Virginia Giuffre, 41, died by suicide in Western Australia a few years after she pocketed a reported £12million from Prince Andrew to settle a civil case against him
A brutal legal battle is set to erupt over the fortune of Virginia Giuffre following her tragic death by suicide – just years after the Duke of York paid her millions.
The “teenage sex slave” of Jeffrey Epstein pocketed a reported £12million ($15.2m) from the royal to settle a bombshell civil sexual abuse case against him while securing further compensation through the Epstein victims’ compensation program. She is also understood to have banked a hefty defamation payout from Ghislaine Maxwell after the disgraced British socialite labelled her “a liar”. Now, following her death at her farm in Western Australia on Friday, sources have told the Mirror a vicious battle is set to break out between her estranged husband and her family in the States over her millions.
READ MORE: Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre’s tragic 3 word admission weeks before death
It is not known in the days leading up to her death whether Virginia, who was trafficked for sex as a teenager by Epstein, rewrote her will. Despite separating from Robert Giuffre last year, she was still legally married at the time of her death, putting her spouse first in line under Australian law.
The order of priority for inheritance Down Under is usually the married partner, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, and then more distant relatives. Robert, whom she credited with rescuing her from Epstein’s control, has been caring for their three children, two of whom are minors, since their acrimonious split.
Only this month, Virginia faced a court appearance over an alleged restraining order violation after texting him in February. Insiders have told the Mirror the fight for her millions could quickly turn ugly.
READ MORE: Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre’s life and fight as story of pain ends in tragedy
A source said: “Because two of her children are underage, the court could order her estate placed in trust. Meanwhile, her family in the States, where she held citizenship, could launch a legal claim, sparking an international tug-of-war. It isn’t going to be clean.
“The fact minors are involved usually pushes courts toward setting up a trust – but with an international family and huge money at stake, challenges are almost inevitable.”
Adding fuel to the fire are allegations Virginia made before her death, towards her husband.
She emerged as a key figure in the downfall of Epstein, alleging that she had been trafficked to some of the world’s most influential men as a teenager, including Andrew.
According to her sworn testimony, her abuse at the hands of the billionaire began after she was recruited at just 16 or 17 by Maxwell, now 63, while working as a spa attendant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
She said under the guise of a “massage job,” the British socialite and Epstein ensnared her into a life of sexual servitude, loaning her out to have sex with the financier’s wealthy friends. One of those men, Virginia alleged, was the Duke of York.
She said she was flown around the world to have sex with the royal and others, sometimes while she was still underage by US law. In detailed civil court filings lodged in New York in August 2021, she accused the Duke, 65, of sexually abusing her on three occasions in London, New York and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.
Virginia once recalled Maxwell telling her: “I want you to do for him what you do for Epstein.” Andrew vehemently denied the allegations, claiming he had no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre. In 2022, Andrew settled Giuffre’s civil lawsuit against him out of court for an undisclosed sum, reported to be £12m.
In the settlement, he acknowledged she was a “victim of abuse” and Epstein had trafficked countless young girls. The prince did not admit any guilt.
Virginia’s suicide came weeks after she told how she had been given just “four days” to live. She had posted a picture of her bruised face from a hospital bed detailing how she had been in an accident with a bus.
In the worrying post, she wrote, “I’m ready to go,” pleading to see her children “one last time.” She claimed to have acute kidney failure. Police later downplayed the crash’s severity, and Giuffre was discharged from the hospital soon after.