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compensation fund protocol
Inline-Images: image002.jpg
Do you know anything about this? Does
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From:
To:
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This is the first I'm hearing about this.
On Jun 2, 2020 7:30 AM, "
IME:. wrote:
I asked
and
if they were aware of the provision built in for the FBI vicitm assistance piece and they
are not aware of this.
If anyone has knowledge as to the history of that being added in that would be helpful.
Thanks,
MSW, LCSW
FBI Child/Adolescent Forensic Interviewer
A/UC Chief
Child Victim Services Unit
On Jun 2, 2020 7:25 AM, "MM
)" c
wrote:
Hi all,
Hope you are all well and having a good week.
I know prior to
leaving she was working with you on this case. So I apologize if I dropped the ball after
she left, I didn't have it in my out brief to follow up on.
has asked me if I was aware of the revision of the victim assistance compensation protocol and the role of
VSD. Would you mind looping me in?
Thank you for your help.
Best,
EFTA01651283
Forwarded message
protocol
"
Cc:
Are you aware of this through VSD?
Thanks,
Forwarded message
"
Cc:
Hey
Can you provide me more details on the below and FBI's role in this settlement?
Thanks
From:
To:
See below: access to FBI Victim Services is part of the settlement??
How does that work?
AG says Epstein lawyers have agreed to revise victim
compensation fund protocol
• Jun 1, 2020
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Attorneys for sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's estate and the Virgin Islands government have resolved disputes
over a proposed victims' compensation fund, and V.I. Attorney General Denise George said she "will allow the
release of a portion of estate funds for the victims so that the program may proceed."
George issued the written statement Friday, saying that her office has reached an "agreement in principle" for a
victim compensation program with the estate's and victims' attorneys.
The estate proposed the fund in November as a way for Epstein's victims to receive compensation without
having to go to court, after Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10 while awaiting trial on
new charges.
In January, George filed a civil enforcement action under the territory's Criminally Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act against Epstein's estate and six of his companies, claiming that Epstein and his attorneys used
the Economic Development Commission's tax benefit program to save millions of dollars that helped fund his
criminal sex trafficking operation.
As pan of that action, George placed liens on the more than $600 million estate that have restricted his attorneys
from paying settlements to victims, and argued that the terms of the compensation fund are illegal and help
protect others who conspired with Epstein to abuse dozens of women over the last two decades.
V.I. Superior Court Judge Carolyn Hermon-Purcell has said she cannot move forward with probate until George
and Epstein's attorneys resolved their differences, and George lifts the liens.
George said in the statement Friday that she's now willing to do that, and "the Attorney General's Office,
working closely with Epstein's victims and their counsel, have now reached an agreement upon the terms of the
fund, which include a set of reforms that provide a process that will be more fair, credible, and victim-oriented."
George said she's always supported the existence of such a fund, which "would allow victims to avoid the
publicity and trauma of a trial and provide them, promptly, with a measure of justice and closure," according to
the statement. "The victim compensation fund as it stands now, is a substantial improvement from the original
victims' claim fund proposed by the estate."
According to George, the victim compensation fund now includes:
• Involvement of victim advocate Marci Hamilton, CEO of Child USA and the country's preeminent expert and
advocate on child sexual abuse issues. This will help ensure that the decisions of the fund administrator are fully
informed by and sensitive to the unique experiences and needs of survivors of trafficking and sexual abuse.
• Dedicated funding to ensure that victims who have not yet come forward or who are not satisfied with the
claims process or award can opt-out without sacrificing the chance of a judgment or recovery.
• Protections to ensure that information shared by victims in the claims process is not provided to the estate and,
potentially, used against the claimant or other victims.
• Access to counseling and referral services through the FBI Victim Services program and Child USA.
• Approval of the program's administrative budget by the Probate Court and monthly reporting to the Attorney
General's Office and the Probate Court on the number and value of claim awards.
"The attorney general opposed the estate's initial demand that, in order to obtain funds under the program,
victims be required to sign broad releases to protect other individuals who sexually abused them. With that broad
release in place, the Fund could not ensure a fundamentally fair and legally sufficient process for victims who
choose to participate," according to the statement. "The parties now agree, and the program administrator has
committed, that no information obtained solely through the program by the estate will be disclosed publicly or
used by the estate in defending itself from any claim, regardless of forum."
The estate "has agreed that there is no assertion that the attorney general's release of compensation program
funds does not act as a waiver of any ability by the government to object to the program's administrative
expenses, including those paid with these initial funds," according to the statement.
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"I continue to admire the tremendous bravery and strength of the women who have come forward to work with
my office on this process," George said. "I'm hopeful the agreement will receive final approval, so these women
are able to receive the help they need. My office will forcefully continue its work to hold accountable Epstein's
criminal enterprise through the Government's CICO lawsuit and send a clear message that the USVI is not, and
will not, be a safe haven for sex traffickers or sexual abuse."
— Contact Suzanne Carlson at 340-714-9122 or email
[email protected].
U.S. Attorney for the Virgin Islands
Office of the U.S. Attorney
Ron De Lugo Federal Building
5500 Veterans Drive, Suite 260
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
VI 00802-6214
https://www.justice.gov/usao-vi
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