Veteran Goldman Sachs broker Michael Daffey is seen in this undated workbook photo in London, Great Britain.
Goldman Sachs via Reuters
Former senior Goldman Sachs executive Michael Daffey bought a mansion in New York this month for $ 51 million from the estate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his spokesman said on Tuesday.
“Mr. Daffey had never been in the house or met its owner, but he believes very much in the future of New York and will be on the other side of everyone who says the best days in the city may have been in the past,” said Stu Loeser, spokesman for Daffey.
The sale of the 28,000-square-foot Manhattan home generated income for Epstein’s estate, starting a fund created to pay for the self-identified victims of the mysterious financial administrator who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.
The fund suspended offers of compensation for victims’ pre-purchase payments because the property was running low on money. But payments resumed after the sale of the seven-story, 40-room Upper East Side residence last week.
A home belonging to Jeffrey Epstein on East 71st street is seen on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on July 8, 2019 in New York
Kevin Hagen | Getty Images
Daffey paid for the mansion with cash and a bridge loan, said Loeser.
Daffey retired from Goldman this month after 28 years with the company. He had been president of the investment bank’s global markets division.
Business Insider reported for the first time that Daffey was the buyer of the property, which was originally listed at a starting price of $ 88 million.
On Monday, Epstein’s former mansion and estate in Palm Beach, Florida, was sold for $ 18.5 million by his estate to developer Todd Michael Glaser.
About $ 10 million from the sale of the mansion in Manhattan went to the Epstein Victims Compensation Fund, which last week had received more than 175 claims and paid more than $ 65 million to eligible claimants, according to the fund manager, Jordy Feldman. Those who have already registered the claim have until March 25 to file a claim for compensation.
“I am pleased to report that the Program is now able to resume all operations after this unfortunate and unexpected delay of a month,” said Feldman last week.
“I look forward to continuing the important work of this Program and remain deeply committed to ensuring that all qualified applicants receive the compensation and validation they deserve.”
Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, MA in 1984.
Rick Friedman | Corbis News | Getty Images
British socialite Maxwell is also accused of committing perjury in testimony taken as part of a lawsuit by an Epstein accuser.
Maxwell, who pleaded not guilty, is being held without bail in a federal prison in Brooklyn.
His trial is scheduled to begin this summer.