Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious multi-million dollar New Mexico 'Zorro Ranch' finally sold to mysterious buyer

19 August 2023, 23:54 | Updated: 20 August 2023, 00:10

The New Mexico 'sex ranch' owned by sexual trafficker Jeffery Epstein has been purchased by a mysterious buyer - despite previously being labelled 'unsellable'.

Despite Epstein never being convicted of sexual crimes in the US state, it's believed the 7,588-acre ranch formed a key part of his sex trafficking operation.

Located near Albuquerque, the sprawling property - also known as his 'Zorro Ranch' - was built in the early 1990s and features a 33,000-square-foot mansion at its centre.

Regularly frequented by the convicted sex offender and confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, the property was put up for sale in 2019 following his death while in police custody.

Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June last year, after being found guilty of grooming and sexually abusing underage girls with Epstein.

First put on the market in 2021 for $27.5 million, the property's price tag was slashed one year later, falling to $21.5 million

A price tag that was later slashed again to $18.5 million, the recent sale was for an undisclosed amount.

Labelled 'unsellable' due to its link to the offender, the ranch was listed in his will alongside a flat in Paris and mansions in Manhattan, Palm Beach and an island in the Caribbean.

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In total, the properties are thought to be worth $577 million USD.

"There are many other properties out there that offer more amenities and no dark history," estate agent Jacob Martinez told the website Realtor.com.

Sold by Sotheby’s International Realty, the firm handling the listing, the ranch comprises a patchwork of federal lands.

Now, according to the Mirror, the ranch has finally been sold to San Rafael Ranch LLC - a company formed a handful of weeks ago.

Papers obtained by the paper included a 'special warranty deed’ issued by the Sante Fe County Clerk’s Office the day before the sale took place - a document which was later signed off on by Darren Indyke, the executor of Epstein’s estate.

Features include an air strip, a log cabin, out buildings and even a yurt, alongside several other homes.

A notorious complex, the New York Times wrote in a profile on Epstein in 2019 profile of Epstein that the disgraced figure hoped to “seed the human race with his DNA” at the New Mexico property.