Neither Darren Indyke nor Richard Kahn has been criminally charged, and both told Congress in March 2026 they had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities. They settled a class action in February 2026 without any admission or concession of misconduct — their lawyer says they were prepared to go to trial and settled only for finality. They also built the compensation programme that paid roughly $121 million to about 150 survivors. All allegations described here are from civil complaints.
This is the entity that has controlled everything since August 2019.
The archive documents where the money came from. How it moved. How it was sheltered. This page is about who has it now — and who decides what happens to the documents.
They have real authority and real constraints. Every major transaction requires approval from the USVI probate court. They cannot distribute to beneficiaries until debts, claims and administrative costs are satisfied. They filed the tax returns, sold the islands, negotiated with the territory, and built the compensation programme that paid out $121 million.
And they are inside the will. The conflict is not an inference — in September 2025 they told a court they were entitled to future compensation and controlled the trust that would receive the remainder. Per the Wall Street Journal, they did not mention that they are also among its largest beneficiaries.
The Butterfly Trust matters because of the date. A January 2017 email from Indyke’s own legal assistant lists him, Kahn and Shuliak as beneficiaries — two and a half years before Epstein died. This was not a deathbed decision to reward loyal professionals. The arrangement predates the arrest.
What the civil complaints allege. The USVI called them “captains” of the enterprise. The 2024 class action said they built “a complex web of corporations and bank accounts” that let Epstein hide his abuses and pay victims and recruiters, leaving them “richly compensated.”
What was tested. Nothing. The USVI settled. The class action settled for up to $35 million with no admission. No criminal charge has ever been brought.
Co-executors of the estate — they decide what is sold, paid and disclosed.
Co-trustees of the 1953 Trust — they control the vehicle that receives the remainder.
Beneficiaries of that same trust — $50 million and $25 million respectively.
Also entitled to compensation for their work as co-executors, on top of the above.
Criminally charged: neither, ever.
Section 01
The Record
Darren K. Indyke — a New York lawyer specialising in trusts, estates and tax-sensitive corporate structures — was Epstein’s personal attorney. Richard D. Kahn was his accountant. Both worked with him for decades. Corporate records list Indyke as officer or director of multiple Epstein entities in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida.
An email from Indyke’s legal assistant records that Indyke, Kahn and Karyna Shuliak were “Beneficiaries for the Butterfly Trust.” Two and a half years before Epstein’s death, his lawyer and accountant are already named beneficiaries of his money.
Per Epstein’s instruction, Kahn is to wire Shuliak $150,000 from the Butterfly Trust. Epstein is arrested five months later.
Signed two days before his death. It names Indyke and Kahn co-executors of the estate and co-trustees of the “1953 Trust,” the vehicle designed to receive whatever remained after debts and claims. Boris Nikolic was named successor executor without being consulted and declined.
As co-executors they establish the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program, which pays out roughly $121 million to about 150 survivors. Indyke later described it to Congress as a “voluntary and nonconfrontational means to compensate women who suffered sexual abuse.” A further $49 million was paid in separate settlements.
The USVI Attorney General amends the territory’s lawsuit to name Indyke and Kahn in their individual capacities, alleging they acted as “captains” of Epstein’s criminal enterprise. The territory settles with the estate for over $105 million.
Boies Schiller Flexner sues them for aiding and abetting sex trafficking. The complaint alleges they built “a complex web of corporations and bank accounts” that let Epstein hide his abuses and pay victims and recruiters — leaving the two men “richly compensated.”
In their legal responses they deny the allegations. They agree they are entitled to future compensation for their work and that they control the trust that will receive whatever remains. Per the Wall Street Journal, they did not volunteer that they are also key beneficiaries of it.
A congressional subpoena confirms they remain co-executors, six years on. Every major transaction requires approval from the USVI probate court, and no funds can be distributed to beneficiaries until debts, claims and costs are satisfied.
The Justice Department releases the trust documents. The primary beneficiary is Karyna Shuliak, Epstein’s last known girlfriend — $50 million outright plus a $50 million lifetime annuity, and his 33-carat diamond ring. The document notes he had “contemplated marrying” her. The next two largest allocations: Indyke $50 million. Kahn $25 million.
Kahn testifies to the House Oversight Committee on 11 March; Indyke the following week. Both tell the committee they had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities.
The estate agrees to pay up to $35 million to resolve the class action. Neither man makes any admission or concession of misconduct. Their lawyer Daniel H. Weiner: “Because they did nothing wrong, the co-executors were prepared to fight the claims against them through to trial, but agreed to mediate and settle this lawsuit in order to achieve finality.” Final approval is set for 16 September 2026.
Payments from the 1953 Trust remain frozen pending litigation. Victims’ lawyer Brad Edwards has said the co-executors have stonewalled discovery requests at every turn. Neither man has been criminally charged. The 1953 Trust is a “pour-over” vehicle and has never taken effect — the estate held roughly $127 million at its last public accounting, against more than $350 million in promised bequests.
Section 02
Who the Money Was Left To
The 1953 Trust names 41 beneficiaries and distributes more than $350 million in bequests. Twenty-seven names are visible in the released documents; fourteen are redacted. Being named is not an allegation — nothing in the documents suggests wrongdoing by anyone listed, and many have publicly condemned Epstein’s conduct.
$50m outright plus a $50m lifetime annuity, and rights to much of the property. Epstein’s last known girlfriend, a Belarus-born dentist. Handwritten notes record that he had given her a 33-carat diamond ring and 48 loose diamonds “in contemplation of marriage.” She is the last person outside the jail known to have spoken to him — a 20-minute unrecorded call the evening before his death.
The second-largest allocation. Also co-executor of the estate and co-trustee of the trust that would pay him.
The third-largest. Also co-executor and co-trustee. Between them the two administrators are allocated $75 million from the estate they administer.
The only person imprisoned for the operation is a named beneficiary of the trust. She was convicted in December 2021, two years after the document was signed.
His brother, placed in trust for his children. Mark Epstein has publicly disputed the official account of the death.
Wife of a former U.S. Virgin Islands governor, and an Epstein employee. The territory’s own complaint documented his employment of officials’ relatives while receiving a 90% tax exemption.
The Harvard professor whose Program for Evolutionary Dynamics Epstein funded with $6.5 million. He gave Epstein an office, a key card and 40+ visits after the conviction, and is on leave from Harvard again as of February 2026. He has not commented on the bequest.
Fourteen of the 41 names are redacted in the released documents, and nearly all are identified as female. Between them they account for $73 million. Some appear in the text only as “she,” with multi-million-dollar allocations. Their identities and their relationships to Epstein are not public.
The remainder reads as an inventory of the operation’s staff — the pilots who flew the planes, the assistants who kept the schedule, the property managers who maintained the houses. Nothing in the documents suggests wrongdoing by any of them, and many have publicly condemned his conduct.
$121 million — the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program, to roughly 150 survivors.
Total bequests written into the trust: more than $350 million across 41 beneficiaries.
Left in the estate as of September 2025: roughly $127 million — against $350m in promised bequests.
$49 million — additional individual settlements.
$105 million+ — the U.S. Virgin Islands settlement, including $80m+ repaid as fraudulently obtained tax benefits.
Up to $35 million — the February 2026 class action settlement.
Across all proceedings including the bank settlements, financial accountability in this case now exceeds $850 million — and not one person has been criminally charged over any of it.
Section 03
They Also Control the Documents
The part of this that matters most to everything else on this site is not the money. It is the paper.
The estate holds Epstein’s records. Correspondence, financial files, photographs, contracts, the contents of the properties. The co-executors are the party that responds to subpoenas, negotiates productions, asserts privilege and decides what to contest.
Victims’ counsel say that has been a problem. Brad Edwards has stated the co-executors stonewalled discovery requests at every turn.
And a structural point worth naming plainly. The same two people are: the parties who must produce documents, the parties named as defendants in complaints those documents would bear on, and the parties allocated $75 million from the fund those complaints draw against. Each of those roles is lawful. Holding all three simultaneously is the issue.
Where this connects to the rest of the archive. Roughly 3.3 million pages remain unpublished, and the site repeatedly hits the same wall — the estate has not released it. That sentence, on page after page, means these two men.
The fair counterweight. An executor’s duty runs to the estate, not to the public or to journalists. Asserting privilege and resisting discovery is what estate lawyers are supposed to do, and the compensation programme they built paid out faster and with less confrontation than litigation would have. Both things can be true.
Section 04
Open Questions
Section 05
Sources
The $35 Million Settlement
Feb 2026. The class action, the “richly compensated” allegation, and Weiner’s statement that they did nothing wrong.
nbcnews.com →The 1953 Trust Beneficiaries
The $100m to Shuliak, the $50m to Indyke and $25m to Kahn, and the “captains” allegation.
legalclarity.org →The Butterfly Trust
The January 2017 beneficiary email, the February 2019 wire, and the March 2026 congressional testimony.
newsnationnow.com →The Survivors’ Case
The “facilitation, participation, and concealment” allegation, and the settlement without admission.
abcnews.com →The Case File
The class action, the EVCP, and the settlement totals across all proceedings.
epsteinexposed.com →The Origin
Bear Stearns, Towers Financial and Hoffenberg — the first time he was inside a fraud and charged with nothing.
Read the report →The Redactions
The DOJ blacked out fourteen beneficiaries — and exposed the survivors in the same release.
Read the report →The Staff
The butler took the black book and got 18 months. Epstein served 13.
Read the report →Southern Trust
The USVI litigation and the $105m settlement they negotiated.
Read the report →The Survivors
Who the compensation programme paid, and what it required them to give up.
Read the report →Boris Nikolic
Named successor executor two days before the death — without being consulted.
Read the profile →