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“This settlement restores the religion of the folks of the Virgin Islands that its legal guidelines might be enforced, with out worry or favor, towards those that break them,” Lawyer Basic Denise George mentioned.
Epstein’s property agreed to pay the territorial authorities $105 million in money and half of the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James island the place Epstein owned a house and authorities allege lots of his crimes happened.
The property additionally pays $450,000 to restore environmental harm on Nice St. James, one other island Epstein owned the place authorities say he eliminated the ruins of colonial-era historic buildings of slaves.
The cash from the sale of Little St. James island might be positioned in a authorities belief to finance initiatives, organizations, counseling and different actions to assist residents who’ve been sexually abused, officers mentioned.
“We owe it to those that had been so profoundly harm to make adjustments that can assist keep away from the subsequent set of victims,” mentioned George, who added that she met with three alleged victims who had been trafficked and sexually exploited on Little St. James island.
An actual property firm is itemizing the island for $55 million, noting that its options embody three seashores, a helipad, a fuel station and greater than 70 acres (28 hectares) of land that supply “an array of subdivision potentialities” and “a complete, discreetly positioned, infrastructure assist system.”
The corporate is also providing Nice St. James for $55 million, an island of greater than 160 acres (65 hectares) with three seashores.
As well as, the property will return greater than $80 million in financial tax advantages that U.S. Virgin Islands officers say Epstein and his co-defendants “fraudulently obtained to gasoline his felony enterprise.”
The federal government beforehand accused an Epstein-owned enterprise often called Southern Belief Co. of creating fraudulent misrepresentations to qualify for the advantages.
Daniel Weiner, an Epstein property legal professional, despatched a press release to The Related Press saying that the settlement doesn’t embody any admission or concession of legal responsibility or fault by the property or anybody else.
“The co-executors deny any allegations of wrongdoing on their half,” he wrote. “The co-executors in the end concluded that the settlement is in the very best curiosity of the property.”
Weiner additionally famous that the property has paid greater than $121 million to 136 people through a victims’ compensation fund.
Epstein killed himself at a federal jail in New York in August 2019 whereas awaiting trial. He had pleaded not responsible to prices of sexually abusing dozens of ladies, some as younger as 14 years previous.
A number of had sued Epstein and accused him and his longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, of pressuring them into sexual trysts with highly effective males.
Maxwell, who was convicted on intercourse trafficking and different prices, was sentenced to twenty years in jail in June.
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