The USVI Attorney General’s Investigation
Following Jeffrey Epstein’s death in August 2019, the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George filed a civil lawsuit against Epstein’s estate in January 2020. The complaint was comprehensive, covering Epstein’s use of USVI property for sex trafficking and also raising allegations of labor trafficking — the recruitment and exploitation of workers brought to the USVI, particularly to Little Saint James island, under conditions that may have violated anti-trafficking statutes.
The civil suit was brought under USVI law and sought damages from the estate, disgorgement of tax benefits Epstein had received, and various forms of equitable relief. It named Ghislaine Maxwell as a participant in the trafficking operation.
Labor Trafficking Allegations
The labor trafficking portion of the USVI complaint alleged that Epstein had brought workers — including some from foreign countries — to staff his island operation using visa arrangements and recruitment methods that placed workers in conditions of economic dependence and potential coercion. Workers brought to a private island accessible only by private transport and with limited ability to leave independently are in an inherently vulnerable position that can rise to conditions of trafficking under federal and territorial law.
The specific allegations described workers being brought to the USVI under arrangements that limited their ability to leave freely, that tied their legal status in the territory to continued employment, or that involved misrepresentation of the nature of the work they would perform.
Parallel Investigation at Zorro Ranch
In New Mexico, similar labor concerns were raised by the state attorney general’s investigation of Zorro Ranch. Workers at the New Mexico property, including some foreign nationals, were alleged to have been brought to the property under circumstances that raised similar questions about their freedom of movement and the accuracy of representations made to them during recruitment.
The Zorro Ranch labor investigation, combined with the USVI investigation, suggested a pattern of labor exploitation that was structurally separate from, though parallel to, the sex trafficking operation that was the primary focus of federal charges.
Settlement with the USVI
The Epstein estate reached a settlement with the USVI Attorney General in July 2022. Under the settlement terms, the estate agreed to pay $105 million to the USVI government. The settlement resolved the civil claims without the estate admitting liability. A portion of the settlement funds were designated for local programs in the USVI, including those addressing trafficking and economic development.
The settlement was notable for its scale — at $105 million it represented one of the largest settlements in the history of the USVI government — and for the fact that it was reached despite the primary defendant having died before any criminal trial.
Attorney General’s Departure
Denise George, who filed the original USVI lawsuit, was fired by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. shortly after the case was settled, citing her having filed the suit without adequate communication with the governor’s office. Her firing was itself controversial and drew commentary from public interest groups. George contested the characterization of her conduct.
Significance for Trafficking Law
The USVI case expanded the legal framework applied to Epstein’s estate by incorporating labor trafficking claims alongside sex trafficking claims. This broader framing argued that Epstein’s criminal operation was not limited to sexual exploitation but encompassed multiple forms of exploitative control over vulnerable individuals he brought into his physical spaces and made dependent on his resources.