Who was Daniel Siad? Epstein-linked model scout found dead in Paris

Epstein-linked modelling scout, Daniel Siad, was found dead at his home in Colombes, a suburb of Paris on Monday.

The Nanterre prosecutor’s office opened an investigation and ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

"An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery," the Nanterre prosecutor's office said.

According to officials, to find out the real cause of death a post-mortem would be carried out. However, Le Parisien reported that he died of cardiac arrest and Siad’s body was found unresponsive in his kitchen by a 28-year-old woman who was staying with him. Despite giving him CPR, he could not be resuscitated.

The 69-year-old name appeared thousands of times in US government-released Epstein files. Victims accused him of being a “professional trafficker” who introduced them to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In early 2026, former models came forward publicly to accuse Siad of grooming and abuse. Significantly, former Swedish model filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor's office accusing modeling scout of rape and trafficking, alleging incidents dating back to 1990.

Though Siad denied any kind of wrongdoing and previously claimed he was unaware of the abuse and trusted Epstein as a professional.

In an interview with BFMTV in May, Siad told "I have never raped anyone in my life."

Lawyers representing his accusers expressed immense anger and criticised the Paris Public Prosecutors Office for inaction, citing, “they feel immense anger toward the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office, which announced last February that it was opening an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's French accomplices.”

Siad’s death showed some parallels to death of another French Epstein associate modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who was found hanged in his Paris prison cell in 2022 while awaiting trial for the trafficking and rape of minors.