New Mexico’s Department of Justice announced Wednesday it is investigating allegations that the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ordered the burial of two foreign girls on land near his isolated Zorro Ranch, based on an allegation that emerged from recently released U.S. Justice Department files.
Lauren Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the state department, confirmed that officials had asked for an unredacted copy of a 2019 email containing the claim from federal officials.
“We are actively investigating this allegation and are conducting a broader review in light of the latest release from the U.S. Department of Justice,” Rodriguez said in an emailed statement.
The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.
The redacted email in question was part of a series of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Justice Department last week. It was sent a few months after Epstein’s death to Eddy Aragon, a New Mexico radio host who had previously talked about the Zorro Ranch on his show.
Aragon said that the email’s sender, who claimed to be a former employee of Epstein’s ranch, demanded a payment of one bitcoin in exchange for videos that appeared to show Epstein having sex with minors.
Aragon described the email as credible and said he immediately forwarded it to the FBI. He has not heard back from the email’s sender, although he recently tried to send a response and discovered that the email address is no longer in use.
The email allegedly said that the two foreign girls were buried “somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro” and that they died “by strangulation during rough, fetish sex.”
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The email and accompanying documents were mentioned in an FBI report from 2021, which was also included in the most recent Justice Department release.
The report mentioned that Aragon went to an FBI office to discuss the email, which contained seven videos of sexual abuse and the location of the girls’ burials in exchange for cryptocurrency.
A review of the Justice Department releases by Reuters could not find any further mention of these allegations or any follow-up investigation.
Aragon called the email credible and said he immediately sent it to the FBI. He has not heard back from the sender of the email, although he has recently attempted to send an email back and found that the email address is no longer in use.
The email reportedly stated that the two foreign girls were buried “somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro” and that they died “by strangulation during rough, fetish sex.”
The email and accompanying documents were referenced in an FBI report from 2021, which was also included in the latest release from the Justice Department.
The report stated that Aragon visited an FBI office to talk about the email, which had seven videos of sexual abuse and the location of the girls’ burial sites in exchange for cryptocurrency.
Reuters could not find any further information about this claim or any subsequent investigation in a review of the releases from the Justice Department.
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According to Stephanie Garcia Richard, the state land commissioner, her office found the email while reviewing the latest data release from the Justice Department. In a letter dated February 10, she called for a full-scale investigation into possible criminal activity not only on Epstein’s ranch but also on the adjacent state lands.
Epstein had leased around 1,243 acres (503 hectares) of state land surrounding the ranch in 1993. Garcia Richard had annulled the leases in September 2019, determining that the land was not used for agricultural or ranching but as a buffer zone for privacy.
Epstein died in August 2019 at a federal jail in New York City while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. His death was declared a suicide.
The redacted email that led to the investigation in New Mexico was sent long after Epstein’s death, making the case even more complicated.
However, officials with the state reiterated that the investigation is still ongoing and that no determination has been made as to the validity of the claim of burial.
“We are dedicated to examining all information that has been made available and working with federal authorities as appropriate,” Rodriguez said.
Aragon, who first received the email, has called the email “disturbing” but has not been involved in the investigation that followed. He did not submit any further information or proof of the burials.
The legislative investigation in New Mexico is expected to involve testimony from current and former law enforcement officials, as well as persons connected with the administration of state lands leased by Epstein.
The lawmakers have made it clear that their investigation would go beyond the allegations of sexual abuse and cover possible misuse of state property and obstruction of federal or local agencies.
