Following the death of Jeffrey Epstein, a judge has ruled that the criminal case against the billionaire be dismissed. Epstein was charged with criminal sex trafficking, but took his own life while in prison. This not unusual, however, as it is common for criminal cases against the deceased to be thrown out, considering they cannot stand trial. According to Reuters, while his criminal charges are being dismissed, authorities have stated that they will still continue investigating his alleged crimes.
Epstein’s death has been highly controversial, not the least of which is due to the fact that he signed a will just days before. According to the New York Post, Epstein signed his will on Aug. 8, just two days before he died.
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Per the legal paperwork that was filed in the US Virgin Islands, Epstein was worth around $600 million, with that total amount being placed into a trust. No beneficiary was listed in the documents, but his brother Mark was identified as a “next of kin.”
We are renewing our appeal for any possible victims of Jeffrey Epstein to contact us at 1-800-CALL-FBI. If you have been victimized by Epstein, we would really like to hear from you. pic.twitter.com/SiNPeh2TWS
— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) August 28, 2019
A city estate lawyer spoke with the NY Post about Epstein’s financial matters, and offered an expert opinion on how things look. “It’s pretty boiler-plate — it’s what we call a ‘pour-over will,’ which means everything pours over to a trust. It’s done that way for privacy reasons,” said the legal expert, who requested to have their identity withheld.
“What is more unusual is the date, the fact that all of this was done just days before he died,” the lawyer added. “He probably knew he was going to take his own life” or may have thought “he could have been murdered in jail.”
More than 20 women gave statements at a powerful hearing in NY this morning about how they were sexually assaulted as teenagers by Jeffrey Epstein at his homes in NY, Palm Beach and New Mexico. pic.twitter.com/rCsAG202dj
— julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) August 27, 2019
The legal expert then suggested, “He could have thought, ‘I need to get my ducks in a row.’”
The lawyer also commented on Epstein’s choice to have his will filed in the US Virgin Islands, where he owned 2 private islands, stating, “He probably proceeded in the Virgin Islands to be more private because that is not where people would look. There is always a risk that it would be leaked.”
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