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---
category: "Landmark"
tags: [Place, JeffreyEpstein, PalmBeach, Florida, Property, SexTrafficking, MichaelReiter, NonProsecutionAgreement]
summary: "Waterfront Palm Beach mansion owned by Jeffrey Epstein where the 2005 Palm Beach Police Department investigation began after a parent reported that her teenage stepdaughter had been molested there."
location: Palm Beach, Florida
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
---
The house at 358 El Brillo Way was a waterfront mansion in the Town of Palm Beach, Florida, owned by [[Jeffrey Epstein]] from 1990 until his 2019 death. The 2005 investigation by the [[Palm Beach Police Department]] into conduct at the house produced the first criminal case against Epstein and identified dozens of teenage girls who said they had been abused there.[^1]
### Acquisition and the House
Epstein purchased 358 El Brillo Way in 1990 for about 2.5 million dollars.[^2] The roughly 14,000-square-foot, six-bedroom house sat on about eight-tenths of an acre fronting the Intracoastal Waterway and had been designed by the Palm Beach architect [[John Volk]].[^2] The previous long-term owner had been Owen Ray Skelton, a founder and chief engineer of Chrysler, who held the property until his death in 1969.[^3]
The house became Epstein's Florida residence, and he traveled frequently between it, the [[9 East 71st Street]] townhouse in Manhattan, his New Mexico ranch and his U.S. Virgin Islands island.[^1] Staff at the Palm Beach house arranged appointments described as massages, and visitors were directed to an upstairs room set up with a massage table.[^4]
The waterfront location placed the house a short distance from other prominent Palm Beach estates, and Epstein maintained it as a household with domestic and scheduling staff whose later statements and records became evidence in the police investigation.[^4]
### The 2005 Palm Beach Police Investigation
In March 2005 a woman reported to the Palm Beach Police Department that her fourteen-year-old stepdaughter had been molested by a wealthy man who lived on El Brillo Way, and detectives quickly identified the man as Epstein.[^4] From that account, investigators learned that Epstein had been paying girls from a West Palm Beach high school for sessions described as massages, and that the conduct extended to a network of dozens of girls.[^4] Police Chief [[Michael Reiter]] supervised the inquiry, and lead detective [[Joseph Recarey]] conducted the interviews over a probe that ran for roughly a year.[^4]
Detectives documented a recruitment pyramid in which girls were paid roughly 200 to 300 dollars per visit and given money or incentives to bring other girls, who in turn recruited still more, building outward from a small number of initial contacts.[^4] Investigators interviewed two dozen girls and their parents on camera, obtained phone records, and conducted surveillance, and they later said Epstein's own representatives surveilled the police and pulled investigators' garbage during the case.[^4] The girls' accounts described being taken to the upstairs massage room at the house and paid in cash.[^4]
Reiter said the volume and ages of the victims were unlike anything in his experience and that he came to believe Epstein's earlier offers of donations to the department had been attempts to probe whether police were investigating him.[^5] When the state prosecution narrowed, Reiter wrote to the State Attorney objecting to the handling of the case and ultimately referred the matter to the FBI.[^5]
### The Case and the Non-Prosecution Agreement
State Attorney [[Barry Krischer]] presented the case to a Palm Beach County grand jury, and prosecutors called a single victim while emphasizing material that cast doubt on her credibility; the grand jury returned one count of solicitation of prostitution in 2006.[^4] Recarey and Reiter objected that the charge did not reflect the conduct against minors that detectives had documented, and the police chief's referral moved the matter into federal jurisdiction.[^5]
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida, led by U.S. Attorney [[Alexander Acosta]], prepared a sex-trafficking case but in 2007 negotiated a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein's lawyers.[^6] Under the 2008 resolution Epstein pleaded guilty in state court to two prostitution-related charges, registered as a sex offender, and served about thirteen months in the Palm Beach County stockade with extensive work-release privileges, while the agreement also conferred immunity on potential co-conspirators and was not disclosed to the victims.[^6] A federal judge later ruled that the failure to notify the victims violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act.[^6]
The Palm Beach investigation and the non-prosecution agreement became the factual basis for the 2018 Miami Herald series that renewed national attention on Epstein, leading to his July 2019 federal indictment in New York on sex-trafficking charges.[^6]
### The 2021 Sale and Demolition
After Epstein's death the Palm Beach house was listed by his estate, initially around 22 million dollars, and in March 2021 it sold for 18.5 million dollars to the developer [[Todd Michael Glaser]].[^2] The proceeds, like those of the New York townhouse sale, went to the estate and its victim-compensation fund.[^7]
Glaser filed a notice of commencement for total demolition, and razing of the house began in April 2021.[^7] He changed the address of the cleared parcel to 360 El Brillo Way, citing the notoriety attached to the original number, and the lot was redeveloped.[^2] A new estate built on the site was later marketed at a figure far above the demolished house's sale price.[^2]
The demolition removed the physical site where the 2005 investigation had begun, and the redevelopment proceeded as the estate continued to resolve civil claims arising from conduct that victims said had occurred at the house.[^7]
### Footnotes
[^1]: For Epstein's 1990 acquisition of the Palm Beach house and its place among his residences through the 2019 timeline, see the contemporaneous press (*Palm Beach Daily News*, Associated Press, *Miami Herald*).
[^2]: "EXCLUSIVE: Jeffrey Epstein house sold for $18.5M in Palm Beach," Darrell Hofheinz, *Palm Beach Daily News,* via Corcoran, and "Notorious Palm Beach mansion Jeffrey Epstein bought for $2.5M," *Palm Beach Post / Yahoo,* on the 1990 purchase for about 2.5 million dollars, the roughly 14,000-square-foot six-bedroom John Volk house, the March 2021 sale for 18.5 million dollars to Todd Michael Glaser, and the renumbering to 360 El Brillo Way. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/notorious-palm-beach-mansion-jeffrey-202519748.html
[^3]: For Owen Ray Skelton, a founder and chief engineer of Chrysler, as the prior owner of the house until his death in Palm Beach in 1969, see the Palm Beach property history summarized in contemporaneous Palm Beach Daily News reporting. https://www.corcoran.com/nyc/press-mention/display/30508
[^4]: "The Palm Beach cop who Jeffrey Epstein couldn't stop," *Union-Bulletin / Associated Press,* on the March 2005 report by the stepmother of a fourteen-year-old, the identification of Epstein, the West Palm Beach high-school victims, Chief Michael Reiter and detective Joseph Recarey, the recruitment pyramid paying 200 to 300 dollars per visit, the on-camera interviews of two dozen girls, the surveillance, and the 2006 grand jury's single solicitation count. https://www.union-bulletin.com/news/national/the-palm-beach-cop-who-jeffrey-epstein-couldn-t-stop/article_699648e0-ce21-53fe-aaad-6e797deaeebf.html
[^5]: "Ex-Florida police chief: Epstein case 'the worst failure of the criminal justice system' in modern times," *NBC News,* 2019, on Michael Reiter's account of the donations probe, his objections to the State Attorney's handling, and his referral of the case to the FBI. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-florida-police-chief-epstein-case-worst-failure-criminal-justice-n1057226
[^6]: Julie K. Brown, "Perversion of Justice," *Miami Herald,* 2018, on the 2007 to 2008 non-prosecution agreement negotiated under U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, the state guilty plea and roughly thirteen-month sentence with work release, the immunity for co-conspirators, the non-disclosure to victims later found to violate the Crime Victims' Rights Act, and the 2019 federal indictment. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html
[^7]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach mansion is being demolished," *The Real Deal,* 2021, on Todd Michael Glaser's notice of commencement, the April 2021 start of demolition, and the disposition of sale proceeds. https://therealdeal.com/miami/2021/04/20/jeffrey-epsteins-palm-beach-mansion-is-being-demolished/

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---
category: "Landmark"
tags: [Place, JeffreyEpstein, Manhattan, Property, SexTrafficking, LesWexner, UpperEastSide, MapleInc]
summary: "Seven-story limestone townhouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side that served as Jeffrey Epstein's primary New York residence and the site of conduct detailed in the federal sex-trafficking case against him."
location: New York, New York
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
---
The townhouse at 9 East 71st Street stands on the north side of the block between Fifth and Madison Avenues on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Built as the Herbert N. Straus mansion in the early 1930s, the roughly 21,000-square-foot limestone residence ranked among the largest single-family houses in New York City and became the primary New York base of [[Jeffrey Epstein]] from the early 1990s until his 2019 arrest.[^1]
### The Straus Mansion
Herbert Nathan Straus, an heir to the R. H. Macy & Co. department-store fortune and a son of [[Isidor Straus]] and Ida Straus, who died in the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, bought the lot in 1928 and commissioned the Philadelphia architect [[Horace Trumbauer]] to design a French neoclassical mansion.[^2] Construction began at the end of the 1920s, and Straus imported eighteenth-century European rooms and fixtures for the interior.[^2] The stock-market crash of October 1929 disrupted the project, and Straus halted work in 1931 with the house roughly ninety percent complete after spending about 600,000 dollars.[^2]
Straus remained at his Park Avenue apartment and died in 1933 without ever living in the unfinished mansion.[^2] His heirs left the structure vacant for more than a decade while property-tax obligations accumulated.[^2] The house later passed through institutional and residential uses before returning to private ownership, and by the late 1980s the seven-story building was measured at about 21,000 square feet on a lot fifty feet wide.[^1]
The exterior was finished in limestone in the French neoclassical manner, set off by a fifteen-foot oak entrance door and tall arched windows, and the residence stood out of scale with its four- and five-story neighbors.[^3] A 2003 Vanity Fair profile of the interior described the residence as among the city's grandest townhouses and recorded unusual furnishings, including framed prosthetic eyeballs that the account said had been manufactured in England for injured soldiers and a life-size sculpture of a naked warrior.[^3]
### Wexner Purchase and Transfer to Epstein
[[Leslie Wexner]], the founder of The Limited and [[L Brands]], purchased the townhouse in 1989 for about 13.2 million dollars, and control of the property then moved through a chain of corporate entities during the 1990s with Epstein listed in various officer or trustee roles.[^4] Epstein, who held a sweeping power of attorney over Wexner's finances granted in 1991, used the house as his Manhattan residence while title remained with Wexner-linked entities.[^4]
In 2011 the mansion was conveyed to [[Maple Inc.]], an Epstein-linked U.S. Virgin Islands entity, for zero dollars in recorded consideration, with Epstein signing the transaction for both the seller and the buyer.[^4] Reporting at the time valued the property in the tens of millions of dollars, and the terms were never fully explained publicly.[^4] An FBI internal memo released in 2026 stated that Epstein "controlled all of Wexner's personal finances with virtually no oversight" and described his sale to himself of a New York home that had belonged to Wexner at a discounted price; the financial mechanics of that transfer are detailed on the Leslie Wexner page.[^5]
Epstein listed Manhattan as his residence in legal filings, and the townhouse functioned as the hub of his New York operations, with staff, a large household and the art and furnishings later catalogued during the federal search.[^1]
### Interior Accounts and Surveillance
Court testimony, photographs entered as evidence and journalistic accounts described an interior filled with framed photographs of women and girls, including images displayed in the stairwells and private rooms.[^6] Witnesses and reporters described a chessboard whose pieces were dressed to resemble Epstein's staff, a life-size hanging female doll, a mural depicting a prison yard and a painting that appeared to depict Bill Clinton.[^3]
Investigators who searched the house in 2019 reported finding hidden cameras positioned to monitor bedrooms and bathrooms, and photographs of partially nude and apparently underage females were recovered from multiple rooms.[^6] Compact discs and hard drives containing images were found in plastic bins and drawers distributed throughout the residence.[^7]
Several women who later gave testimony in civil suits and in the prosecution of [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] described being brought to the townhouse as minors or young adults and directed to upstairs massage rooms, accounts that form part of the body of allegations against Epstein and his associates rather than adjudicated findings as to this address.[^6] Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 of sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges arising from conduct that prosecutors said occurred at Epstein's residences, including the New York townhouse.[^6]
### The July 2019 Federal Search
Federal agents executed a search warrant at 9 East 71st Street on the evening of July 6, 2019, the day Epstein was arrested at Teterboro Airport, and continued into July 7.[^7] An FBI team from a child-exploitation and human-trafficking task force forced entry when no one answered, and agents located a locked safe in a fifth-floor dressing area, which they opened with a saw; the supervising agent later testified that "we brought a saw."[^7]
Prosecutors said the safe held about 70,000 dollars in cash, dozens of loose diamonds, compact discs, hard drives and an expired foreign passport.[^8] The passport had been issued by Austria in 1982, was valid until 1987 and bore a photograph of Epstein under the name Marius Robert Fortelni, listing an occupation of "manager" and a residence in Dammam, Saudi Arabia; its pages carried entry stamps for France, England and Saudi Arabia from the early 1980s.[^9] Prosecutors cited the diamonds, the cash and the false passport at Epstein's bail hearing as evidence that he had the means and intent to flee, and Judge Richard Berman denied bail.[^8]
Epstein's defense lawyers said the passport had been given to him by a friend decades earlier for personal protection during travel, asserting that some Jewish Americans had been advised to carry identification bearing a non-Jewish name when traveling internationally during a period of hijacking risk, and that Epstein never used it to clear immigration.[^9] Epstein was found dead in his federal jail cell on August 10, 2019, and the ruling was suicide.[^1]
### Post-Death Sale
After Epstein's death the townhouse was placed on the market by his estate, listed in 2020 at 88 million dollars, a price that was cut by 23 million dollars to 65 million dollars in January 2021.[^10] In March 2021 the mansion sold for 51 million dollars to Michael Daffey, a former [[Goldman Sachs]] executive who had managed hedge-fund clients for the bank and was retiring from its global-markets division.[^10]
A spokesman said Daffey financed the purchase with cash and a bridge loan, and the proceeds went to Epstein's estate, which had established a fund to compensate his alleged victims.[^10] Coverage placed the building at about 19,000 to 28,000 square feet across seven stories with roughly forty rooms, the wide variance reflecting differing measurements of the much-altered house over the decades.[^10]
The sale closed the chain of ownership that ran from the Straus heirs through the mid-century institutional uses to Wexner, to the Epstein-controlled Maple Inc. entity, and finally to a private buyer who paid roughly 1,800 dollars per square foot.[^10] The fund established from the estate's assets, including the proceeds of this and the Palm Beach sale, processed claims from women who said they had been abused at Epstein's properties.[^10]
### Footnotes
[^1]: For the townhouse as Epstein's primary New York residence, the approximately 21,000-square-foot late-1980s measurement, and the timeline through his July 2019 arrest and August 10, 2019 death, see the contemporaneous press (Associated Press, *New York Times,* CNBC).
[^2]: "The 1933 Herbert Straus Mansion, No. 9 East 71st Street," *Daytonian in Manhattan,* on Herbert N. Straus as a Macy's heir and son of Isidor and Ida Straus, his 1928 purchase of the lot, the commission to Horace Trumbauer, the imported European rooms, the 1929 crash, the 1931 halt at roughly ninety percent completion after about 600,000 dollars, and his 1933 death without occupying the house. http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-1933-herbert-straus-mansion-no-9.html
[^3]: "A Scandal in Stone: The Infamous Epstein Townhouse," *East Side Feed,* summarizing the 2003 Vanity Fair profile of the interior (the fifteen-foot oak door, arched windows, framed prosthetic eyeballs and naked-warrior sculpture) and the artwork later observed during the FBI search. https://eastsidefeed.com/real-estate/a-scandal-in-stone-the-infamous-epstein-townhouse/
[^4]: "What the Records Show: The Townhouses on East 71st Street," summarizing NYC ACRIS deed records and 2019 reporting on Leslie Wexner's 1989 purchase for about 13.2 million dollars and the 2011 zero-dollar transfer to Maple Inc. signed by Epstein for both sides. https://www.habituallychic.luxury/2020/07/a-look-inside-9-east-71st-street/
[^5]: "FBI memos, bank record, odd emails mention Wexner in new Epstein files," *AOL,* 2026, quoting the FBI memo that Epstein "controlled all of Wexner's personal finances with virtually no oversight" and describing his discounted sale to himself of a Wexner home and aircraft. https://www.aol.com/articles/les-wexner-appears-latest-epstein-171239980.html
[^6]: Trial coverage of United States v. Ghislaine Maxwell (S.D.N.Y. 2021), on the December 2021 conviction and on victim testimony describing the New York townhouse, the displayed photographs and the upstairs massage rooms; abuse described at this address is testimony and allegation. https://www.foxnews.com/us/ghislaine-maxwell-trial-epstein-nude-photos-evidence-tape
[^7]: "'We brought a saw': FBI found diamonds, cash, passports, CDs and hard drives after cracking open safe in 2019 raid on Epstein's Upper East Side townhouse," *inkl,* on the July 6 to 7, 2019 search, the fifth-floor safe, the sawing open, the agent's testimony, and the CDs and hard drives found throughout the house. https://www.inkl.com/news/we-brought-a-saw-fbi-found-diamonds-cash-passports-cds-and-hard-drives-after-cracking-open-safe-in-2019-raid-on-epstein-s-upper-east-side-townhouse
[^8]: "Epstein's safe had 'piles of cash' and a fake passport, prosecutors say," *Seattle Times / Associated Press,* 2019, on the roughly 70,000 dollars in cash, the diamonds, the expired foreign passport cited at the bail hearing, and Judge Richard Berman's denial of bail. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/epsteins-safe-had-piles-of-cash-and-a-fake-passport-prosecutors-ssay/
[^9]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Fake Foreign Passport Was Used in Saudi Arabia and Other Countries," *The Daily Beast,* 2019, on the Austrian passport issued in 1982 and valid until 1987 in the name Marius Robert Fortelni, the Dammam, Saudi Arabia residence, the early-1980s entry stamps for France, England and Saudi Arabia, and the defense's personal-protection explanation. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-fake-foreign-passport-was-used-in-saudi-arabia-and-other-countries/
[^10]: "Former Goldman Sachs exec is mystery buyer of $51 million Jeffrey Epstein mansion, boosting victim fund," *CNBC,* 2021, and "Former Goldman Exec Behind Epstein Townhouse Buy," *The Real Deal,* 2021, on the 88 million dollar listing, the January 2021 cut to 65 million dollars, the March 2021 sale to Michael Daffey for 51 million dollars financed with cash and a bridge loan, the proceeds going to the estate's victim fund, and the square-footage and room figures. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/16/goldman-sachs-exec-daffey-buys-jeffrey-epstein-mansion-in-new-york.html

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---
category: "Landmark"
tags: [Place, JeffreyEpstein, Paris, France, Property, SexTrafficking, JeanLucBrunel, OCRVP]
summary: "Jeffrey Epstein's apartment on the Avenue Foch in Paris, searched by French police in 2019 and central to the French criminal investigation into rape of minors and trafficking opened after his death."
location: Paris, France
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
---
Avenue Foch is a wide residential avenue in the 16th arrondissement of Paris running from the Arc de Triomphe to the Bois de Boulogne, and [[Jeffrey Epstein]] owned a large apartment there that served as his Paris base. After his July 2019 arrest and August 2019 death, the apartment was searched by French police and became central to a French criminal investigation into the rape of minors and human trafficking.[^1]
### The Apartment
Epstein acquired his Avenue Foch residence in the early 2000s through a French real-estate entity, paying roughly 1.5 million euros around 2002 for property within one of the avenue's grand buildings and adding a further unit in 2004.[^2] Reporting described the residence as an eighteen-room apartment in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Paris, steps from the Arc de Triomphe.[^3]
The apartment was photographed by French authorities during their search, and images later released showed a room decorated in red fitted with a massage table, along with photographs of nude and partially nude young women displayed on the walls and a number of taxidermy and stuffed animals.[^3] One photograph entered into the French record showed Epstein beside two topless women inside the apartment.[^4]
Epstein used the Paris apartment during frequent travel between his residences, and his presence in France was tied to his relationships in the Paris modeling industry.[^4] The French entity that held the property remained part of his estate after his death, and the apartment was later sold for a reported figure in excess of ten million dollars.[^3]
### France Connections and the Modeling Recruitment
Epstein's connection to France ran through [[Jean-Luc Brunel]], a French model agent who founded the agency [[MC2 Model Management]] with about one million dollars in financing from Epstein.[^5] Prosecutors and accusers alleged that Brunel used his modeling agencies to identify young women and girls and direct them to Epstein, steering some to his residences in Florida, New York and France.[^5] Brunel denied wrongdoing.[^5]
Accusers including [[Virginia Giuffre]] alleged that they were directed to have sexual contact with Brunel and others during trips that included France, accounts that were filed in civil litigation and remain allegations as to conduct in Paris.[^4] Investigators examining the French dimension drew on testimony gathered in separate French inquiries into model agents, including Brunel and [[Gerald Marie]], whose accusers described drugging and assault.[^1]
The Paris modeling world supplied the link between Epstein's apartment and the recruitment alleged by French and American victims, and the agencies tied to Brunel became a focus of the investigation that French authorities opened after Epstein's death.[^5]
### The French Criminal Investigation
The Paris prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation on August 23, 2019, after Epstein's death, into allegations including the rape of minors, sexual assault and criminal association connected to trafficking.[^6] The inquiry was assigned to the Office central pour la répression des violences aux personnes, the OCRVP, a national unit of the French judicial police created in 2006 to handle serious offenses against persons.[^7]
French investigators searched the Avenue Foch apartment in late September 2019, entering on a Monday afternoon and working into the early hours of the following day to collect evidence.[^8] French officials, including the secretaries of state Marlène Schiappa and Adrien Taquet, had publicly called for an investigation, saying the U.S. case had highlighted links with France and that an inquiry was fundamental for the victims.[^9] The OCRVP issued public appeals for victims and witnesses to come forward, citing the international complexity of the case, and reported interviewing several people in the early phase.[^7]
The investigation continued for years and intersected with the case against Brunel, who was detained in mid-December 2020 as he prepared to leave France and was placed under investigation for the rape of minors, sexual assault and trafficking; he was found hanged in his cell at La Santé prison in Paris on February 19, 2022, a death ruled a suicide.[^5] The Paris prosecutor later renewed appeals for victims to come forward and drew on files released by the U.S. Department of Justice to examine possible offenses committed in France or involving French victims.[^7]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "French police launch search at Jeffrey Epstein's Paris flat," *France 24,* 2019, and "Properties of Jeffrey Epstein" used for orientation, on the Avenue Foch apartment as Epstein's Paris base, the post-death search, and the link to French inquiries into model agents including Jean-Luc Brunel and Gerald Marie. https://www.france24.com/en/20190924-french-police-launch-search-jeffrey-epstein-paris-flat
[^2]: "French officials call for investigation of Jeffrey Epstein's 'links with France,'" *ABC News,* 2019, on Epstein's purchase of property in the Avenue Foch building through a French real-estate entity for about 1.5 million euros around 2002 with a further unit added in 2004. https://abcnews.go.com/International/french-officials-call-investigation-jeffrey-epsteins-links-france/story?id=64925236
[^3]: "Inside Epstein's Paris lair: French prosecutors release photos of his flat including red room complete with masseuse table," *LBC,* 2026, on the eighteen-room apartment in the 16th arrondissement, the released search photographs of the red massage room and displayed images, and the later reported sale for more than ten million dollars. https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/french-investigators-photos-inside-epsteins-paris-apartment-5HjdTS7_2/
[^4]: "Jeffrey Epstein pictured with topless girls in Paris apartment with sinister history," *AOL,* on the released photograph of Epstein with two topless women inside the apartment and the accounts tying his Paris presence to the modeling industry; abuse described in France is allegation and testimony. https://www.aol.com/entertainment/jeffrey-epstein-pictured-topless-girls-174308994.html
[^5]: "Jean-Luc Brunel, French modeling agent and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, found dead in prison cell," *CNN,* 2022, and "Jean-Luc Brunel found hanged in prison," *Washington Post,* 2022, on Epstein's roughly one-million-dollar financing of MC2 Model Management, the allegations that Brunel recruited and supplied girls, his mid-December 2020 detention, and his February 19, 2022 death at La Santé prison. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/19/europe/jean-luc-brunel-jeffrey-epstein-death-intl
[^6]: "Prosecutors in France investigate Jeffrey Epstein," *Axios,* 2019, on the Paris prosecutor's August 23, 2019 opening of a preliminary investigation into the alleged rape of minors and related charges following Epstein's death. https://www.axios.com/prosecutors-france-investigate-jeffrey-epstein-da76599d-5d44-4a68-9733-98bf79a97480.html
[^7]: "Paris prosecutor makes public appeal for Epstein victims in France to come forward," *France 24,* 2026, on the OCRVP (Office central pour la répression des violences aux personnes), its creation in 2006 within the judicial police, its handling of the Epstein and Brunel case, and the public appeals for victims and witnesses. https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260218-paris-prosecutor-makes-public-appeal-for-epstein-victims-in-france-to-come-forward
[^8]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Paris Apartment Searched by French Police," *Law & Crime,* 2019, on the September 2019 search of the Avenue Foch apartment beginning Monday afternoon and continuing into the following day. https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/jeffrey-epsteins-paris-apartment-searched-by-french-police/
[^9]: "French officials call for investigation," *ABC News,* 2019, on the August 12, 2019 joint statement by secretaries of state Marlène Schiappa and Adrien Taquet requesting an investigation into Epstein's links with France. https://abcnews.go.com/International/french-officials-call-investigation-jeffrey-epsteins-links-france/story?id=64925236

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---
category: "Landmark"
tags:
- Place
- JeffreyEpstein
- VirginIslands
- Property
- Island
- ShellCompany
- Construction
summary: "Great St. James is the larger island adjacent to Little St. James that Jeffrey Epstein acquired in 2016 for 22.5 million dollars through a shell company whose listed beneficial owner was a Dubai businessman used without consent, on which Epstein conducted extensive unpermitted construction that drew U.S. Virgin Islands stop-work orders and fines, and which his estate sold with Little St. James to Stephen Deckoff in 2023."
location: "U.S. Virgin Islands (off St. Thomas)"
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
---
Great St. James is a private island of roughly 160 to 165 acres in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], lying directly across a narrow channel from [[Little St. James]] off the southeastern end of [[St. Thomas]]. [[Jeffrey Epstein]] acquired it in January 2016 for a total of about 22.5 million dollars through the shell entity Great St. Jim LLC, after the seller declined to deal with him directly because of his status as a registered sex offender. Epstein then conducted extensive construction across the island without the required permits, drawing a cease-and-desist order in 2016 and a stop-work order in December 2018 from the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, along with a 70,000 dollar penalty for unpermitted land clearing. The estate sold Great St. James together with Little St. James to the investor [[Stephen Deckoff]] in 2023.[^1][^2][^3]
### Acquisition and the Shell Company
Epstein sought to buy Great St. James from Christian Kjaer, described as one of Denmark's wealthiest men, who according to later reporting did not want to be publicly associated with Epstein given his sex-offender status. Epstein structured the purchase through the shell entity Great St. Jim LLC and arranged for the name of the Dubai businessman [[Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem]], the longtime chairman of the ports operator DP World, to appear as the ultimate beneficial owner on contractual paperwork. Reporting indicated that bin Sulayem had declined Epstein's request to use his name and that no signature of his appeared on the documents.[^2]
The acquisition closed in two recorded transactions in January 2016: a purchase of Kjaer's parcels through Great St. Jim LLC for about 17.5 million dollars, and a further purchase of additional parcels through the same LLC for about 5 million dollars, totaling roughly 22.5 million dollars. Some accounts cite an 18 million dollar figure that reflects only part of the transaction; the combined recorded total is about 22.5 million dollars.[^4]
After the deal closed, bin Sulayem's name did not appear on subsequent filings, and local land-use permit documents identified Epstein as the sole member of Great St. Jim LLC, revealing his ownership. The concealment surfaced again in 2026 when the connection to bin Sulayem drew renewed scrutiny; on February 13, 2026 he was removed from his chairman and chief-executive roles at DP World and a related Dubai entity after disclosures tied him to Epstein.[^2]
### Unpermitted Construction and Stop-Work Orders
The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources issued a cease-and-desist order on October 28, 2016 for unauthorized development in the coastal zone on Great St. James, after inspectors found clearing and construction activity that the department had not permitted. The department and Great St. Jim LLC subsequently reached a settlement under which the company paid a 70,000 dollar penalty and agreed to corrective actions over unpermitted land clearing.[^3][^5]
Permit records showed that Epstein planned a complex of structures across the island connected by a private road, including a barge dock, two homes, cottages, an amphitheater, gardens, a marine electrical cable, and a solar array with a generator. Reporting noted that only a single minor permit, for a flagpole and cistern repairs, had been approved, indicating that most of the planned construction proceeded or was attempted without proper authorization.[^6]
On December 21, 2018 the territory's Coastal Zone Management program issued a stop-work order, and Epstein was subsequently accused of violating it by failing to remove a beach-bar cabana and by expanding a driveway. The construction and clearing on the island continued to draw enforcement attention into 2019. The territory later found, in the course of its civil case, that Epstein had razed the remains of centuries-old structures associated with enslaved workers to make room for his development, and the 2022 settlement required 450,000 dollars to remediate environmental damage on the island.[^6][^7]
### Sale With Little St. James
Great St. James was sold together with Little St. James in May 2023 to an entity controlled by the investor Stephen Deckoff, founder of Black Diamond Capital Management, for 60 million dollars. The two islands had been listed in March 2022 at a combined asking price of 125 million dollars, and the sale closed at well below half of that figure.[^8]
Deckoff announced plans to develop a luxury resort of about 25 rooms on one of the islands, with reporting citing a planned opening in 2025. The sale resolved part of the estate's obligation under the 2022 U.S. Virgin Islands settlement, which had also directed half of the Little St. James sale proceeds to the territorial government and required environmental remediation on Great St. James.[^7][^8]
The transaction transferred both islands out of the Epstein estate. The combined sale ended Epstein's ownership of the two adjacent islands he had assembled off St. Thomas, the second of which he had acquired and developed largely outside the territory's permitting system.[^8]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Great Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands" entry, used here for non-controversial geographic data only (acreage, channel position relative to Little St. James); claims sourced solely to it are omitted. For ownership and price, see the reporting in notes 2 and 4.
[^2]: "Jeffrey Epstein used name of wealthy Dubai businessman to acquire second island in Caribbean, report finds." *Fox News,* 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/us/jeffrey-epstein-used-name-of-wealthy-dubai-businessman-to-acquire-second-island-in-caribbean-report-finds ; "Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem: Powerful Dubai tycoon replaced after DOJ reveals sexually explicit emails with Epstein." *CNN Business,* February 13, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/business/epstein-files-bin-sulayem-friendship-intl (shell entity Great St. Jim LLC; bin Sulayem named without consent; February 2026 removal from DP World).
[^3]: "DPNR Orders Cease and Desist for Unauthorized Development on Great St. James." *St. Thomas Source,* November 1, 2016. https://stthomassource.com/content/2016/11/01/dpnr-orders-cease-and-desist-for-unauthorized-development-on-great-st-james/ (October 28, 2016 cease-and-desist; coastal-zone development).
[^4]: For the two January 2016 recorded transactions through Great St. Jim LLC (approximately 17.5 million dollars and 5 million dollars, totaling about 22.5 million dollars) and the discrepancy with the 18 million dollar figure, see the contemporaneous Virgin Islands land records as summarized in reporting on the Epstein islands; "Billionaire Stephen Deckoff buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands." *CNBC,* May 3, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/jeffrey-epstein-private-islands-bought-by-billionaire.html
[^5]: "Corporation cited by DPNR for development on Great St. James Island." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* 2016. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/corporation-cited-by-dpnr-for-development-on-great-st-james/ (70,000 dollar penalty and corrective-action settlement for unpermitted land clearing).
[^6]: "DPNR planning visit to Epstein's island." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* 2019. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/dpnr-planning-visit-to-epstein-s-island/ (planned complex of buildings; single minor permit approved; December 21, 2018 stop-work order; alleged violations involving a beach-bar cabana and a driveway).
[^7]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate Of Jeffrey Epstein And Co-Defendants For Over $105 Million." *U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice,* December 1, 2022. https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/ (450,000 dollars for environmental remediation on Great St. James; razed structures associated with enslaved workers).
[^8]: "Financier buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, with plans to create a resort." *NPR,* May 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james ; "Jeffrey Epstein's two private islands sell for $60m." *AOL/The Independent,* May 2023. https://www.aol.com/jeffrey-epstein-two-private-islands-160710392.html

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---
category: "Landmark"
tags:
- Place
- JeffreyEpstein
- VirginIslands
- SexTrafficking
- Property
- GhislaineMaxwell
- Island
summary: "Little St. James is the roughly 70-acre private island off St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands that Jeffrey Epstein bought in 1998 and developed into his main Caribbean compound, where victims alleged repeated abuse occurred, which federal agents searched after his 2019 death and which his estate sold with the adjacent Great St. James in 2023."
location: "U.S. Virgin Islands (off St. Thomas)"
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
---
Little St. James is a private island of roughly 70 to 78 acres in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], lying about a mile and a half off the southeastern coast of [[St. Thomas]] and accessible only by boat or helicopter. [[Jeffrey Epstein]] acquired it in April 1998 through the entity L.S.J. LLC, of which he was the sole member, for 7.95 million dollars, and over the next two decades built it into his principal Caribbean residence and compound. Victims and locals referred to it by names including "the island" and "pedophile island," and victim testimony placed sexual abuse there across the period of Epstein's ownership. Federal agents searched the island in August 2019 after Epstein's death, the U.S. Virgin Islands government settled a civil trafficking and racketeering case against his estate in 2022, and the estate sold Little St. James together with [[Great St. James]] to the investor [[Stephen Deckoff]] in 2023.[^1][^2][^3]
### Acquisition and the Compound
L.S.J. LLC purchased Little St. James in April 1998 for 7.95 million dollars, with Epstein listed as the sole member of the company. The island's recorded area is given as roughly 70 to 78 acres, and a 2019 territorial valuation assessed it at about 63.9 million dollars. The property sits in the East End subdistrict of St. Thomas and can be reached only by private boat or helicopter, a feature that kept the compound isolated from casual observation.[^1]
Epstein expanded the built environment substantially across the late 2000s and early 2010s, adding a main residence, guest cottages and cabanas, staff quarters, a large swimming pool, a helipad, a dock, and a prominent sundial. At the island's southwest point he constructed a blue-and-white striped, boxlike structure surrounded by a square pavilion decorated with red geometric patterns on a white ground, a building variously described in reporting as a chapel, a temple, and a music room.[^2] Reporting in 2026 stated that internal Epstein documents and the [[New York Times]] indicated Epstein intended the striped building as a "mosque," envisioned with large tapestries, Islamic gardens, and tiles sourced from a mosque in Uzbekistan.[^2]
Surveillance equipment was reported throughout the compound. Investigators and journalists described cameras positioned across the property, and the August 2019 federal search seized hard drives, security tapes, and other recording media. Online claims that the striped structure was a site of occult or "Moloch" worship circulated widely but were not supported by any verified evidence according to investigators, journalists, and the available records, and are noted here only as unsubstantiated allegation.[^2]
### The 2002 St. Thomas Common Sense Symposium
In April 2002 Epstein funded the St. Thomas Common Sense Symposium, an artificial-intelligence gathering subtitled "Designing Architectures for Human-Level Intelligence," organized with the participation of the [[Marvin Minsky|MIT cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky]] and the researchers Push Singh and Aaron Sloman. The symposium itself convened on St. Thomas, and a published account of its proceedings exists under the same title.[^4]
Attendees later recalled being taken from St. Thomas by boat to a beach on Epstein's island, about two miles away, for a banquet and barbecue connected to the gathering. Several AI researchers who attended described Epstein in unfavorable terms in subsequent interviews, recalling his manner and the atmosphere around the event as off-putting.[^5]
Minsky's name later surfaced in litigation over the trafficking operation. [[Virginia Giuffre]], in deposition testimony, named Minsky among the men she was allegedly directed to have sexual contact with on the island when she was a minor; the allegation is victim testimony and was not adjudicated, and Minsky died in 2016 before it became public.[^6]
### Victim Allegations of Abuse
Virginia Giuffre alleged that she was present on Little St. James across roughly 2001 to 2003, after [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] recruited her in 2000 from [[Mar-a-Lago]] when she was a teenager. Giuffre stated in court filings and interviews that "orgies were a constant thing that took place" on the island and described being passed among Epstein's associates there. These accounts are victim testimony and allegations rather than adjudicated findings.[^6]
An FBI report cited in later reporting recorded that one victim told agents Epstein spoke of building a "harem" on the island to house multiple girls, and that he wanted "a castle like structure, resembling the Alhambra in Spain." Other victim accounts described the island as a site where Epstein and guests subjected young women and girls to sexual abuse, with the isolation of the location limiting any ability to leave or seek help. The U.S. Virgin Islands later alleged in its civil suit that trafficking continued on the island as late as 2018.[^2][^3]
Giuffre also alleged that [[Prince Andrew]] and other prominent men were present during abuse on or connected to the island, claims that were central to her civil suit against Andrew, which he settled in 2022 without admission of liability. The unsealing of [[Giuffre v. Maxwell]] exhibits and the 2021 trial of Maxwell produced additional victim accounts describing the island's role in the operation. Each remains attributed testimony.[^6]
### The 2019 Federal Search
On August 12, 2019, two days after Epstein's death in federal custody, FBI agents searched Little St. James as part of the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]] investigation into Epstein and his associates. Agents reached the island by boat and helicopter, and video and drone footage recorded personnel moving across the compound on golf carts and removing items.[^7]
The search reportedly recovered electronic devices, hard drives, phones, photo albums, handwritten notes, travel logs, and security recordings, with one later DOJ evidence list referencing labeled media. Reporting indicated agents seized on the order of two dozen electronic devices from multiple structures on the property. Prosecutors stated the broader investigation into Epstein's network would continue despite his death.[^7]
The search followed Epstein's July 2019 federal indictment in New York on sex-trafficking charges, which concerned conduct in New York and [[Florida]] and did not itself charge conduct in the Virgin Islands. The territory pursued the island-related conduct through its own civil enforcement action.[^3][^7]
### The U.S. Virgin Islands Civil Case and Settlement
In January 2020 the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General [[Denise George]] filed a civil enforcement action against Epstein's estate under the territory's Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the local analog to federal RICO, alleging that Epstein operated a trafficking enterprise based on the islands and that abuse of girls and young women continued on Little St. James until 2018. The suit named the estate, the co-executors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, and ten Epstein-created entities.[^3]
On November 29, 2022, George announced a settlement requiring the defendants to pay the Government of the Virgin Islands more than 105 million dollars in cash penalties and forfeitures, plus one half of the proceeds from any sale of Little St. James, with funds directed toward law enforcement, victim services, and human-trafficking and sexual-assault support in the territory. The agreement separately required 450,000 dollars to remediate environmental damage on Great St. James, where the government found Epstein had razed the remains of centuries-old structures associated with enslaved workers to make room for his development.[^8]
George stated that the settlement "restores the faith of the People of the Virgin Islands that its laws will be enforced, without fear or favor, against those who break them." The settlement resolved the territory's nearly three-year action and conditioned part of the recovery on the eventual sale of the island.[^8]
### The 2023 Sale to Stephen Deckoff
In May 2023 Epstein's estate sold Little St. James together with the adjacent Great St. James to an entity controlled by the investor Stephen Deckoff, founder of the private investment firm Black Diamond Capital Management, for 60 million dollars. The combined properties had been listed in March 2022 at an asking price of 125 million dollars, so the sale closed at well under half the initial ask.[^9]
Deckoff stated that he intended to develop a luxury resort of about 25 rooms on one of the islands, with reporting at the time citing a planned opening in 2025 and framing the project as a tourism and economic-development venture for the territory. Under the 2022 settlement, half of the Little St. James sale proceeds were directed to the U.S. Virgin Islands government, satisfying part of the estate's obligation.[^9]
The sale ended Epstein's decades-long association with the U.S. Virgin Islands, transferring both islands to new ownership. Reporting noted the unusual challenge of marketing properties so closely identified with the trafficking operation, which informed both the discounted price and the announced plan to rebrand the islands for resort use.[^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Who owns Jeffrey Epstein's island?" *Britannica.* https://www.britannica.com/question/Who-owns-Jeffrey-Epsteins-island ; "Jeffrey Epstein's Islands." *Britannica.* https://www.britannica.com/place/Jeffrey-Epsteins-Islands (purchase via L.S.J. LLC, 7.95 million dollars, April 1998; acreage; 2019 valuation).
[^2]: "Inside Jeffrey Epstein's Caribbean Island, Little St. James." *CNN,* March 13, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/13/us/jeffrey-epstein-little-st-james-island-invs-vis (compound expansion, striped "temple"/"mosque" structure, "harem"/"Alhambra" FBI account, surveillance, debunked "Moloch" claims).
[^3]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Officials: Epstein Trafficked Girls On Private Island Until 2018." *NPR,* January 16, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/797011139/u-s-virgin-islands-officials-epstein-trafficked-girls-on-private-island-until-20 (the territorial civil suit; trafficking alleged through 2018).
[^4]: Minsky, Marvin; Singh, Push; Sloman, Aaron. "The St. Thomas Common Sense Symposium: Designing Architectures for Human-Level Intelligence." Symposium proceedings, April 2002. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2902676_The_St_Thomas_Common_Sense_Symposium_Designing_Architectures_for_Human-Level_Intelligence
[^5]: "'Skeevy' Epstein gave us the creeps: AI experts recall bizarre island visit." *Raw Story,* 2026. https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/2673860453/ (attendees taken by boat to a beach barbecue on Little St. James; unfavorable recollections of Epstein).
[^6]: For Giuffre's allegations regarding the island, see Giuffre v. Maxwell, No. 15-cv-7433 (S.D.N.Y.), deposition and unsealed exhibits, https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Giuffre%20v.%20Maxwell,%20No.%20115-cv-07433%20(S.D.N.Y.%202015)/1330-04.pdf ; the Minsky allegation appears in Giuffre's deposition testimony and is attributed victim testimony, unadjudicated, and Minsky died in 2016. All abuse accounts in this section are allegations and victim testimony.
[^7]: "FBI agents swarm Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island." *NBC News,* August 12, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-agents-swarm-jeffrey-epstein-s-private-caribbean-island-n1041596 (August 12, 2019 search; arrival by boat and helicopter; seizure of electronic devices).
[^8]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate Of Jeffrey Epstein And Co-Defendants For Over $105 Million." *U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice,* December 1, 2022. https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/ ; "U.S. Virgin Islands reaches a $105M settlement with Jeffrey Epstein's estate." *NPR,* December 1, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/01/1140096222/jeffrey-epsteins-estate-reaches-a-105m-settlement-with-the-u-s-virgin-islands
[^9]: "Financier buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, with plans to create a resort." *NPR,* May 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james ; "Jeffrey Epstein's two private islands sell for $60m." *AOL/The Independent,* May 2023. https://www.aol.com/jeffrey-epstein-two-private-islands-160710392.html ; "Billionaire Stephen Deckoff buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands." *CNBC,* May 3, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/jeffrey-epstein-private-islands-bought-by-billionaire.html

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---
category: "Landmark"
tags:
- Place
- JeffreyEpstein
- NewMexico
- SexTrafficking
- Property
- Eugenics
- Ranch
summary: "Zorro Ranch is the roughly 7,600- to 10,000-acre New Mexico property near Stanley, south of Santa Fe, that Jeffrey Epstein acquired in 1993 from the family of former Governor Bruce King, built into a hilltop mansion compound with a private airstrip, where victims alleged abuse and where the New York Times reported he discussed a plan to seed the human race with his DNA, and which New Mexico reopened a criminal investigation and a legislative inquiry into in 2026."
location: "Stanley, New Mexico (Santa Fe County)"
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
---
Zorro Ranch is a property of roughly 7,600 to 10,000 acres near Stanley in Santa Fe County, [[New Mexico]], about 30 miles south of [[Santa Fe]], that [[Jeffrey Epstein]] acquired in 1993 from the family of the former New Mexico Governor [[Bruce King]]. Epstein built a large hilltop mansion there along with a private airstrip and outbuildings, combining deeded land with state grazing leases that extended his control over the surrounding terrain. Victims alleged that abuse occurred at the ranch, the [[New York Times]] reported in 2019 that Epstein discussed using the site to seed the human race with his DNA, Epstein never registered as a sex offender in New Mexico, and the state reopened a criminal investigation and launched a legislative inquiry into the property in 2026.[^1][^2][^3]
### Acquisition and the King Family
Epstein purchased Zorro Ranch in 1993 from the family of Bruce King, the longest-serving governor in New Mexico history, in a transaction reported at around 12 million dollars. The King family had used the property for cattle ranching, and in 1993 Bruce King and his son Gary King, who later served as New Mexico Attorney General, were reported to be in financial difficulty. Epstein retained ties to the prominent King family for years afterward.[^4]
The acquisition combined deeded land with state grazing leases that Epstein obtained, giving him effective control over a wider expanse than the land he owned outright and adding to the property's isolation, with the nearest neighbors miles away and Santa Fe about 30 miles to the north. Reported acreage figures vary, with sources citing roughly 7,600 acres, about 8,000 acres, and figures up to 10,000 acres depending on whether leased land is included.[^4]
The property's remoteness and the combination of owned and leased acreage gave Epstein a secluded compound far from any town. The same isolation later featured in victim accounts and in the questions New Mexico investigators raised about how activity at the ranch escaped earlier scrutiny.[^4][^2]
### The Compound and Airstrip
Epstein had a large hacienda-style mansion built on a hilltop at the ranch, with county records placing the start of construction in 1999. The main house was reported at roughly 26,000 to 33,000 square feet, and the construction was carried out by Bradbury Stamm Construction, a major New Mexico contractor whose work has included facilities at federal sites in the state. Reporting noted that the contractor's phone number appeared among the entries in Epstein's contact directory.[^5]
The compound included a private airstrip with a hangar and a helipad, a ranch office, a firehouse, and a seven-bay heated garage, alongside a sprawling courtyard. The airstrip allowed direct private-aircraft access to the property, consistent with the pattern of movement Epstein maintained across his network of homes.[^5]
Photographs of the interior released after Epstein's death showed eccentric and elaborate furnishings. Some later reporting described unusual features of the construction, and various claims about hidden or underground structures circulated; claims sourced only to unverified outlets are not reproduced here, and the documented record covers the mansion, airstrip, and outbuildings built by Bradbury Stamm.[^5]
### The DNA and Eugenics Reporting
The New York Times reported in 2019 that Epstein had told scientists and associates of a plan to use Zorro Ranch as the site of a project to seed the human race with his DNA, describing an idea in which numerous women would be inseminated with his sperm and give birth at the ranch. The reporting attributed the account to people familiar with Epstein's thinking and noted no evidence that the plan was ever carried out.[^6]
The same reporting connected the idea to Epstein's stated interest in transhumanism, a movement combining genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and other technologies to alter human beings, and to his cultivation of scientists. The plan as reported was a scheme Epstein discussed rather than an executed program, and it remains attributed account rather than an adjudicated finding.[^6]
Allegations later compiled by New Mexico investigators and survivors connected the ranch to claims of forced births and eugenics, drawing on survivor accounts, diary entries, and files released by the federal government. These allegations are victim testimony and contested claims, and the state's 2026 inquiries were framed in part around examining them.[^2]
### Victim Allegations of Abuse
At least ten girls and young women have alleged that they were groomed or assaulted at Zorro Ranch, with accounts beginning in the late 1990s, according to reporting and to New Mexico officials. These accounts are victim testimony and allegations, and Epstein was never charged with any crime in New Mexico.[^7]
New Mexico prosecutors confirmed in 2019 that they had interviewed possible victims who had visited the ranch, and survivors and investigators later described allegations including rape and sexual assault of minors at the property. The allegations drew on survivor accounts, diary entries, and documents released from the federal Epstein files. Some uncorroborated claims, including a 2019 email alleging that bodies were buried near the ranch, also circulated and were noted by investigators as unverified.[^2][^7]
Epstein never registered as a sex offender in New Mexico despite his 2008 [[Florida]] conviction and registration, a gap that later drew attention from state officials examining whether the ranch's activity escaped scrutiny. New York's July 2019 federal indictment concerned conduct in New York and Florida and did not charge conduct in New Mexico.[^2][^7]
### The New Mexico Investigations
The New Mexico Attorney General's office opened an inquiry in 2019 under then-Attorney General Hector Balderas, interviewing possible victims, but halted the effort in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York to avoid a parallel investigation. In 2026 the office, under Attorney General [[Raul Torrez]], reopened the criminal investigation, stating that revelations in previously sealed FBI files warranted further examination.[^2][^8]
On March 10, 2026, state investigators from the New Mexico Department of Justice began a search of the former Zorro Ranch with the cooperation of the current owners, examining allegations that the property may have been used for sexual abuse and sex trafficking. The department's spokesperson confirmed the search in a public statement tied to the reopened investigation.[^8]
In February 2026 the New Mexico Legislature established a bipartisan investigative committee, described in reporting as a "truth commission," to examine activity at the ranch and whether local authorities looked the other way. The panel, led by Representative Andrea Romero, received subpoena power and a multimillion-dollar budget funded through a prior settlement with Epstein's banks, and by mid-2026 it had issued subpoenas to state agencies, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, and other entities and called on survivors to come forward.[^9]
### Listing and Sale
Epstein's estate listed Zorro Ranch for sale in July 2021 at an asking price of 27.5 million dollars, with a later report indicating the asking price had dropped to about 18 million dollars. The property did not sell at the listed price.[^10]
In 2023 the ranch was sold through a public auction to San Rafael Ranch LLC, an entity tied to the family of the former Texas state senator Don Huffines, for an undisclosed price, with proceeds directed toward the estate's creditors. The property was renamed San Rafael Ranch in 2024.[^11]
Reporting in 2026 identified the Huffines-family ownership and connected it to Huffines's political activity in Texas. The current owners cooperated with the New Mexico Department of Justice search in March 2026. (The prior research note that the ranch was "listed for sale and unsold" reflects the 2021 listing, which did not sell at the asking price; the property was subsequently sold via auction in 2023, a conflict flagged here.)[^11][^8]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "New Mexico prosecutors search Jeffrey Epstein's secluded former Zorro Ranch." *PBS NewsHour,* March 10, 2026. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/new-mexico-prosecutors-search-jeffrey-epsteins-secluded-former-zorro-ranch (acquisition in 1993 from Bruce King; location near Stanley; hilltop mansion and private runway; March 10, 2026 search).
[^2]: "How Epstein lured girls to his Zorro Ranch and kept authorities away." *NBC News,* 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/epstein-lured-girls-zorro-ranch-new-mexico-investigation-jeffrey-rcna261370 ; "New Mexico reopens investigation into allegations at Epstein's former Zorro Ranch." *CBS News,* 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-mexico-reopens-investigation-jeffrey-epstein-zorro-ranch/ (victim interviews in 2019; 2019 halt at federal request; 2026 reopening; allegations including forced births).
[^3]: "New Investigation Launched into Epstein's 7,600-Acre Zorro Ranch." *Time,* 2026. https://time.com/7379228/epstein-zorro-ranch-investigation/ (acreage; legislative investigation; New York Times DNA reporting).
[^4]: "Jeffrey Epstein maintained ties to New Mexico's prominent King family for years." *Santa Fe New Mexican,* 2026. https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/epstein/jeffrey-epstein-maintained-ties-to-new-mexicos-prominent-king-family-for-years/article_ec207bfd-18f9-47b2-b8b6-ad519bfa3b52.html (1993 purchase from Bruce King for about 12 million dollars; Gary King; King family ranching; state grazing leases; isolation).
[^5]: "Jeffrey Epstein's New Mexico ranch listed for $27.5 million." *NBC News,* July 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jeffrey-epstein-s-new-mexico-ranch-listed-27-5-million-n1273048 ; "Terrifying Details Exposed on Who Built Epstein's New Mexico Ranch." *The New Republic,* 2026. https://newrepublic.com/post/209552/military-contractor-build-epstein-new-mexico-ranch-nuclear (mansion built by Bradbury Stamm Construction; construction begun 1999; airstrip, hangar, helipad, firehouse, garage; contractor in Epstein's contact directory).
[^6]: For the 2019 reporting that Epstein discussed seeding the human race with his DNA at the ranch and his interest in transhumanism, see "Jeffrey Epstein Hoped to Seed Human Race With His DNA." *The New York Times,* July 31, 2019, as summarized in "New Investigation Launched into Epstein's 7,600-Acre Zorro Ranch." *Time,* 2026. https://time.com/7379228/epstein-zorro-ranch-investigation/ ; the account is attributed to people familiar with Epstein's thinking and there is no evidence the plan was carried out.
[^7]: "How Epstein lured girls to his Zorro Ranch and kept authorities away." *NBC News,* 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/epstein-lured-girls-zorro-ranch-new-mexico-investigation-jeffrey-rcna261370 (at least ten alleged victims beginning in the late 1990s; Epstein never charged in New Mexico; never registered there; 2019 federal indictment did not charge New Mexico conduct).
[^8]: "Statement from New Mexico Department of Justice Spokesperson Regarding Today's Search of the Former 'Zorro Ranch.'" *New Mexico Department of Justice,* March 10, 2026. https://nmdoj.gov/press-release/statement-from-new-mexico-department-of-justice-spokesperson-regarding-todays-search-of-the-former-zorro-ranch/ (search with cooperation of current owners; reopened investigation under AG Raul Torrez).
[^9]: "New Mexico 'Truth Commission' begins investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch, will issue subpoenas." *CNN,* June 1, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/01/politics/new-mexico-truth-commission-epstein-zorro-ranch-subpoenas (February 2026 establishment; Representative Andrea Romero; subpoena power; budget funded through a settlement with Epstein's banks; subpoenas issued to state agencies and the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office).
[^10]: "Jeffrey Epstein's New Mexico ranch listed for $27.5 million." *NBC News,* July 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jeffrey-epstein-s-new-mexico-ranch-listed-27-5-million-n1273048 ; "Jeffrey Epstein's New Mexico Ranch Lists For $27.5M." *Inman,* July 1, 2021. https://www.inman.com/2021/07/01/jeffrey-epsteins-new-mexico-ranch-lists-for-27-5m/
[^11]: "Texas businessman running for office owns Epstein's Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County." *Santa Fe New Mexican,* 2026. https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/texas-businessman-running-for-office-owns-epsteins-zorro-ranch-in-santa-fe-county/article_14a05944-1e00-47c8-a4c3-071895abfb57.html ; "Huffines family revealed as buyer of Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico." *The Real Deal,* February 17, 2026. https://therealdeal.com/texas/2026/02/17/huffines-family-bought-epsteins-zorro-ranch-in-new-mexico/ (2023 public-auction sale to San Rafael Ranch LLC, tied to the Huffines family; renamed San Rafael Ranch in 2024; proceeds to creditors).