Crime

Judge Grants USVI Intervener Status in Pending Courtroom Battle Over Jeffrey Epstein's Fortune

ST. THOMAS — The Virgin Islands Department of Justice (V.I.D.O.J.) is moving aggressively to secure its claims on Jeffrey Epstein's half-billion dollar estate, including the dead pedophile's Caribbean islands and, potentially, other valuable assets. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Carolyn P. Hermon Percell last week granted Attorney General Denise George's motion to grant the Virgin Islands government status as a claimant-Intervener, or legal participant, in the expanding legal battle to carve up Epstein’s $577 million fortune among his victims and others with claims on the Epstein Estate. At least a dozen alleged victims to date have filed lawsuits in New York federal and state courts, and even more are expected to file in jurisdictions including Florida, New Mexico and France.  In January, the V.I.D.O.J. filed a civil lawsuit of its own, alleging that the Epstein estate and a series of Virgin Islands limited liability companies were used to further a human trafficking scheme. The c...