Epstein-Linked Paris Model Scout Daniel Siad Found Dead Days After Facing Rape and Trafficking Investigation

Daniel Siad, a 69-year-old French modeling scout whose name surfaces close to 2,000 times in the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice, was found dead Monday evening at his home in Colombes, a Paris suburb, according to the Nanterre prosecutor's office.

Deputy public prosecutor Marie-Céline Lawrysz confirmed the discovery to CNN. An investigation into the cause of death opened that same evening, and an autopsy will follow, the prosecutor's office said, according to reporting from channelstv and TAG24.

Siad had not yet been formally questioned by investigators at the time of his death, though he was under investigation in France over allegations of rape and human trafficking involving at least five accusers, according to French media cited by channelstv. He denied the allegations and said he wanted the chance to give his version of events.

His lawyer, Meyna Arab-Tigrine, told AFP her client died of a heart attack. "He is dead, and he was innocent," she said. She added that if it was a heart attack, "the unbearable waiting, the pressure and the anxiety he suffered every day will have had something to do with it."

That is currently the only explanation on the record. No autopsy results have been released, and prosecutors have not confirmed a cause of death independent of the lawyer's statement.

A Decade-Long Paper Trail

Emails reviewed by CNN and referenced by the Daily Wire and ZeroHedge show Epstein paid Siad tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Siad would send Epstein photos of young women he scouted, and in one email described his work in broken English: "In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish."

ZeroHedge reported that in a 2009 email Siad pitched Epstein a Latvian model, writing she was "20 years old but she looks younger," and that a 2014 email discussed a 15-year-old French girl whose parents were reportedly enthusiastic about her modeling prospects, along with 16- and 17-year-olds. Those specific details did not appear in the wire coverage from channelstv or TAG24, which focused more narrowly on the criminal allegations and the death itself.

Siad continued working with Epstein even after Epstein's 2008 conviction on sex crimes in Florida. He told CNN he believed Epstein was scouting for Victoria's Secret and modeling agency MC2, but CNN said it found no evidence supporting that claim.

"I trusted him and believed this guy was a professional person," Siad told CNN. "I never heard anything from anyone I introduced to him who came back to me that they had a bad situation."

The Accusers

A woman using the alias Anya told the BBC that Siad introduced her to Epstein and called it "a complete set-up," describing Siad as "essentially a professional trafficker."

Former Swedish model Ebba Karlsson, now in her fifties, filed the first criminal complaint against Siad in February, accusing him of raping her when she was 20. She told AFP, as reported by channelstv and TAG24, "It's very frustrating. He was very close to being arrested. We worked so hard for this, trying to have justice." Karlsson has also accused Siad of introducing her to Gerald Marie, the former European head of the Elite modeling agency, who has separately been accused of rape by multiple women and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Juliette G., a former French model who says Siad recruited her in 2004 to introduce her to Epstein in New York, told AFP, "Another link in the chain has disappeared that could have helped uncover the truth and identify those responsible."

Siad denied ever trafficking or raping anyone, insisted he believed Epstein was a legitimate industry contact, and argued through his lawyer that he was the one taken advantage of by Epstein's deception. None of that has been tested in court, and now it never will be.

What Happens Next

TAG24 reported that the Paris prosecutor's office is dropping the specific probe targeting Siad following his death but will continue a broader investigation into alleged human trafficking connected to Epstein's Paris apartment.

Siad's death follows a pattern noted by ZeroHedge: modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, arrested in 2020 over similar procurement allegations tied to Epstein, was found dead in a French prison cell in 2022 before facing trial. Both men's lawyers used nearly identical language after their deaths, insisting their clients "never stopped proclaiming" or "declaring" their innocence.

No charges were ever filed against Siad. No trial occurred. The rape and trafficking allegations against him remain just that, allegations, never adjudicated in a French court. Ex-BBC journalist Lisa Brinkworth, who co-founded a collective supporting alleged victims of modeling industry abuse, said she was "shocked" by the news, according to channelstv.

The autopsy results, once released, will be the first independent confirmation of how Siad actually died. Until then, the cause of death rests entirely on his lawyer's account, and the broader French investigation into trafficking tied to Epstein's Paris residence continues without one of its central figures able to answer questions.