Epstein-linked model scout Daniel Siad found dead near Paris as French probe into trafficking network continues
Daniel Siad, 69, was discovered lifeless in his Colombes home on Monday evening. French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the death of the man whose name appears nearly 2,000 times in the Epstein files.
Discovery and autopsy
Daniel Siad, a 69-year-old modelling scout with ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead in his home in Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris, on Monday evening. His 28-year-old roommate discovered the body in the kitchen, according to Le Parisien. The Nanterre prosecutor's office immediately opened an investigation and ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death, which initial reports suggest may have been a heart attack.
A central figure in the Epstein network
Siad's name appears nearly 2,000 times in the Epstein files declassified by US authorities in December 2025. The documents show he regularly sent Epstein photographs of women he met while travelling, with German public broadcaster ARD reporting he shared images of at least 52 women between 2005 and 2019, most aged 18 to 23 and at least one minor. In a 2014 email to Epstein, Siad compared his recruitment to fishing.
In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish.
Evidence gathered by the US Department of Justice suggests Siad received payments of more than $80,000 from Epstein. Siad maintained he did not know Epstein was a sexual abuser and that the American had "taken advantage of his trust."
Legal complaints and victim testimony
Following the release of the Epstein files, 24 women came forward or were identified, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. Sixteen have been heard by investigators since 19 March, and eight more hearings are scheduled. Siad faced multiple complaints in France, including rape allegations, with the first filed in February 2026. He denied all wrongdoing, telling BFMTV in May, "I have never raped anyone in my life."
One victim, identified only as Anya for her safety, told the BBC that Siad introduced her to Epstein and described him as "a professional trafficker." Another, former French model Juliette G., said Siad recruited her in 2004. "Another link in the chain has disappeared that could have helped uncover the truth and identify those responsible," she said.
A pattern of deaths
Siad is the second man publicly associated with Epstein to die in France. Modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who was convicted of rape in 2020 and accused of procuring women for Epstein, hanged himself in his Paris prison cell in 2022. Epstein himself died in a US jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking, a death ruled a suicide by authorities.
- Siad begins sending photographs of women to Epstein, eventually sharing images of at least 52 women.
- Siad emails Epstein comparing his recruitment efforts to fishing: 'some time I cache quick, some time no fish.'
- Epstein arrested on sex trafficking charges.
- Epstein found dead in his US prison cell, ruled a suicide.
- Jean-Luc Brunel, another modelling agent linked to Epstein, hangs himself in a Paris prison.
- US authorities release the Epstein files, containing nearly 2,000 mentions of Siad.
- First rape complaint filed against Siad in France.
- Siad found dead in his Colombes home; autopsy ordered.
Reactions
Siad's lawyer, Menya Arab-Tigrine, insisted her client died innocent. "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 told AFP. Lawyers for the former model who filed the first complaint expressed shock and anger, saying their clients are now denied a criminal trial and accusing the Paris prosecutor's office of "scandalous" inaction. The broader French investigation into Epstein's network will continue, Beccuau confirmed, with judicial assistance requests sent to the United States and cooperation with Poland through Eurojust.
