$51M Sale of Epstein Mansion Replenishes Victims Fund

Florida deal also goes through, for another $18.5M
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 12, 2021 3:36 PM CST
$51M Sale of Epstein Mansion Replenishes Victims Fund
The Manhattan home of Jeffrey Epstein has been sold.   (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Jeffrey Epstein's New York townhouse has been sold, generating milions for the fund set up to help his sexual abuse victims. The seven-story, 40-room townhouse brought about $51 million, the Guardian reports, after once being valued as high as $88 million. It's one of the largest private homes in Manhattan. Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges; his death was ruled suicide. Proceeds from the manion's sale will go to the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program, per CNN, allowing new claims to be paid. The sale of a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, that Epstein owned just went through, per the Palm Beach Daily News. The buyer, who paid $18.5 million, said he's looking forward to demolishing the house and rebuilding. Trustees for Epstein's estate sold the Florida house, but it's not clear whether the victims fund will benefit; creditors also want a share of the proceeds.

The independent administrator of the fund had stopped payments last month, saying there wasn't enough money. More than two dozen women who said they're Epstein's victims had joined an effort to block the fund from selling any more assets because of questions about its future funding. The restitution fund is free to pay claims now. More than 150 applications for compensation have been filed with the fund since it launched in June 2020, and $55 million has been paid out. The number of recipients has not been disclosed. The financier was accused of committing sex crimes at both houses, and Britain's Prince Andrew was seen at the townhouse. Hundreds of lewd photos of women and girls were found in a search of the New York mansion, according to court filings. The Florida buyer had no trouble winning approval for his plan for the house. "This is an infamous property," an architectural commissioner said, adding, "I would support the demolition." (More Jeffrey Epstein stories.)

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