Epstein files spur new state-level investigation in New Mexico

Lawmakers in the US state of New Mexico on Monday, February 16, approved legislation launching what they described as the first comprehensive investigation into activities at Zorro Ranch, where the late US financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually abusing girls and women.

Under the measure, a bipartisan commission will gather testimony from alleged survivors of abuse connected to the ranch, located about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, the state capital. Legislators are also encouraging local residents to come forward with information, according to foreign media reports.

Epstein died in 2019 in a New York jail in what authorities ruled a suicide while he was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

The four-member “truth commission” aims to determine who visited the 7,600-acre property and whether guests or state officials were aware of, or involved in, alleged abuse that reportedly occurred in the ranch’s hacienda-style main residence and guest houses. The Democratic-led initiative adds to mounting political pressure to fully uncover Epstein’s activities, creating a new challenge for US President Donald Trump following the Justice Department’s recent release of millions of Epstein-related documents that shed additional light on operations at the ranch.

According to those files, Epstein maintained connections with two former Democratic governors of New Mexico and a former state attorney general. The legislation passed unanimously in the state House of Representatives and could expose further political figures, as well as scientists, investors and other prominent individuals who visited the property.

The investigation, funded with $2.5 million and granted subpoena authority, is intended in part to identify gaps in state law that may have enabled Epstein to operate there for decades. The committee is scheduled to begin work on Tuesday, February 17, issue interim findings in July, and publish a final report by the end of the year.

“He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever,” Democratic state Representative Andrea Romero, a co-sponsor of the bill, said, adding that testimony collected by the panel could support future criminal prosecutions.

Advocates for victims welcomed the initiative, arguing that federal investigations had largely focused on Epstein’s Caribbean island and his New York residence while overlooking alleged crimes connected to Zorro Ranch. Attorney Sigrid McCawley, whose firm has represented hundreds of survivors, said many victims reported abuse in New Mexico, including the late Virginia Giuffre, who she said was assaulted repeatedly at the ranch.

The US Department of Justice referred requests for comment to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which declined to respond.

Epstein operated at Zorro Ranch for decades, and several civil lawsuits accuse him of sexually assaulting girls there, although he was never criminally charged over those specific allegations. Romero said there was no record of federal authorities ever searching the property, locally nicknamed the “playboy ranch,” where Epstein is alleged to have abused a 16-year-old girl as early as 1996.

A state investigation launched in 2019 by former Attorney General Hector Balderas was paused at the request of federal prosecutors to avoid overlapping inquiries. Current Attorney General Raul Torrez has since assigned a special agent to examine allegations that may emerge from the new commission, according to spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez.

Democratic state Representative Marianna Anaya, another co-sponsor and advocate for survivors, is also preparing legislation to extend the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault, potentially allowing civil lawsuits tied to Epstein’s alleged abuse.

Epstein purchased Zorro Ranch in 1993 from former Democratic governor Bruce King. According to FBI records cited in released files, ranch manager Brice Gordon said Epstein regularly flew in guests and “masseuses” while also hiring local massage therapists.

In a 2016 unsealed court deposition, Virginia Giuffre testified that Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell instructed her to give former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson a “massage” at the ranch — a term she later said meant providing a sexual encounter. Richardson denied the allegations, calling them completely false in a 2019 statement.

Gordon also told investigators that many massage workers were hired locally through the Santa Fe spa Ten Thousand Waves or by referral. A spokesperson for the spa denied that it provided or referred masseuses to the ranch.

In the documentary “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein,” former Santa Fe massage therapist Rachel Benavidez accused Epstein of sexually abusing her after she was hired to work at the property.

Investment consultant Joshua Ramo said he visited the ranch once for a 2014 lunch attended by professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. Ramo, then chief executive of Kissinger Associates, said he met Epstein roughly 14 times in New York between 2013 and 2016 with business leaders and scientists, adding that he relied on institutional vetting and expressed “deep grief” for survivors.

Emails released in the files show Epstein contacted Ramo in 2015, proposing a lunch meeting in Santa Fe. Ramo later said he did not recall a message referencing the ranch or whether a meeting took place.

Over the years, Epstein donated to political campaigns of New Mexico Democrats, including Richardson and Gary King, a former state attorney general. After the contributions became public, the recipients said they would return the funds or donate them to charity. Emails also indicate Gary King travelled on a plane chartered by Epstein during his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, with Epstein offering to cover about half of the $22,000 flight cost. King did not respond to requests for comment.

By Tamilla Hasanova