JULY 22, 2026

Daniel Siad, model recruiter linked to Jeffrey Epstein, found dead near Paris

Daniel Siad, a French model recruiter who arranged meetings between young women and Jeffrey Epstein over more than a decade, was found dead in his home in Colombes, a suburb of Paris, on Monday. His body was discovered at his residence, and an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, according to Marie-Céline Lawrysz, deputy public prosecutor at the Nanterre Judicial Court.

Daniel Siad's death was confirmed in a Wednesday statement to CNN by the deputy public prosecutor at the Nanterre Judicial Court, Marie-Céline Lawrysz. No cause of death has been established pending an autopsy.

CNN had recently interviewed Siad as part of its ongoing coverage of Epstein's ties to the modeling industry. In that interview, Siad said he had no reason to believe that two women he had referred to Epstein — who had separately told CNN that Epstein had abused them — had been harmed. "I trusted him and believed this guy was a professional person," Siad said. "I never heard anything from anyone I introduced to him who came back to me that they had a bad situation."

Siad's name appears more than 2,000 times in Department of Justice files related to Epstein, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. DOJ records show Epstein paid Siad tens of thousands of dollars. Messages in those files show Siad sending Epstein photos of young women he encountered during his travels, some in provocative poses, along with descriptions of them. In one message, Siad wrote of a "cute French girl in Marrakesh" who "will be happy to meet you." In a 2018 email, Siad wrote that he was looking for a "good looking young assistant" for Epstein. In one exchange, after Siad sent Epstein a photo of a woman, Epstein replied, "Too old."