The longtime lawyer and one-time accountant of the late intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein instructed lawmakers earlier this month that they have been by no means questioned by federal authorities about their work for the disgraced financier, in accordance with deposition movies launched Tuesday by the Home Oversight Committee.
Throughout their hourslong depositions over two days, lawyer Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn offered new particulars about their years of labor for Epstein, elevating questions in regards to the lack of scrutiny they seemingly confronted from federal prosecutors after investigations started into his crimes, and why each males continued to work for Epstein regardless of the allegations towards him following Epstein’s 2008 plea deal on solicitation costs in state courtroom.
“I drank the Kool‑Assist on the time. I feel that is the reply, is I drank the Kool‑Assist on the time,” Indyke instructed lawmakers when pressed about why he by no means stop working for Epstein.
Each males denied being conscious of the scope of Epstein’s crimes and described their relationship as strictly skilled, although their decades-long work with Epstein make them among the most educated folks about Epstein’s life and companies. Indyke and Kahn function co-executors of Epstein’s property, have been bequeathed by Epstein $50 and $25 million respectively, and managed Epstein’s authorized and monetary affairs.
Following are the primary takeaways from the depositions.
Epstein allegedly had $30M in annual bills
Each males sought to defend Epstein’s funds, arguing that the net of holding corporations and financial institution accounts utilized by Epstein have been customary follow and that Epstein wanted to function in money after his 2008 responsible plea restricted his entry to credit score. They denied that they both knew of or facilitated funds to assist his intercourse trafficking operation that included underage ladies and ladies.
“It didn’t strike me as uncommon that Mr. Epstein’s enterprise, family and private wants required massive quantities of money regularly. I by no means believed that the money I withdrew from Mr. Epstein, and his workers, was utilized by Mr. Epstein, or his workers, for any improper functions,” Indyke mentioned.
Darren Okay. Indyke, Jeffrey Epstein’s former lawyer, arrives for his deposition earlier than the Home Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill, March 19, 2026, in Washington.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Indyke denied making an attempt to “construction” financial institution withdrawals to keep away from triggering an alert to the Treasury Division, although he acknowledged that he repeatedly withdrew $7,500 at a time for Epstein, totaling greater than $700,000.
“I didn’t imagine that any amount of money that I gave to the accounting division was going for use for an improper function. I believed that there have been authentic causes to carry that money in and I did so,” he mentioned.
In line with Kahn, Epstein’s properties, staff, and different bills price between $25M and $30M yearly.
“I used to arrange for Epstein a finances on one sheet of paper that included all of his entities, and I imagine his annual repairs for the whole lot, not simply his staff, for his properties, staff, planes, automobiles, items, and private expenditures was someplace within the $25 to $30 million vary,” Kahn mentioned. “That features the gasoline for his planes, repairs and upkeep for his planes, if he does capital enhancements on certainly one of his properties, if he buys a automotive, if he provides a present, if he hires a decorator. Every part.”
Why they did not stop working for Epstein
Each males have been pressed about why they continued working for Epstein regardless of his 2008 responsible plea and subsequent civil lawsuits towards him. Indyke instructed lawmakers that he believed Epstein was “devastated and intensely contrite” about his crimes.
“When he was in jail and he appeared devastated and instructed me he wasn’t ever going to be in that place once more and instructed me he did not know that there have been people who have been underage and mentioned this was by no means going to occur once more, I believed him,” mentioned Indyke, who continuously visited Epstein in jail.
In line with Indyke, he later grew to become skeptical about among the accusations towards Epstein — telling lawmakers he “drank the Kool‑Assist on the time” — and didn’t imagine Epstein would proceed to commit crimes based mostly on the elevated scrutiny on him.
“Clearly, he did loads of horrible issues,” Indyke mentioned. “I say this once more as a result of I need everyone to be clear about this. I did not see it. I did not see something, and no person complained to me about something. So I do not know. However all these folks got here ahead, so clearly there’s one thing there. So your query is, what do I imagine now. I imagine he did unhealthy issues.”
Lawmakers pressed Indyke in regards to the dozens of lawsuits filed towards Epstein following his launch from jail, suggesting he knew that extra allegations have been levied towards Epstein but he continued to work for him.
“Had I recognized that he was doing it, I’d have walked away. However within the context of all of this ‑‑ the entire info that was offered, which steered that loads of what was being mentioned was not true and loads of what was being claimed occurred up to now after he had gone to jail and after he mentioned he wasn’t going to do it once more, I did not have a cause to imagine, after he obtained out, that he was doing it once more,” he mentioned.
Kahn equally instructed lawmakers that he believed Epstein’s declare that his arrest was a “mistake.” When pressed in regards to the public allegations that got here out towards Epstein in 2018, Kahn mentioned he was too busy “placing out fires” to determine to step away from the work.
“Every part was occurring fairly quick. We obtained dropped by the financial institution, and I used to be then being requested to do issues. I nonetheless was fascinated by leaving, however I used to be, you realize, fairly busy at the moment placing out fires,” Kahn mentioned. “I’d have appreciated to assume with a transparent head … I’d have definitely left working for him.”
Their roles in alleged ‘sham marriages’
Each Indyke and Kahn additionally confronted questions on their alleged function arranging “sham marriages” to maintain Epstein’s victims in america. A number of lawsuits, which have been later settled with no admission of wrongdoing, alleged that the boys assist prepare the marriages for Epstein.
Kahn mentioned he regretted writing an “embellished” letter of advice to assist one of many marriages, saying he was unaware that the wedding was pressured.
“These two ladies offered me with a kind letter and later got here to my workplace and suggested me on pattern traces that I ought to embrace within the letter. I agree that the letter was embellished. I noticed the letter as no completely different than me writing a co-op suggestion letter for a buddy who I had not seen in 10 years, and I wrote within the letter how nice his children are, and these are children that I by no means met,” Kahn mentioned.
“These two ladies by no means instructed me that this marriage was pressured. I’ll inform you, in hindsight, I remorse penning this letter as a result of I now know that I unknowingly contributed to those ladies’s ache and struggling. However this was not me collaborating in immigration fraud,” he mentioned.
Indyke acknowledged the marriages in his deposition, although he pushed again on the declare they have been “shams” or fraudulent.
“I used to be not conscious that it was a sham marriage. I am nonetheless unsure that it is a sham marriage, however she was one of many people who was married,” he mentioned about certainly one of Epstein’s victims.
Indyke’s denials about what he allegedly instructed witnesses
Lawmakers additionally pressed Indyke over allegations that he discouraged certainly one of Epstein’s victims from chatting with regulation enforcement.
In line with an FBI report launched earlier this 12 months by the Division of Justice, a sufferer instructed investigators that Indyke suggested her “by no means discuss to the police” and to return to him if she wanted assist.
Indyke denied that he ever suggested a sufferer to not go to regulation enforcement, although he acknowledged he suggested them about talking with an lawyer.
“It has been a very long time now, however I imagine I’d have mentioned and did say one thing to the impact that you do not have to talk to them and not using a lawyer current, and if you’d like, counsel could be offered for you. And the rationale that I used to be requested to do this is that folks have been expressing concern about having to speak to regulation enforcement. They did not know ‑‑ that they had by no means carried out it earlier than and it scared them and so they needed to know,” Indyke mentioned.
Kahn’s recollections about Epstein’s secure
Kahn additionally confronted questions on his actions instantly after the raid on Epstein’s New York townhome in 2019. In line with documents launched by the DOJ, Kahn recovered some gadgets that have been saved in Epstein’s secure that have been left behind following the search earlier than turning them over to the FBI.
In line with Kahn, Epstein’s home supervisor thought the gadgets left behind within the secure “weren’t secure to be left alone in the home” as a result of the constructing’s locks and safety have been disabled following the search. Kahn mentioned that the home supervisor put the gadgets into two suitcases and delivered them to Kahn’s dwelling for safekeeping.
“I by no means opened them. I left them in my eating room. I imagine a day or two later, I obtained a name … that the FBI was on the home once more trying to accumulate issues that they did not take from their first go to. I imagine the request of me was, ‘Are you able to please carry the 2 luggage to the house?'” Kahn instructed lawmakers. “I went dwelling. I grabbed the 2 luggage. I introduced them to the residence, and I imagine at that time limit, the FBI gave me a receipt for the 2 luggage.”
