New lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein’s estate says he trafficked Russian woman to US
NEW YORK — A Russian woman says in a new lawsuit that sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein assaulted her early in 2019, in one of the few allegations to detail his crimes in the months before his arrest.
Epstein, who died in August 2019 of an apparent suicide at a federal jail in Manhattan, lured the woman from her Moscow home with promises of a lucrative career and other opportunities, the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Thursday claims.
The alleged victim, who at the time was in her 20s and is identified in legal papers only as Jane Doe, alleges a pattern of sex abuse that continued from 2017 right up to the months before Epstein’s arrest in July 2019.
It began when she spotted a job posting online as a personal assistant at a financial company in August 2017, the lawsuit says. Shortly after, the suit says, the Jane Doe was contacted by a Russian woman, who requested the victim send her resume, photographs of herself and her Instagram handle.
From there, with the help of Epstein’s long-time assistant Lesley Groff, Jane was was flown from Moscow to Paris on Epstein’s dime, where she was taken to the multimillionaire’s lavish apartment and introduced to Epstein and three other young women who were staying there, the lawsuit says.
Epstein whisked the women away to a restaurant adjoining the Louvre museum for a “job interview.”
Back at the apartment, Epstein lured the Jane Doe into a massage room where he sexually assaulted her, the suit says.
Jane Doe returned to Moscow, but frequently communicated with Epstein by text and Skype. The suit says she returned to Paris for a second visit with Epstein, where she was again sexually assaulted.
In September 2017, Epstein, along with Groff and other employees, wired Jane 2,000 euros to apply for a U.S. visa to fly and work at Epstein’s Florida home.
Over the following two years, Jane Doe flew back and forth from Moscow to Epstein’s homes in New York, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and France, where the lawsuit say she was repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted.
In the spring of 2019, Jane Doe said she was flown to Epstein’s private island in the Virgin Islands, where she was told she could not take any pictures of the island, or of Epstein.
Jane Doe’s suit says she and other women were sexually abused at least three times on the notorious island, put back on a plane, and handed at least $1,000 in cash.
The victim is requesting a trial to determine the amount of money she is entitled to in damages as a result of Epstein’s and Groff’s trafficking and abuse.
A fund set up to compensate Epstein’s victims paid out nearly $125 million to 135 people before it closed in August. The fund operated independently of Epstein’s estate.
Jane Doe’s lawsuit is a class action that aims to get money from Epstein’s estate for her and other victims Epstein preyed upon from 2011 onward. It names as defendants longtime Epstein lawyers Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, the estate’s executors.
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