Two high profile lawyers representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein are said to have been duped into planning to cut deals with famous men they believed had been caught on secret cameras having sex with girls at the pedophile's homes.

David Boies and John Stanley Pottinger met with a man who claimed to have damming footage of high profile names, including Prince Andrew and Israeli former prime minister Ehud Barak, according to The New York Times.

The so-called whistleblower, who used the pseudonym Patrick Kessler, also told the two attorneys he had evidence of Epstein's financial records on encrypted servers overseas.

Pottinger appears to have discussed taking 40 percent of any settlements resulting from the promised footage. The New York Times also says he spoke of representing the wealthy men. The tapes appear to have been a scam.

David Boies, left, and John Stanley Pottinger, right, met with a man who claimed to have damming footage of high profile names including Prince Andrew

Epstein died in his jail cell in August in what was ruled a suicide by hanging by the New York medical examiner. At the time of his death, Epstein was awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges.

The New York Times alleges Pottinger described two scenarios to Kessler - one where any settlement would be split between victims, a charitable foundation, the whistleblower and the lawyers.

Epstein died in his jail cell in August in what was ruled a suicide by hanging by the New York medical examiner

He also described a second scheme in which attorneys would be hired by the accused men who would 'make a contribution to a nonprofit as part of the retainer' in return for not getting sued. Pottinger said it would have to be 'consistent with and subject to rules of ethics'.

He also seemed to push Kessler to find files regarding a 'hot list' of men the attorneys hoped to approach.

Publicly Bois has called such deals 'rich man's justice.'

Boies told the paper: 'This was explosive information if true, for lots and lots of people.' He said their interactions with Kessler did not cross ethical lines and denied they would have made secret settlements that buried any wrongdoing.

He later said of Pottinger's claims: 'Having looked at all that stuff in context, I would not have said that. I'm being cautious not to throw him under the bus more than I believe is accurate.'

Pottinger said: 'Our clients are said to be liars and prostitutes and we now have someone who says, 'I can give you secret photographic proof of abuse that will completely change the entire fabric of your practice and get justice for these girls.' And you think that we wouldn't try to get that?'

He said he had been 'misleading Kessler deliberately in order to get the servers', adding: 'I'm building legal cases here. I'm trying not to engage too much in shenanigans. I wish I didn't, but this guy was very unusual.'

DailyMail.com has contacted Boies and Pottinger for comment. All the men accused of featuring in the sham videos deny engaging in sexual activity in Epstein's homes.

The existence of tape would support the theory that Epstein may have been blackmailing people who engaged in illegal behavior at his homes.

Alleged victim Maria Farmer told CBS the late pedophile kept surveillance camera footage of some of the rooms inside his Manhattan mansion and that he stored it in a safe.

In July this year, the FBI raided Epstein's home and authorities described finding passports, cash and diamonds, in a locked safe inside but there has never been any mention of surveillance footage of what went on in the property.

Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, is pictured center, with Boies, left, in August

Boies and Pottinger met with a man who claimed to have damming footage of high profile names including Prince Andrew, right, and Israeli former prime minister Ehud Barak, left. All the men accused of featuring in the sham videos deny engaging in sexual activity in Epstein's homes

In her interview, Farmer described being horrified when Epstein revealed to her a 'media room' which had TVs set up with feeds from pin-hole surveillance cameras in the bedrooms and bathrooms of his home.

'It was all videoed all the time. I asked him, 'What do you do with all this?'

'And he said 'I keep it. I keep it all in my safe.''

Many alleged victims have since launched lawsuits against Epstein's estate in pursuit of the justice they say his suicide or murder robbed them of.