logo
Prince Andrew should ‘apologise and come clean', says Virginia Giuffre's lawyer

Prince Andrew should ‘apologise and come clean', says Virginia Giuffre's lawyer

NZ Herald30-04-2025
He paid her an estimated US$12 million ($20m) but has always denied the allegations, insisting he had no recollection of meeting her.
Giuffre, 41, died by suicide at her home in Perth, Western Australia, last week. The mother of three had been one of the most prominent accusers of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and was credited with his downfall.
Boies said that following her death, the Duke should 'do the right thing'.
'I'd like to have him say, 'I'm sorry',' he told Piers Morgan Uncensored. 'He sort of said that, but I'd like him to be more direct about that.
'He may not remember that it was Virginia, but he can't forget the event. And he needs, I think, to just come clean.'
In a statement filed through the New York court as part of the settlement deal, the Duke pledged to 'demonstrate his regret' for his association with Epstein by supporting the 'fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims'.
The statement said: 'Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.
'It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.'
Boies said that with the statement, the Duke had come 'pretty close' to accepting responsibility, describing it as a step in the right direction.
'It's not too late for him'
'I think I hoped, and I think Virginia hoped, that he would take the next step as well,' he said. 'It's not too late, for him or for anyone.'
Boies said that even if the Duke did not remember what had happened, he needed to recognise that he 'clearly' had sex with young girls with Epstein.
'He needs, I think, to just come clean… Continuing to deny he didn't know he'd never met [Ms Giuffre], he had had nothing to do with her. That's not productive. It's also not right.'
Asked whether the King should intervene and urge the Duke to speak out, Boies said: 'I think family should urge family to do the right thing. Family is very important here.'
The lawyer acknowledged Prince Andrew was in a difficult position and faced the prospect, albeit unlikely, of a criminal investigation if he made any kind of admission.
He also conceded that any public acknowledgment of her death would likely backfire.
'I think we have to recognise how complicated it would be for him to say anything at this point,' Boies said. 'On the one hand, I think he will be criticised for not saying something; on the other hand, almost everything he said would probably be attacked.'
Boies said he felt sadness, anger and regret on Giuffre's death.
'Without her courage, Jeffrey Epstein would probably still be abusing young girls,' he said.
He revealed that when he first met Giuffre he made her take a lie detector test to test her claims before going on to work on her case for free.
The Duke has been contacted for comment.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Matthew Perry death: 'Ketamine queen' to plead guilty
Matthew Perry death: 'Ketamine queen' to plead guilty

Otago Daily Times

time6 hours ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Matthew Perry death: 'Ketamine queen' to plead guilty

The accused drug dealer known as the "ketamine queen" will plead guilty to charges that she supplied the dose of the prescription anaesthetic that killed Friends star Matthew Perry, prosecutors say. Jasveen Sangha, 42, who authorities said ran an illegal narcotics "stash house" in the North Hollywood district of Los Angeles and was due to stand trial in September, will plead guilty to five charges under a deal with federal prosecutors, according to the United States Justice Department. Four other co-defendants in the case - two physicians, Perry's personal assistant and another man who admitted acting as an intermediary in selling ketamine to the actor - have already pleaded guilty to various charges, though none has yet been sentenced. All five were charged in the case one year ago. Prosecutors said Sangha agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of illegal distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Sangha, a dual US-British citizen, is expected to formally enter her plea in the coming weeks, the Justice Department said in a statement. The charge of maintaining a drug den carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Sangha faces up to 15 years in jail for ketamine distribution that killed Perry, and 10 years for each of the three other distribution counts. Medical examiners concluded that Perry died from acute effects of ketamine that combined with other factors to cause the actor to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub on October 28 in 2023. He was 54 years old. FAME AND ADDICTION Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including periods that overlapped with the height of his fame playing the sardonic but charming Chandler Bing on the 1990s hit NBC television comedy Friends . Perry's death came a year after publication of his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing , which chronicled bouts with addiction to prescription painkillers and alcohol that he wrote had come close to ending his life more than once. His autopsy cited interviews with associates who said Perry had been sober for 19 months prior to his death with no known substance abuse relapses. Ketamine, a short-acting anaesthetic with hallucinogenic properties, is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and anxiety but also is abused by recreational users. According to Sangha's plea agreement as outlined by the Justice Department, Sangha had supplied 51 vials of ketamine from her stash house to a go-between dealer, Erik Fleming, 55, who in turn sold the doses to Perry through his live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 60. It was Iwamasa, prosecutors said, who later injected Perry with at least three shots of ketamine from the vials Sangha supplied, resulting in the actor's death, and who subsequently found him lifeless in the hot tub. In her plea agreement, prosecutors said, Sangha also admitted selling ketamine to an individual in August 2019 who died hours later from a drug overdose. Known to her customers on the street as the "ketamine queen," according to prosecutors, Sangha had used her North Hollywood home to store, package and distribute various narcotics, including ketamine and methamphetamine, dating back to at least June 2019. After learning of news reports of Perry's death, prosecutors said, Sangha tried to scrub her Signal app of all her communications with Fleming and urged him to do likewise, instructing him to "Delete all our messages." Her plea deal came three weeks after a doctor who ran an urgent care clinic, Salvador Plasencia, 43, pleaded guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution and admitted to having injected Perry with the drug at the actor's home and in the back seat of a parked car. Another physician, Mark Chavez, 55, of San Diego, accused of illegally supplying ketamine to Plasencia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute the drug. According to court filings, Plasencia had once texted Chavez about Perry, writing, "I wonder how much this moron will pay."

Kiwi woman Sarah Shaw's lawyer says mum back in US home, taking time for herself
Kiwi woman Sarah Shaw's lawyer says mum back in US home, taking time for herself

NZ Herald

time12 hours ago

  • NZ Herald

Kiwi woman Sarah Shaw's lawyer says mum back in US home, taking time for herself

'She's recovering at home and taking some time for herself,' she said. This morning she told Herald NOW that recuperating from the ordeal was the top priority before she addressed the detention publicly. 'She's just trying to pick up the pieces right now.' Thorward volunteered for pro-bono work at Dilley Immigration Processing Centre about nine and a half years ago. She described the conditions Shaw and her son would have endured during their detainment. '[They] are overcrowded, there is limited access to medical care, limited access to counsel and the food is horrendous,' she said. 'You are basically locked in a room for a lot of the day. There is nowhere for kids to go outside. There is nothing to do, so they are just really bored.' Sarah Shaw's lawyer Minda Thorward says the conditions in detention centres are "worse than jail". Thorward described detention centres as 'worse than jail'. 'The services are worse, there is less oversight and due processes and protection don't necessarily apply to detention centres,' she said. 'It's difficult to talk to anyone. You can call, but it's always very garbled to so it's very difficult to communicate with anyone in detention. 'It's South Texas so it would have been really hot. It was a really terrible experience for her.' The Dilley Immigration Processing Centre first opened in December 2014 and can hold up to 2400 people. It made headlines this year over alleged inhumane conditions. The Los Angeles Times reported there was concern over water quantity and quality, with some adults reportedly fighting children for clean water at the facility. Shaw and her son were at the facility for more than three weeks. She was returning from putting her two other children on a flight to New Zealand from Vancouver when they were detained. A GoFundMe page set up by family friend Victoria Besancon said: 'Thanks to all of your support and advocating, Sarah and her son have been released! 'While her lawyer's words were 'the war is not over' and there are still legal battles to be had, this portion has been won! 'Thank you to everyone who supported, donated and reached out. We will continue to update the story as it unfolds. But they are home safe and sound. 'Please be praying for the next legal steps, and for a peaceful reintroduction to daily life for the Shaw family.' The GoFundMe has so far raised more than US$60,000 ($101,000). David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.

US tax adviser conned small town locals of $160m in ponzi scheme
US tax adviser conned small town locals of $160m in ponzi scheme

1News

timea day ago

  • 1News

US tax adviser conned small town locals of $160m in ponzi scheme

For decades in a stretch of upstate New York, Miles "Burt" Marshall was the man you went to see if you had some money to invest but wanted to keep it local. Working from an office in the charming village of Hamilton, down the road from Colgate University, Marshall prepared taxes and sold insurance. He also took money for what was sometimes called the '8% Fund,' which guaranteed that much in annual interest no matter what happened with the financial markets. His clients spread the word to family and friends. Have a retirement nest egg? Let Burt handle it. He'll invest it in local rental properties and your money will grow faster than in a bank. Marshall was friendly and folksy. He gave away gift bags with maple syrup, pickles and local honey in jars labelled with cute sayings like, 'Don't be a sap. For proper insurance coverage call Miles B. Marshall." ADVERTISEMENT The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including our first ever espionage trial, the end of an era for Cook Strait crossings, and a surprising survival story. (Source: 1News) 'He would tell you about all the other people that invest. Churches invest. Fire companies invest. Doctors invest,' said one client, Christine Corrigan. 'So you'd think, 'Well, they're smart people. They wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't okay to do ... Why are you going to be the suspicious one?' Then it all came crashing down. Marshall owed almost 1000 people and organisations about US$95 million (NZ$160 million) in principal and interest when he filed for bankruptcy protection two years ago, according to the trustee's filings. This summer, the 73-year-old businessman was indicted on charges that his investment business was a Ponzi scheme. He could face prison time if convicted. Marshall's lawyers declined to comment. ADVERTISEMENT Total losses by Marshall's investors fall short of the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme masterminded by Bernie Madoff. But they loom large in the small, college town of about 6400 people and its largely rural surrounding area. Many investors were Colgate professors, labourers, office workers or retirees. Some lost their life savings of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Corrigan and her husband, who own a restaurant 48 kilometres east, were owed about US$1.5 million (NZ$2.5 million). Now they're wondering how someone who seemed so reliable, who held annual parties for his clients and even called them on their birthdays could betray their trust. 'You look at life differently after this happens. It's like, 'Who do you trust?'' said Dennis Sullivan, who was owed about $40,000. 'It's sad because of what he's done to the area.' A reliable local businessman Marshall and his wife lived in a brick Victorian, blocks from his office. ADVERTISEMENT Aside from insurance and tax preparation, he rented more than 100 properties and ran a self-storage business and a print shop. His parents had run an insurance and realty business in the area and the Marshall name was respected locally. Though he quit college, he was a federally enrolled tax professional. To many in the area, he seemed knowledgeable about money and kept a neat office. 'He had French doors and a beautiful carpet and a big desk and he just looked like he was prosperous and reliable," Corrigan said. Marshall began taking money from people to buy and maintain rental properties in the 1980s. People got back promissory notes — slips of paper with the dollar amount written in. Withdrawals could be made with 30 days' notice. People could choose to receive regular interest payments. Participants saw the transactions as investments. Marshall has called them loans. For many years, Marshall made good on his promises to pay interest and process withdrawals. More people took part as word spread. ADVERTISEMENT Sullivan recalls how his parents gave Marshall money, then he did, then his fiancee, then his fiancee's daughter, then his son, and even his snowmobile club. 'Everybody gets snowballed into it,' Sullivan said. A number of investors lived in other states, but had connections to the area. The promise of 8% returns was unremarkable in the '80s, a time of higher interest rates. But it stood out later as rates dropped. Marshall told a bankruptcy proceeding that he assumed appreciation on his real estate would more than cover the debts. 'That's obviously false now," he said, according to filings, "but that's what I always thought.' Reckoning with more than US$90 million in debt ADVERTISEMENT The money stopped flowing by 2023. Marshall filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection that April, declaring more than US$90 million in liabilities and US$21.5 million in assets, most of it in real estate. He explained in a filing that he had been hospitalised for a 'serious heart condition' that required two surgeries, costing him US$600,000. As news of his illness spread, there was a run on note holders asking for their money back. The bankruptcy trustee, Fred Stevens, blamed Marshall's insolvency on incompetent business practices and borrowing from people at above-market rates. The trustee contended that by 2011, Marshall was using new investment money to pay off previous investors, the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors claim Marshall falsely represented the profitability of his real estate business and had his staff generate "transaction summaries' with bogus information about account balances and earned interest. Money was funnelled into his other businesses, and he spent hundreds of thousands of investors' dollars on personal expenses, including airline travel, meals out, groceries and yoga studios, according to prosecutors. ADVERTISEMENT Marshall's clients feel betrayed. 'We left it there so that it would accumulate. Well, it accumulated in his pocket,' Barbara Baltusnik said of her investment. The ripple effects of multimillion-dollar losses Marshall pleaded not guilty in June to charges of grand larceny and securities fraud. He's accused of stealing more than US$50 million. Marshall's home and properties were sold as part of bankruptcy proceedings, which continue. People who gave Marshall their money stand to recoup around 5.4 cents on the dollar from the asset sales. Potential claims against financial institutions are being pursued, according to the trustee. Baltusnik said she and her husband were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars and now she wonders how she will pay doctors' bills. Sullivan's mother moved in with him after losing her investment. ADVERTISEMENT In Epworth, Georgia, retiree Carolyn Call will never see money she hoped would help augment her Social Security payments. She found out about Marshall though an uncle who lived in upstate New York. 'I'm just able to pay my bills and keep going," she said. "Nothing extravagant. No trips. Can't do anything hardly for the grandkids.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store