ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s attorney general has reopened an investigation into allegations of illegal activity at Jeffrey Epstein ‘s former Zorro Ranch.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office made the announcement Thursday, saying the decision was made after reviewing information recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Although New Mexico’s initial case was closed in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York, state prosecutors say now that “revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination.”
The New Mexico Department of Justice said special agents and prosecutors at the agency will be seeking immediate access to the complete, unredacted federal case file and intend to work with other law enforcement partners as well as a new truth commission established by state lawmakers to look into activities at the ranch.
“As with any potential criminal matter, we will follow the facts wherever they lead, carefully evaluate jurisdictional considerations, and take appropriate investigative action, including the collection and preservation of any relevant evidence that remains available,” the New Mexico Department of Justice said in a statement.
On Tuesday, New Mexico’s truth commission had its first meeting. The bipartisan, four-member panel of state House representatives is charged with investigating allegations that the ranch may have facilitated sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
New Mexico lawmakers also said they want to know why Epstein was not registered as a sex offender after pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl and whether there was corruption among public officials.
Epstein purchased the sprawling Zorro Ranch in New Mexico in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a 26,700-square-foot (2,480-square-meter) hilltop mansion with a private runway.
The property was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 — with proceeds going toward creditors — to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican candidate in Texas for election to the office of state comptroller. In a social media post on X, Huffines said the property has been renamed San Rafael Ranch after a saint associated with healing and that his family plans to operate a Christian retreat there.
