Prince Andrew’s sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre feared her fortune could be taken after another victim of the royal’s paedophile pal, Jeffrey Epstein, sued her
Virginia Giuffre was left “extremely distressed” after learning her multi-million-pound Prince Andrew payout was at risk two weeks before her suicide. The mother of three was worried her fortune could be taken from her after another victim of the royal’s paedophile pal, Jeffrey Epstein, sued her for defamation.
Ms Giuffre, who died on April 25 in Australia, was being sued by artist Rina Oh for falsely labelling her as Epstein’s girlfriend and one of his recruiters. Under New York law, the £7.5million suit will pass on to Ms Giuffre’s estate.
Sources close to Ms Giuffre said in the week leading up to her suicide said she had become depressed over the collapse of her marriage, losing her children to her husband and possibly losing her money. An insider told the Mirror: “Virginia was extremely distressed in the weeks before she died. She felt like everything she had fought so hard for was going or gone. Couple this with the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of Epstein.”
As well as the claims about Epstein, tweets under Ms Giuffre’s name accused Ms Oh of physically assaulting her. Ms Oh has categorically denied Ms Giuffre’s allegations and contends that she, too, was a victim of Epstein’s manipulation and abuse. Her lawyer said in a court filing: “Considering the high profile nature of the Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew story, [Giuffre] knew that accusing [Oh], a fellow victim, of such horrible things, would maximise the spread and harm and damage to [Oh].”
The filing added: “[Giuffre] has maliciously reiterated and republished these defamations and slanders in prior and subsequent tweets and interviews on podcasts, TV and for magazines, as well as in her memoirs entitled Billionaire’s Playboy Club. These defamations and slanders by Defendant are causing [Oh] great harm.”
Ms Oh’s lawsuit was set to be used by Andrew’s legal team to attack Ms Giuffre, who sued the King’s brother in 2021 for sex abuse. The case against Andrew – who vehemently denied her claims – ended in a reported £12m settlement.
Just three weeks before Ms Giuffre’s death, the New York State Appellate Court denied her motion to dismiss one of Ms Oh’s two civil lawsuits.Ms Giuffre was one of the first women to accuse Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, of trafficking underage girls.
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