French modelling scout linked to US sex offender Epstein found dead outside Paris
Daniel Siad, a French modelling scout with links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead at his home outside Paris, prosecutors said on Wednesday morning.
Issued on: 22/07/2026
By: FRANCE 24
A French modelling scout with close ties to the late US financier Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home outside Paris, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Under investigation in France, Daniel Siad, 69, was one of several French men accused of aiding Epstein to traffic and abuse women.
Siad had not yet been questioned by investigators, but had denied the allegations, saying he wanted to be heard and give his version of events.
"An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery," the Nanterre prosecutor's office said.
An autopsy will be carried out as part of the probe.
Targeted by several complaints, including allegations of rape, Siad was the subject of an investigation conducted by the office specialising in combating human trafficking.
Cover image: THE 51 PERCENT © FRANCE 24
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Siad's name appeared in more than 1,000 documents released as part of the declassified Epstein files.
He likened his efforts to recruit women to fishing.
"In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish," Siad wrote to Epstein in 2014.
Siad had insisted that the American convicted sex offender had "taken advantage of his trust".
French authorities in 2020 arrested modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel after allegations he procured women for the US billionaire. He was found dead in prison in 2022.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
French modelling scout Daniel Siad, 69, who had close ties to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been found dead at his home outside Paris, prosecutors and his lawyer have said.
Issued on:23/07/2026 - RFI
Daniel Siad was an alleged procurer for Jeffrey Epstein.
AFP - BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Daniel Siad's body was found on Monday evening at his home in Colombes, near Paris, the Nanterre public prosecutor's office confirmed on Wednesday, corroborating a report by Le Parisien.
Under investigation in France, Siad was one of several French men accused of aiding the convicted sex offender to traffic and abuse women.
He had not yet been questioned by investigators, and had denied the allegations, saying he wanted to be heard and give his version of events.
"An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery," the prosecutor's office said.
An autopsy will be carried out as part of the investigation.
Strong links to Epstein
French investigators had been investigating Siad over allegations including rape and human trafficking, as Siad was an alleged procurer of women for Epstein.
Siad's name appeared in more than 1,000 documents released as part of the declassified Epstein files. He likened his efforts to recruit women to fishing.
Siad's lawyer Menya Arab-Tigrine said, however, that her client had requested to give his side of the story before he died. "He is dead and he was innocent," she told French news agency AFP.
"If he died of a heart attack, the unbearable waiting, the pressure and the anxiety he suffered every day will have had something to do with it," she added.
Siad had insisted that Epstein had "taken advantage of his trust".
For victims, Siad represented a possible avenue to finally "shed light on what happened" in relation to Epstein in France, said Juliette G., a former French model who says Siad recruited her in 2004 to introduce her to Epstein.
"Another link in the chain has disappeared that could have helped uncover the truth and identify those responsible," said the woman, who has asked to withhold her surname to protect her privacy.
Former Swedish model Ebba Karlsson, now in her fifties, filed the first complaint against Siad in February, accusing him of raping her when she was 20.
"It's very frustrating," Karlsson told AFP. "He was very close to being arrested. We worked so hard for this, trying to get justice."
'Urgently investigate'
Karlsson has also accused Siad of introducing her to Gérald Marie, the former European head of the Elite modelling agency, whom she has also accused of rape.
Several women have accused Marie of rape and human trafficking and urged France to investigate him for possible links to Epstein. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Ex-BBC journalist Lisa Brinkworth, who co-founded a collective to support victims of model industry abuse, said she was shocked by the news of Siad's death.
"It feels like victims are being denied justice," said Brinkworth, who has accused Marie of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.
"The failure of the Paris public prosecutor's office to act in the knowledge that Siad was a close associate of Epstein and facing multiple rape and trafficking allegations is beyond comprehension," she said.
"I urge the public prosecutor to now urgently investigate all individuals connected to Epstein and who are facing similar allegations."
\Sex trafficking in fashion: 'Outrageous that French legal system hasn't done anything by now'
Issued on: 22/07/2026 - FRANCE24
François Picard is pleased to welcome Dana Thomas, Paris-based journalist, specialising in fashion and culture, and author of "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster". For decades, allegations of sexual exploitation in the fashion industry, spanning the globe, have resurfaced, often surrounding powerful figures whose deaths have complicated any semblance of accountability. In the wake of Daniel Siad's sudden death, Thomas offers a scathing indictment of the systemic failures within French law enforcement, the modelling industry, and the highest echelons of power.
Video by: François PICARD
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