It has now been a little over a month since Jeffrey Epstein was arrested when he returned to the U.S. from France on his private jet.
Since then, he’s been housed at the Manhattan Correctional Center (MCC0, been denied bail, and suffered a yet-to-be-explained injury while in his cell.
Manhattan Correctional Center
Here’re the latest updates on the guy who has been the poster child for sexual perverts.
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Court Unseals Documents – Names Emerge
Earlier today, a federal court unsealed about 2,000 pages of documents in a defamation lawsuit filed against Ghislaine Maxwell by Virginia Roberts (Maxwell has been identified as one of Jeffrey Epstein’s main procurers of underage women).
The documents provide numerous details regarding the 3-year period when Roberts claims she was a sex slave of Epstein and Maxwell. Roberts has previously claimed that in that role, she was “forced to have sex with…numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, (and) a well-known Prime Minister”.
According to the documents, Roberts did not have sex with President Donald Trump or former President Bill Clinton.
But she did claim she was forced to have sex with MIT professor Martin Minsky, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and money manager Glenn Dubin (She had previously claimed she was also forced to have sex with Prince Andrew and noted attorney Alan Dershowitz).
Roberts also claimed to have met several famous people during the 3-year period. Among the people she named were Al Gore, Heidi Klum, and Naomi Campbell.
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Billionaire Accuses Epstein of Pilfering Funds
Les Wexner, the founder and chairman of L Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, has accused Jeffrey Epstein of misappropriating more than $46 million from him and his family.
Victoria’s Secret Model
Wexner, who was one of Epstein’s only identified clients, made the allegation in a letter to his primary charity, Wexner Foundation Community.
“I am embarrassed that, like so many others, I was deceived by Mr. Epstein,” Wexner wrote. “I know now that my trust in him was grossly misplaced and I deeply regret having ever crossed his path.”
Wexner indicated that he discovered the theft only after he had terminated his relationship with Epstein back in 2007 – which is when Florida investigators first started looking into allegations that Epstein was sexually abusing underage girls.
Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from an underage prostitute in 2008 – and served 13 months of his 18-month sentence in a private section of the Palm Beach County Stockade.
Palm Beach County Stockade
Without disclosing the exact amount, Wexner did state that he was able to recover some of the purloined funds.
He also confirmed that the $46 million contribution that Epstein made to the Wexner Foundation Community charity “represented a portion of the returned monies”.
“All of that money – every dollar of it – was originally Wexner family money”, Wexner wrote in his letter.
Wexner did not explain why he never before revealed that Epstein had stolen money from him – or why he did not sue Epstein for the stolen money that was not paid back.
Nor did Wexner explain how Epstein came to have so much control over his finances.
Les Wexner & Jeffrey Epstein
Here is the complete letter that Wexner released yesterday:
Dear Wexner Foundation Community,
For 35 years, the work we have achieved together in this community has continued to be one of the great honors of my life, and that is why I am writing to you now.
In recent weeks, there has been considerable media attention on my past connection to Jeffrey Epstein. To be clear, I never would have imagined that a person I employed more than a decade ago could have caused so much pain. I condemn his abhorrent behavior in the strongest possible terms and am sickened by the revelations I have read over the past weeks. I sincerely value your trust, and that is why it is important you hear details and context from me directly.
I first met Mr. Epstein in the mid-1980s, through friends who vouched for and recommended him as a knowledgeable financial professional. Mr. Epstein represented that he had various well-known and respected individuals both as his financial clients and in his inner circle. Based on positive reports from several friends, and on my initial dealings with him, I believed I could trust him.
Eventually, he took over managing my personal finances. He was given power of attorney as is common in that context, and he had wide latitude to act on my behalf with respect to my personal finances while I focused on building my company and undertaking philanthropic efforts.
In the early 1990s Mr. Epstein became a trustee of The Wexner Foundation, but he had no executive responsibilities in the running of the Foundation. He did not work directly with Foundation staff, and he did not engage with leadership initiatives in any way.
As the allegations against Mr. Epstein in Florida were emerging, he vehemently denied them. But by early fall 2007, it was agreed that he should step back from the management of our personal finances. In that process, we discovered that he had misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family. This was, frankly, a tremendous shock, even though it clearly pales in comparison to the unthinkable allegations against him now.
With his credibility and our trust in him destroyed, we immediately severed ties with him. We were able to recover some of the funds. The widely reported payments Mr. Epstein made to the charitable fund represented a portion of the returned monies. All of that money – every dollar of it – was originally Wexner family money.
I am embarrassed that, like so many others, I was deceived by Mr. Epstein. I know now that my trust in him was grossly misplaced and I deeply regret having ever crossed his path.
As the story has unfolded further, and the extent of the pain caused by Mr. Epstein continues to grow, I have spent time reflecting and searching for answers as to how this could have happened. My heart goes out to each person who has suffered unthinkable pain and I pray for their healing.
I want to convey my gratitude to the many who have written to express your trust. Abigail and I deeply appreciate your well wishes.
As I reflect on the situation, I know that we will together seek the wisdom that can be gleaned even from such troubling events. And, my friends, I want you to know that I remain fully committed to supporting your amazing and enduring leadership across the globe. Keep leading.
Les
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Florida Governor Orders State Probe of Earlier Plea Deal
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to undertake a new probe into the handling of the 2008 case in which Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to one Florida state felony – and avoid prosecution on any federal charges.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
Palm Beach County police had originally begun investigating Epstein back in 2006 when they received a tip that he was paying underage girls to engage in sexual activities with him.
Although the original investigation eventually expanded to include numerous potential state charges, State Attorney Barry Krischer decided to only charge Epstein with one misdemeanor.
At that point, the case was transferred to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida (SDF) – and the FBI.
The subsequent FBI investigation resulted in the drafting of a 53-page indictment that presented evidence of Epstein’s involvement in numerous federal-level sex crimes.
Despite all those potential charges, Alexander Acosta, the then-U.S. Attorney for the SDF, allowed Epstein to plead guilty to the lesser charge in state court – and entered into a “Non-Prosecution Agreement” with Epstein that also provided several others with immunity against prosecution.
Florida State Senator Lauren Book has been pushing for the governor to have the FDLE to undertake an independent probe of the 2008 plea deal.
Florida State Senator Lauren Book
Book, herself a survivor of sexual assault as a child, indicated that she was pleased with the governor’s decision.
“We got support for this from all over the country,” Book said. “Many of them are sexual assault survivors who have lived in the shadows for so long and who wanted to let Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors know that they are not alone.”
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Who Helped Craft Epstein Plea Deal Switching Jobs
A. Marie Villafaña, an Assistant U.S. Attorney who helped craft Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal that resulted in no federal prosecution, has decided to leave her post at the Department of Justice – and take a position with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
A. Marie Villafaña
According to her attorney, Jonathan Biran, Villafaña has been planning to make the career switch for quite some time.
“She is grateful for her career in the Justice Department and excited for a new opportunity at Health and Human Services,” Biran said.
Federal investigators are currently trying to determine whether Villafaña and the other federal prosecutors who were involved in putting together Epstein’s plea deal, committed any crimes in allowing Epstein to avoid federal prosecution for a host of sex-related crimes back in 2008.
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Epstein Victim Wants to Know Who Recruited Her
Jennifer Araoz, a woman who says she was just 15 when Jeffrey Epstein forcibly raped her at this mansion in Manhattan, wants to force him to reveal the identity of the woman who recruited her to be part of his harem of underage girls.
Araoz claims that she was recruited outside of her Manhattan school by an unknown woman.
In papers that were filed yesterday in Manhattan civil court, Araoz has asked the court to order Epstein to be deposed so that she can determine the name of the recruiter.
Araoz has also asked the court to order Epstein to provide her with a log of everyone who visited Epstein’s Manhattan mansion from 2001 through 2003. She also wants a list of everyone who worked for him during that time period.
Epstein’s lawyers immediately asked the judge to deny Araoz’ request to depose Epstein on the grounds that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights in any such deposition.
Given the pending criminal charges against Epstein, it is unlikely that any judge will order him to be deposed in any civil matter until those criminal charges have been fully resolved.
