Epstein victims' fund awards $125 mln in claims

Jordana Feldman, the administrator of a fund to compensate victims of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuses, said on Monday she has completed the payout process, giving more than $121 million to about 138 eligible claimants.

This report produced by Chris Dignam.

The fund providing restitution to victims of Jeffrey Epstein said on Monday that the claims process was finished and that it awarded nearly $125 million to about 150 people.

In a statement, the Epstein Victims' Compensation Fund said 92% of eligible claimants accepted their compensation offers and said "every claimant had an opportunity to be heard in a safe space, to share the intimate, personal, often harrowing accounts of what they endured and how it has affected them." The fund received about 225 claims, more than double the 100 it expected.

It turned away about 75 claimants, though they can still pursue claims against Epstein's estate, which once held more than $630 million.

The announcement of the payouts came one day before the second anniversary of Epstein's death.

The disgraced financier killed himself at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell on Aug.

10, 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

He had signed his will two days earlier.

Epstein's longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently awaiting trial on charges she groomed and trafficked underage girls for Epstein.

The 59-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted.

Her trial in Manhattan could begin in November.