A French modeling scout publicly tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network was found dead outside Paris this week. He had never been questioned by investigators.
Daniel Siad, 69, was found dead Monday evening inside his home in Colombes, a wealthy suburb of Paris, prosecutors confirmed Wednesday morning. Authorities said an investigation into his cause of death had been opened, and an autopsy has been ordered.
Siad’s lawyer, Meyna Arab-Tigrine, told NBC News that her client died of a heart attack. She added: “Daniel Siad never stopped proclaiming his innocence.”
Siad’s name appears nearly 2,000 times in the Epstein files released by the U.S. Department of Justice. The documents show Epstein paid Siad tens of thousands of dollars over a decade-long working relationship.
Among the emails released was one Siad sent to Epstein in 2014: “In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish.”
In another, he wrote to Epstein about “a cute French girl in Marrakesh,” noting she “will be happy to meet you.”
A 2018 message showed Siad scouting for a “good looking young assistant” for Epstein.
Two former models said that Siad had groomed them with the intent of delivering them to Epstein — one encounter in the 1990s, one in the 2000s. At least five women accused him of rape and human trafficking. He denied every allegation, insisting Epstein had “taken advantage of his trust.” He had told French broadcaster BFM in May that his relationship with Epstein was “strictly professional.”
Daniel Siad, 68, whose name appeared 2,000 times in the Epstein files, reportedly died of cardiac arrest at his home in Colombes, a suburb north-west of Paris, on Monday
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— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 22, 2026
A French investigation targeting Siad and several others was ongoing at the time of his death. He had not yet been formally questioned by investigators.
He is the second prominent French modeling figure linked to Epstein’s network to die before facing trial.
Jean-Luc Brunel — a modeling agent described by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre as having procured women, including minors, for sex with Epstein and others — was arrested at the airport in Paris in 2020 after the U.S. sex-trafficking charges against Epstein triggered a French investigation.
He was found hanged in his prison cell at La Sante Prison in February 2022, awaiting trial on charges of rape of minors and sexual harassment. His lawyers claimed it as a suicide.