U.S. judge preliminarily approves US$35 million settlement between Epstein estate, accusers

Documents that were included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)

NEW YORK -- A U.S. judge granted preliminary approval on Tuesday to an agreement for Jeffrey Epstein’s estate to pay as much as US$35 million to resolve a class action lawsuit that accused two of the disgraced financier’s advisers of aiding and abetting his sex trafficking of young women and teenage girls.

Boies Schiller Flexner, a law firm representing Epstein victims, announced the settlement on February 19. On Tuesday, Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said the agreement appeared fair. The judge scheduled a hearing for September 16 to consider granting final approval.

The deal would bring an end to a 2024 lawsuit filed against Epstein’s former personal lawyer Darren Indyke and former accountant Richard Kahn, who are co-executors of Epstein’s estate.

Lawyers for Indyke and Kahn did not immediately respond to requests for comment. One of their lawyers had previously said neither Indyke nor Kahn “made any admission or concession of misconduct” as part of the settlement.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)