A compensation program established for victims of sexual abuse by the late Jeffrey Epstein will be temporarily halted over issues with liquidity, an administrator for the fund said on Thursday.
The program began on June 25, 2020, and more than 150 victims have since issued claim packets. Epstein’s estate, which backs the funding for victims’ payout claims, announced at the time that it had the funding to fulfill all claims.
“The [Epstein] estate has advised the program that it is working to secure additional liquidity to continue to fund the program and that it is committed to paying all eligible claims,” said Jordana Feldman, the independent administrator of the estate.
Pausing fund payouts until the necessary liquidity is achieved will be beneficial to the victims, Feldman added.
“Issuing a compensation offer that cannot be timely and fully funded and paid, consistent with the way the Program has operated to date, would compromise claimants’ interests and the guiding principles of the program,” she said in a statement to Reuters, adding that she regretted the suspension.
Temporary suspension of the program is effective immediately. The fund will begin handling payouts again on March 25.
Feldman underscored that the fund will continue accepting claims, and any alleged victims who have not filed reports will have until Feb. 8 to register and March 25 to make a claim, according to Bloomberg.
Total funding for the estate’s program is estimated to have started at approximately $630 million. The fund has paid out over $50 million.
The estate closed out in December 2020 with around $240 million of its assets, down more than 60% from its value reported in June 2020.
Epstein was arrested on charges of sex trafficking in 2019 and later died while in federal custody on Aug. 10 of that year. While his death was ruled a suicide, the financier’s ties to powerful public figures fueled theories that he was murdered, with some experts claiming that the circumstances of the death were more consistent with “homicidal strangulation” than suicide.
Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 on accusations she participated in recruiting young girls and participating in sexual abuse.
A judge denied Maxwell bail, citing that her international passports could make her a flight risk. Her trial is slated to commence in July.
