoming his exclusive attorney and personal representative. Kahn joined in 2005 as Epstein’s in-house accountant. Together, they formed a tight operational core: creating companies, opening bank accounts, moving money, managing expenses and responding to banks when suspicious transactions were flagged. When institutions cut ties with Epstein over concerns about his behaviour, they scrambled to find new financial pathways. Their lawyers insist they saw nothing illegal and merely provided routine services for a wealthy client.