Daniel Siad, a 69-year-old modeling scout accused of recruiting women for Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead at his home near Paris, and French authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of death.

He was under investigation for rape and other charges related to alleged human trafficking and appeared in more than 1,000 documents from the recently declassified U.S. Department of Justice Epstein files.

Prosecutors believed Siad helped Epstein find women through his international scouting work, although he denied the allegations and claimed he thought he was arranging legitimate modeling castings.

The files showed that he remained in close contact with Epstein for years and received payments connected to his travel and recruitment activities, The Guardian has reported.

One of his accusers, former Swedish model Ebba Karlsson, said his death was frustrating because she believed he was close to being arrested and brought to justice.