French model recruiter with close ties to Jeffrey Epstein found dead

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing AFP and French prosecutors, reported that Daniel Siad, a 69-year-old French model scout linked to Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead at his home in Colombes, a suburb northwest of Paris. French deputy public prosecutor Marie-Celine Lawrysz said Siad was discovered on Monday, and prosecutors in Nanterre have opened an inquiry into the cause of death, with an autopsy planned.

Siad had been under investigation in France over allegations including rape and human trafficking, which he denied. Several women accused him of introducing them to Epstein, who they say later abused them. Siad maintained that Epstein misled him and that he did not know Epstein posed a danger. His lawyer, Menya Arab-Tigrine, told AFP that Siad died without having been convicted and suggested the stress of the case had weighed heavily on him.

According to Al Jazeera, Siad’s name appeared in nearly 2,000 documents released in the declassified Epstein files. The article said those records showed he regularly sent Epstein photographs of women he encountered during travel, including a 2014 email in which he described recruitment in terms of fishing. He had not yet been questioned by French investigators.

The death is significant because alleged victims and investigators had viewed Siad as a potential source of information about Epstein’s network. Al Jazeera noted earlier deaths of figures tied to the case, including Epstein in a US jail in 2019, ruled a suicide by US authorities, and French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel in a French prison in 2022.