French fashion scout with Epstein ties found dead near Paris

A French fashion industry scout with ties to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead outside Paris, prosecutors told AFP on Wednesday.

Daniel Siad, who was 69, was reportedly found unresponsive in his kitchen by a 28-year-old woman who lived with him on Monday.

“An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery,” French prosecutors said in a statement cited by local media. An autopsy is to be carried out as part of the probe.

At the time of his death, Siad was the subject of an investigation by French prosecutors following several complaints, including rape allegations. The investigation had been assigned to a specialist office responsible for combating human trafficking.

Several former models have accused Siad of using his position as a scout to target young women with promises of careers in fashion before sexually exploiting them or introducing them to powerful men.

Siad’s name appears in the Epstein files published by the US Justice Department more than 2,000 times. They contain correspondence between Siad and Epstein, in which the French scout suggests multiple models to the late pedophile, asks for money and trades sex jokes.

The former scout was not the first of Epstein’s former associates to die before they got to testify in court.

Jean-Luc Brunel, the founder of a modeling agency established with financial backing from Epstein, was arrested in 2020 on allegations including rape and child sex trafficking. He died in prison in 2022 while awaiting trial. French authorities ruled his death a suicide.

Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide, although it has continued to fuel public scrutiny and speculation because of his connections to wealthy and powerful figures.

Despite years of government investigations, witness depositions and disclosures, no Epstein ‘client list’ has been made public, and none of his high-profile contacts have been charged with any crimes related to the sex trafficker’s case.