Disgraced socialite and sexual predator Ghislaine Maxwell once hid out from the FBI for months. Would it surprise you to learn that she’s now getting sued by her legal team for reportedly failing to pay almost $900,000 in fees related to her sex-abuse defense? Maxwell, who famously conspired with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse and exploit underage girls, was arrested in 2020; she was eventually convicted on five counts of sex trafficking and was sentenced to 20 years in prison last December. Maxwell’s legal team made waves for staunchly defending her in court while hounding the survivors who testified against her, with Maxwell’s attorney Laura Menninger calling her client an “innocent woman” who’d been “wrongfully accused” and arguing that the case against her — involving years of Maxwell grooming, facilitating, and participating in Epstein’s sexual abuse — was flimsily based on the “erroneous memories” that survivors “suddenly …recovered” (Questioning a survivor’s ability to remember traumatic events is a common tactic in undermining their testimonies.)
In the suit against Maxwell and her brother, Kevin Maxwell, who reportedly oversaw the financial aspects of his sister’s defense, Menninger’s Colorado law firm claims they doubted her “willingness and ability to meet her financial obligations” even before the trial began, but were persuaded to continue with the case and “devote all necessary resources” to it even as Kevin allegedly failed to make payments. Per the suit, Kevin promised one of the legal firm’s shareholders to pay outstanding legal fees as well as a trial retainer though he had “no present intention of doing so.” According to the New York Times, the firm is also suing Scott Borgerson, Maxwell’s reported ex-husband who dumped her in jail, alleging that he attempted to shelter Maxwell’s assets from her creditors and was responsible for delayed payments, claims Borgerson has denied. Yet another brother, Ian Maxwell, said in a statement that neither Kevin nor Ghislaine “nor any other member of the Maxwell family will be commenting” on the proceedings.
Per the suit, Maxwell’s last payment to her legal team was $143,500, which she paid shortly after her conviction in December; she still allegedly owes them upwards of $800,000. It’s unclear why Maxwell, who, as the daughter of a media tycoon, grew up in a milieu of excess and has a reported net worth of $20 million, would find herself in such a pickle. You’d think the woman whose police hideout was a million-dollar New Hampshire mansion paid for in cash could just pay up?