Model scout for Jeffrey Epstein found dead at his home near Paris | Jeffrey Epstein

A model scout who recruited women for Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his home near Paris, French authorities said.

Daniel Siad, 69, was under investigation in France by prosecutors specializing in human trafficking, accused of rape and other charges. His name appeared in more than 1,000 documents in the Epstein files, which were declassified by the US Department of Justice earlier this year.

Siad was one of several French men accused of aiding Epstein’s trafficking and abuse of women. He had not yet been questioned by investigators but denied the allegations, saying he wanted to give his version of events.

He was found dead in his home on Monday evening. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of death and an autopsy will be performed.

Siad traveled the world, visiting villages in Eastern Europe or flying to Cuba or Sweden to try to find women to work in the modeling industry. In addition to searching for potential models, she also searched for women she hoped Epstein might want to meet. He likened his job to fishing, explaining the need for patience in a 2014 email to Epstein: “In this busyness I sometimes feel like a fisherman when I quickly cache (sic) and sometimes there are no fish.”

The files revealed that Siad was one of Epstein’s most loyal reporters. He remained in frequent contact with the financier until months before his death, apparently receiving wire payments in lieu of expenses incurred during his travels to find the women.

Siad was well-connected in the modeling world and also worked as a scout on commission for Jean-Luc Brunel, a leading agent in Paris, New York and Miami, for over forty years. Brunel killed himself in prison in February 2022 after spending 14 months in custody awaiting trial on charges of raping and sexually abusing minors, and has denied any involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

In an emailed statement, Siad told the Guardian in February that she believed she was supplying women to Epstein for legitimate model casting sessions in Paris. “He had a large apartment where he organized all the meetings, including casting, for the models I hired for Victoria’s Secret and MC2,” she wrote in an emailed statement. “The casting time would not take more than 10 minutes. I would always leave the models immediately.”

Earlier this year, former Swedish model Ebba Karlsson accused Siad of rape. She said he discovered her in 1990, when she was a 20-year-old model, in her hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, and later raped her in France. He said Siad later went by a different name and he was only able to identify him after seeing his pictures in news reports of the Epstein files. Karlsson, who had no interaction with Epstein, made allegations of rape and human trafficking against Siad in Paris earlier this year. Siad’s lawyer in Paris, Ménya Arab-Tigrine, told the Guardian earlier this year that he denied the allegation.

Responding to the news of Siad’s death, Karlsson told AFP: “This is very frustrating.” “He was very close to being arrested. We worked hard for this, we tried to get justice.”

Siad’s regular emails provided Epstein with detailed information about the young women he recruited. “Slovakia is the place to be,” Siad wrote to Epstein in 2009, noting that there were 45 women there to see. He told Epstein he planned to spend his summer “exploring small villages” in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. “I’ll give you a big surprise when you come to Paris,” he promised. In 2016, she was still working for Epstein and wrote: “Call me if you have time. I’m in Barcelona. With great beauty.”

Epstein’s emails to Siad were very short and to the point, asking the following questions: “What about the new girls?”, “Is there any new news?”, “Is there anything worth coming to Paris for?” or “Are there any interesting women?” Women were often referred to by their nationality rather than their names. “I’m in New York, is the Swedish girl here?” Epstein asked Said this question in June 2014. Epstein sometimes responded to Siad’s proposed candidates with only a one-word response: “age?” Siad was fond of emphasizing that the women he found for Epstein looked young, once writing: “She’s 26 but looks 18.”

Siad, who describes himself as French-born, of Algerian descent and of Swedish citizenship, told France TV earlier this year that Epstein abused his trust and that he was “not in a position to know that this man was dangerous.” He maintained that his relationships with the models he observed were purely professional. “Over time, it becomes clear that this person committed atrocities; thankfully, I never introduced him to a minor or minor who was abused. I have nothing to blame myself for,” he said in comments broadcast on French television.

Justice Department files suggest that the FBI was tipped off in 2016 about Siad’s work for Epstein. In February, French prosecutors announced that they had formed a team of judges to analyze evidence in files named by a number of French citizens, including Brunel.