New Mexico Sues Epstein’s Lawyer and Accountant Over Zorro Ranch
Last updated: October 22, 2026.
On October 21, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a federal civil lawsuit against Darren K. Indyke, Richard D. Kahn, Epstein’s estate and the 1953 Trust. The State alleges that the lawyer and accountant helped finance and conceal trafficking, including abuse at Zorro Ranch near Stanley in Santa Fe County. The case is State of New Mexico ex rel. Torrez v. Indyke et al., No. 1:26-cv-03543, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
Raúl Torrez: The Attorney General Bringing the Case
Raúl Torrez is New Mexico’s 32nd attorney general. Before taking that office, he served as the elected district attorney for the Albuquerque metropolitan area, a federal prosecutor and a senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Justice. He studied at Harvard University, the London School of Economics and Stanford Law School. His office’s other child-protection work includes lawsuits against Meta and Snap and investigations of the state child-welfare system.
Indyke and Kahn’s Roles in the Ranch Companies
The complaint identifies Indyke as a secretary and bank signatory for Zorro Development. It identifies Kahn as treasurer and a director of Cypress, an entity holding the ranch. New Mexico alleges that these corporate and financial roles helped sustain Epstein’s operation.
The Five Civil Counts
The complaint contains five civil counts: participation in a sex-trafficking venture under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act; New Mexico racketeering based on kidnapping; racketeering based on criminal solicitation; conspiracy to engage in racketeering; and equitable recovery through restitution and unjust enrichment.
Compensation and Proposed Inheritances
The New Mexico DOJ says Epstein and related entities paid Indyke more than $16 million and Kahn more than $10 million during 2011–2019. Separately, the estate plan identifies potential bequests of $50 million to Indyke and $25 million to Kahn, subject to available funds. The lawsuit seeks to stop further distributions and recover money for survivors.
Estate Payments and Survivor Claims
New Mexico seeks to freeze estate distributions, recover benefits received by the defendants, and obtain damages, restitution, disgorgement and treble damages. The DOJ announcement reports an estate value above $107 million. Its separate criminal investigation remains ongoing.
The Defendants’ Responses
Indyke and Kahn have denied knowing about or facilitating Epstein’s abuse. Their lawyers dispute the allegations against them.
Separate Criminal Inquiry: The Burial Allegation
The released November 2019 email claims two girls were strangled during sexual acts and buried near Zorro Ranch on instructions from Epstein and a person called Madam G. The sender claimed former employment there and offered recordings for one bitcoin. It supplies no victim names, dates of death or precise burial location.
The Ranch Search and Reported Findings
The State Land Office requested an investigation on February 10. On March 9, New Mexico DOJ announced a ranch search with State Police and a Sandoval County Fire and Rescue K-9 team. ITV reported on March 24 that specialist body-detection dogs and drones had been used and that no human remains had been found at that point.
The Email’s Sender and Source History
Source New Mexico reported that Chief Deputy Attorney General James Grayson described the claims in February as unsubstantiated and sought the original, unredacted material. Searchlight reported in March that Aragon said he knew the sender’s identity and had passed it to an FBI agent. ITV subsequently reported that Aragon had received no further contact from the sender and that his attempted reply bounced. These accounts attribute identification of the sender to Aragon; they do not publish an official identification or a forensic finding.
Dates in the Released Email
The email header is dated November 21, 2019; its forwarding header is November 25. Its deadline says Thursday, November 22, 2019, which was a Friday.
Related Reports
Sources
- New Mexico DOJ — Attorney General Raúl Torrez, official biography
- National Association of Attorneys General — Raúl Torrez
- Original New Mexico complaint — State ex rel. Torrez v. Indyke et al., October 21, 2026 — Case 1:26-cv-03543, Document 1; counts pp.36–46; requested relief pp.47–49
- New Mexico DOJ — lawsuit announcement, October 21, 2026
- Statement from Epstein survivors released by New Mexico DOJ
- Reuters — New Mexico lawsuit and defendants’ responses, October 21, 2026
- New Mexico State Land Office — February 10 letter with the original anonymous email — Pages 1–4; email EFTA01250229–30, also stamped EFTA00076519–20
- New Mexico DOJ — March 9, 2026 search statement
- ITV News — Search for human remains, March 24, 2026
- Source New Mexico — allegation and official response, February 10, 2026
- Searchlight New Mexico — interview with Eddy Aragon, March 6, 2026
- Reuters, February 19, updated February 20, 2026 — Burial allegation under investigation
AI generated report by Explorvia.com.