Epstein victims compensation fund suspended due to liquidity issues

A compensation fund for victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the late Jeffrey Epstein will be temporarily frozen while an issue with its liquidity is resolved, an administrator for the fund said Thursday.

When the fund was established, the late financier and registered sex offender’s estate said it had the money and liquidity to pay out all claims, according to Bloomberg. The terms require the estate to replenish funds whenever they fall below a certain level. However, administrator Jordana Feldman said Thursday that the fund had informed her it lacked the liquidity for the next replenishment.

On Wednesday, “the 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 in accordance with the Protocol,” Feldman said, according to Bloomberg. She said the suspension is effective immediately and will last through March 25.

The fund has so far paid out more than $50 million and received more than 150 claims. Feldman said anyone seeking to come forward as a victim has until Feb. 8 to register to receive a payout, according to Bloomberg.

Epstein was arrested on charges of sex trafficking in 2019 and died in federal custody months later. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been accused of recruiting young girls as his victims and participating in their sexual abuse, was arrested in New Hampshire last July. A court has denied her bail, saying her British and French passports make her a flight risk. Maxwell’s trial is set for July.