A French modelling scout linked to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead in his home on Wednesday, prosecutors said.
Daniel Siad, 69, was being investigated on allegations of supporting Epstein to traffic women but he had not been questioned before he was found dead in Colombe, a north-west suburb of Paris.
“An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery,” prosecutors told the BBC. They added that an autopsy would be carried out in due course.
Siad was mentioned in over 1,000 documents in the latest tranche of documents released earlier this year. He had denied the allegations and accused Epstein of taking “advantage of his trust”.
A close associate of Epstein, The Independent previously reported Siad had sent photos, profiles, and travel updates of young women to Epstein, facilitating introductions under the guise of “model casting”, according to documents in the Epstein files.
Both Epstein and Siad were active in central Barcelona from 2017 onwards, with Siad stating that the city made a good base for recruitment, “much safer than Paris”, owing to the decriminalisation of sex work, the large influx of tourists and relative anonymity.
Interviewed by CNN on his connection to the disgraced financier, Siad said: “My work with him has been strictly professional.”
He claimed: “I never hard anything from anyone introduced who came back to me that they had a bad situation with him.”
Siad expressed regret over ever meeting Epstein and said the experience since had been “like a nightmare”. “I can’t believe that this person had another [side].” However, he was pushed on this as his connection with Epstein continued after the billionaire was convicted of child sex offences in 2008.
“He was such a powerful person, how can I not trust him?” he said.
In another interview with French TV, he said: “I never introduced an underage model to him, or a model who was abused, so I have nothing to reproach myself for”.
Swedish model Ebba Karlsson recognised the model scout in pictures in the Epstein files and accused Siad of raping her in the 1990s before filing a complaint with the Paris prosecutor earlier this year, and was questioned by police in relation to the allegations, sources told AFP.
She told AFP: “It’s very frustrating. He was very close to be arrested. We worked so hard for this, trying to have justice.”
In his CNN interview, Siad said: “I don’t remember at all this person. I would be very happy to confront her in the court.”
Records show Epstein paid thousands to Siad, according to the outlet. In one of the emails, Siad sent a picture of a person and Epstein replied: “too old”.
In 2022, fashion agent Jean-Luc Brunel was found dead in Paris after being accused of aiding Epstein. He was accused by Virgina Giuffre of grooming girls and sex trafficking.
He was arrested in 2020 and was charged with sexual harassment and the rape of minors. He died by suicide in February 2022 before the trial could commence.
Epstein himself died by suicide in his prison cell in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial for allegedly recruiting dozens of teen girls to engage in sexual acts with him and his friends. He was facing up to 45 years in prison if he was convicted.
The Justice Department released millions of files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, including thousands of emails, court documents, photos and videos, many of which include images or references to high-profile figures, including the president, at the end of January earlier this year.
