Thirty miles south of Santa Fe, secluded in the New Mexico desert, sits Zorro Ranch, where disgraced financier and convicted sex felon Jeffrey Epstein is alleged to have abused girls and women.
Mr. Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James in the Caribbean, and his seven-story New York City mansion have commanded the most attention related to his crimes. But now, focus has shifted to this lesser-known, 10,000-acre property in New Mexico.
Recently released files from the U.S. Justice Department have led the state of New Mexico to restart an investigation, and to the legislature’s creation of a truth commission that will conduct a separate inquiry.
Why We Wrote This
Two new efforts are underway to examine Jeffrey Epstein’s past: One is looking into whether crimes occurred at Zorro Ranch. Another is a bipartisan Truth Commission, formed by the New Mexico state legislature, that seeks to tell the story of what exactly happened there.
Mr. Epstein purchased the ranch in 1993 from three-time former New Mexico Gov. Bruce King. Mr. Epstein owned it for 26 years, and allegations that he harmed minors there date to 1996.
After Mr. Epstein’s death in 2019, the ranch was put up for sale, with proceeds to be directed toward Mr. Epstein’s victims. Don Huffines, a former state senator in Texas and current Republican nominee for comptroller there, bought the ranch. He renamed it Rancho de San Rafael and turned it into a Christian retreat.
Mr. Huffines has cooperated with the New Mexico Justice Department’s investigation.
What is the New Mexico Truth Commission, and what is its goal?
The truth commission is a bipartisan committee of the state’s legislature, established to investigate alleged criminal activity and public corruption related to Mr. Epstein in New Mexico – focused mainly on Zorro Ranch. A resolution to form the committee passed unanimously on Feb. 16.
The commission will try to confirm whether crimes occurred at the ranch. It is scheduled to work until the end of the year and deliver a final report on its findings. An initial report will be issued on or before July 31. The investigation is funded through a $15 million settlement in 2022 between the New Mexico Department of Justice (NMDOJ) and Mr. Epstein’s banks. From that money, $2 million has been allocated to the investigation.
Also in February, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez relaunched a criminal investigation into allegations against Mr. Epstein. The NMDOJ’s first investigation ended in 2019 at the request of federal authorities, who said the state’s investigation could overlap with the federal prosecution and testimonies. But a federal judge, at the U.S. Justice Department’s request, dismissed Mr. Epstein’s criminal charges on Aug. 29, 2019, about three weeks after the financier’s death while in jail.
Earlier this month, the NMDOJ said it conducted a search of the ranch alongside New Mexico State Police and K-9 units from Sandoval County Fire and Rescue.
Democratic State Rep. Andrea Romero, the truth commission’s chair, said that though the two investigations are separate, her panel and the NMDOJ are “working together.”
The difference, Ms. Romero says, is that the NMDOJ investigation is focused on possible criminal charges, while the truth commission’s ultimate goal is to be “able to tell the public what happened [for] 26 years.”
The commission’s core functions are to have a “survivor-centered accounting of what occurred”; to analyze state policies, laws, and practices that enabled Mr. Epstein and his network to allegedly carry out criminal activity in New Mexico; and to provide recommendations and proposals for legislative reforms.
How will the commission handle Zorro Ranch conspiracy theories?
The Epstein files have captured significant public attention, sparking numerous conspiracy theories related to Mr. Epstein’s death, which was ruled a suicide; his powerful, ultra-wealthy network; and the events that occurred at his various properties.
Theories regarding the ranch include the claim that Mr. Epstein conducted experiments tied to eugenics. The New York Times reported in 2019 that Mr. Epstein took an interest in the idea of impregnating women for the overall goal of transhumanism, a movement that advocates combining different forms of technology, including AI and genetic engineering, to strengthen and alter human beings.
Another conspiracy theory arose from the recent release of documents related to Mr. Epstein. An email, sent anonymously in 2019, alleged that two young “foreign” girls were killed during sexual activities and buried on the ranch. The email was sent to Eddy Aragon, a radio host, by someone who claimed they were a former staff member of the ranch. Mr. Aragon told the Santa Fe New Mexican that he had sent the email to the FBI in 2019.
“While we’ve had so many different conspiracy theories surrounding this, we want the nuts and bolts information around what was alleged at a time that law enforcement was already involved and engaged,” says Ms. Romero. “So, we do have our work cut out for us.”
She said the committee is interested in hearing from people who are willing to tell their stories of what they experienced at the ranch.
Could accountability come out of the New Mexico probe?
“The commission is not just storytelling. It’s also saying, what can we do as a legislature to produce results and have a policy in place to make those changes?” says Ms. Romero.
It is also seeking to understand why the state investigation in 2019 ended before it was complete, and why it remained inactive until this year.
“If it’s not a failure, if it’s [not] a cover-up, if it’s [not a] systemic failure, what is it?” says Ms. Romero. “With so many victims that we know of that had sought justice or that had provided testimony, provided depositions, that had settled with Epstein’s estate or others. … Why don’t we know that at this point?”
The truth commission cannot bring criminal charges. However, the state legislature gave it the authority to subpoena people of interest to testify. And, it can refer evidence to the NMDOJ’s investigation to aid in potential prosecutions.
Ms. Romero says that the commission is hoping those with information will come forward or submit a tip. It is also meeting with survivors.
“I hope that if there is a way to seek justice in New Mexico that is available to them … we’re willing to take responsibility for any inaction that happened and fix it,” says Ms. Romero. “Our overall goal is to prevent these things from happening at all.”