Daniel Siad, a French model recruiter who introduced multiple young women to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein over more than a decade, has been found dead at his home near Paris, French authorities said.
CNN reported that Marie-Céline Lawrysz, deputy public prosecutor at the Nanterre Judicial Court said that Siad's body was discovered on Monday at his residence in Colombes, a suburb of the French capital. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.
His death comes as French prosecutors continue a wide-ranging investigation into alleged human trafficking and criminal conspiracy linked to Epstein's network.
Siad had recently spoken to CNN, denying any knowledge that women he introduced to Epstein had been abused.
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"I trusted him and believed this guy was a professional person," Siad said in an interview published in June. "I never heard anything from anyone I introduced to him who came back to me that they had a bad situation."
He also claimed Epstein had presented himself as a casting director for Victoria's Secret and modeling agency MC2. CNN said it found no evidence supporting that assertion.
French prosecutors said the investigation into Epstein-related allegations would continue despite Siad's death. Authorities said 24 women have either come forward or been identified so far, while at least 16 have already been interviewed.
The prosecutor's office said Siad had been placed under special investigative measures, including phone intercepts, but investigators had not gathered sufficient evidence to justify his arrest.
Files released by the US Department of Justice show Epstein paid Siad tens of thousands of dollars and include messages in which Siad shared photographs of young women and discussed finding a "good looking young assistant" for Epstein.
In one exchange cited in the files, Siad sent Epstein a woman's photograph, describing her as very polite and someone with potential as a model or assistant. Epstein allegedly replied: "Too old."
According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, Siad's name appears more than 2,000 times in the Justice Department's Epstein files.
Russian-born model Svetlana Pozhidaeva, who previously alleged that Epstein abused her after Siad introduced them, said his death denied victims an opportunity for accountability.
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"If it wasn't for him, my life would have unfolded completely differently," Pozhidaeva told CNN. "I wanted for justice to be served, for there to be some kind of investigation and achieve some closure."
Siad's lawyer, Ménya Arab-Tigrine, maintained his client's innocence, saying he had been willing to cooperate despite intense public scrutiny.
"We must await the autopsy results to confirm whether his body simply gave out," the lawyer said, adding that Siad had neither been prosecuted nor formally implicated in legal proceedings.
Separately, Siad had also faced allegations of rape by a model over an incident dating back to 1990 in France. He denied the accusation.
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