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---
category: "U.S. Government"
tags:
- Organization
- VirginIslands
- JeffreyEpstein
- TaxIncentives
- SouthernTrust
- GovernmentCapture
- RegulatoryFailure
alias:
- Virgin Islands Economic Development Commission
- V.I. Economic Development Commission
- USVI Economic Development Commission
- EDC
summary: "The Economic Development Commission is the U.S. Virgin Islands tax-incentive board that granted Jeffrey Epstein's Financial Trust and Southern Trust companies benefits from 1999 until his death, after his sex-offender registration."
location: "St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands"
relations:
- type: member_of
with: "[[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]]"
role: "subsidiary commission"
fn: 1
- type: funded
with: "[[Financial Trust Company]]"
start: 1999
fn: 3
- type: funded
with: "[[Southern Trust Company]]"
start: 2013-02-01
end: 2023-01-31
role: "10-year certificate, 90 percent income-tax exemption"
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Stacey Plaskett]]"
reverse: true
start: 2007
end: 2014
role: "general counsel"
fn: 3
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Sandra Bess]]"
reverse: true
role: "program compliance officer"
fn: 2
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
The Economic Development Commission is the board of the [[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]] that grants tax-incentive certificates to companies operating in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], trading large reductions in territorial income, gross-receipts, excise, and withholding taxes for local employment and investment. It certified [[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein's]] [[Financial Trust Company]] from 1999 and his [[Southern Trust Company]] from 2013, and his companies kept their benefits after his 2008 [[Florida]] conviction, his 2010 registration as a sex offender in the territory, and a January 2015 internal query about "current media discussions surrounding a principal of Southern Trust Company." The future governor [[Albert Bryan]] chaired the commission when it issued Southern Trust's certificate in January 2014, and the future congressional delegate [[Stacey Plaskett]] was its general counsel from 2007 to 2014. A consultant retained by [[JPMorgan Chase]] put Epstein's total benefits at about 300 million dollars.[^1][^2][^3]
### Structure and the Incentive Program
The commission is a subsidiary of the Economic Development Authority, a semi-autonomous territorial instrumentality created and governed under Title 29, section 1101 of the Virgin Islands Code. Beneficiaries apply, present their business at a public hearing, and receive a certificate setting the term, the percentage exemptions, and the employment, residency, and charitable-giving conditions they must meet. The authority's compliance staff then review annual reports submitted by the certificate holders.[^1][^2]
Its general counsel from 2007 to 2014 was Stacey Plaskett, who had worked for the St. Thomas attorney [[Erika Kellerhals]] before her election as the territory's delegate to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]. Kellerhals represented Epstein before the commission. The attorney [[Henry Smock]], who assisted Epstein in the 1998 purchase of [[Little St. James]], served for years as counsel to the authority's board. Plaskett, like the other officials named in the [[Epstein Files|Epstein files]], has denied wrongdoing.[^3]
### Financial Trust Company, 1999 to 2012
Epstein bought Little St. James in 1998 and incorporated Financial Trust Company in the territory on November 6, 1998. The commission granted it benefits beginning in 1999. The authority did not audit Financial Trust until 2008, nearly ten years after the original grant. Asked in a May 2023 deposition whether it would be unusual for a certificate holder to go nine years without a compliance report, the compliance officer [[Sandra Bess]] answered, "It is, should not be unusual but it maybe has happened in one or two cases." Financial Trust reported assets of 212 million dollars on its last public balance sheet, filed in 2012.[^1][^2]
[[Cecile de Jongh]], the wife of Governor [[John de Jongh]], was office manager of Financial Trust from 2007 and dealt with the authority on the company's compliance; Bess identified her as the company's "compliance person." When a Washington reporter asked Government House in 2012 whether she had helped the company obtain its benefits, she proposed a response to Epstein: "Cecile de Jongh currently works for Financial Trust Company in the capacity of office manager. She had nothing to do with Financial Trust Company receiving EDC tax benefits." Epstein wrote back, "I would simply state that you are an office manager," and she replied, "That's what John went with."[^2][^4][^5]
### Southern Trust Company, 2012 to 2019
Southern Trust was incorporated on November 18, 2011 as Financial Informatics, Inc., and renamed in September 2012; most of Epstein's territorial companies were created in 2011 and 2012, after his 2010 registration as a sex offender. It applied to the commission in October 2012. At a public hearing on November 15, 2012, Epstein and Kellerhals testified under oath that the company provided "cutting edge consulting services" in "biomedical and financial informatics." According to the hearing transcript, no one asked Epstein about his conviction or registration.[^1][^2]
The commission granted Southern Trust a ten-year package running from February 1, 2013 to January 31, 2023, with a 90 percent exemption from income taxes and 100 percent exemptions from gross-receipts, excise, and withholding taxes. The certificate is dated January 24, 2014 and signed by Bryan, as chairman, and Epstein, as president. That day Cecile de Jongh asked Epstein to match 15,000 dollars she had raised for her husband's final State of the Territory reception, and an hour later asked Epstein's accountant [[Richard Kahn]] to "prepare a check for $15,000 made payable to Governor's Special Events Fund." Bryan and Governor de Jongh both signed off on an extension of the Southern Trust benefits, and Bryan was serving as commission chairman and as the territory's Commissioner of Labor at the same time in 2013.[^1][^2][^3]
Between 2013 and 2019 Southern Trust employed thirteen people besides Epstein, eleven of them in administrative or support roles. The territory later alleged that its information-technology manager, reported as a Virgin Islands resident, held a Florida driver's license with a Miami address and served as Epstein's driver; that an "executive assistant" lived at 301 East 66th Street in Manhattan, a building Epstein's address book listed as an "Apt. for models"; and that another employee was represented by Kahn as an interior designer and a dentist. Southern Trust affirmed to the commission that it had no non-resident employees while employing non-residents, had no visible clients, and held no investments for others.[^1]
### The Money
Southern Trust reported net income of 50.3 million dollars in 2013, 67.5 million in 2014, 52.8 million in 2015, 4.8 million in 2016, and 17.1 million in 2017, and about 184 million dollars in revenue for 2013 to 2017. Bank records showed that "virtually all" of its income came from a single source, which the territory's complaint did not name. "In all, the single source paid $158 million to Defendant Southern Trust Company from 2013 to 2017, which constitutes 85% of the total revenues reported by Southern Trust Company. These funds appear to have not been used to pay for informatics or datamining services." The money moved through other Epstein entities and personal accounts, with [[Darren Indyke]] as signatory on the company's primary account and Kahn as treasurer. An independent review commissioned by [[Apollo Global Management]] found that the Apollo co-founder [[Leon Black]] paid Epstein about 158 million dollars between 2012 and 2017 for tax and estate-planning advice.[^1][^6]
For 2013 through 2017 Southern Trust received tax exemptions of 73.6 million dollars, and after it elected S-corporation status Epstein's personal income-tax exemption for the period was 71.3 million dollars. Including gross-receipts taxes, the territory estimated that the certificate allowed Epstein to avoid 80,576,236 dollars in taxes. Southern Trust had assets of about 391 million dollars by 2015. The authority's records show Epstein's companies received 144.9 million dollars in incentives between 2013 and 2019 alone, according to filings by the Virgin Islands [[Department of Justice]].[^1][^5]
### Oversight
Bess testified that compliance review consisted of checking that the figures on the summary page of a beneficiary's annual report matched the supporting pages, "many of which were authored by the company itself": "I would look at the presentation and what was presented at the back and ensure that the numbers total." Asked whether any part of her job involved "reviewing the character of the people who are the owners of the companies receiving tax benefits," she said no, and said such review "would usually come from the application side."[^2]
In January 2015 the authority's director of compliance requested an assessment of the impact on Southern Trust's business "in light of current media discussions surrounding a principal of Southern Trust Company." Southern Trust kept its benefits for five more years. On July 10, 2019, four days after Epstein's arrest in [[New Jersey]], authority spokeswoman Shanell Petersen advised the authority's "Business Ambassador," Governor Bryan's wife [[Yolanda Bryan]], about two press inquiries concerning "Jeffrey Epstein being an active EDC Beneficiary": "I recommend contacting Southern Trust and IYG (companies which he has ownership interest) to update them that we have provided public information based on the Sunshine Act... Informing them will allow them to prepare their PR team." Smock was part of the authority's nine-step protocol for answering press inquiries after the arrest. In October 2019, when a [[The New York Times|New York Times]] reporter asked about oversight of Epstein's companies, managing director [[Margarita Benjamin]] forwarded the query to colleagues: "I personally think the questions are opening us up to public scrutiny."[^2][^3]
### Litigation and Aftermath
In its January 2020 civil action against the Epstein estate, the territory alleged that Southern Trust fraudulently induced the commission to grant its benefits. The November 2022 settlement returned "more than $80 million in economic development tax benefits that Epstein and his co-defendants fraudulently obtained." In the territory's 2022 suit against JPMorgan, the bank's consultant [[Carlyn Irwin]] found that "the EDC did not investigate or question" Epstein's claims, including "computer generated solutions for medical problems"; that the territory, expecting 1.30 dollars in economic benefit for each dollar of tax benefit, received a return of pennies on the dollar; and that "giving Mr. Epstein $300 million in benefits made no economic sense." Irwin also found that Epstein "funneled a $15,000 donation from Southern Trust to Ms. Plaskett and a $10,000 donation to the Mapp-Potter Inaugural committee." Plaskett acknowledged in a May 2023 deposition receiving about 30,000 dollars in campaign contributions from Epstein and his employees.[^3][^5][^7]
The Virgin Islands Department of Justice answered JPMorgan's account of the program through its spokesperson Venetia Velazquez, who said that "the USVI identified and addressed deficiencies in Southern Trust's and Financial Trust's compliance with the federal tax incentive program." As of June 2023 the territory had not amended its law to bar registered sex offenders from obtaining incentive certificates. Companies affiliated with the investor [[Stephen Deckoff]], who bought Little St. James and [[Great St. James]] from the Epstein estate in 2023, have held commission benefits since 2012.[^2][^5][^8]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 37, 137 to 140, and 157 to 176, filed as Exhibit 1 to Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022), ECF pp. 29 to 37. https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/001-01.pdf (EDC as EDA subsidiary under 29 V.I.C. section 1101; Southern Trust incorporation, application, hearing, grant terms, staffing, income, single-source payments, tax figures).
[^2]: "V.I. Officials Enabled Epstein to Act With Impunity, JPMorgan Alleges in Latest Salvo." *St. Thomas Source,* June 16, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20240721172424/https://stthomassource.com/content/2023/06/16/v-i-officials-enabled-epstein-to-act-with-impunity-jpmorgan-alleges-in-latest-salvo/ (benefits from 1999; Bess deposition; 2008 first audit; January 2015 compliance letter; October 2019 Benjamin email; January 24, 2014 certificate; Velazquez statement).
[^3]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html (300 million dollars in benefits; Plaskett as EDC general counsel 2007 to 2014; Smock as EDA board counsel; Petersen report and Yolanda Bryan notation; Bryan and de Jongh extension; Irwin report).
[^4]: "Virgin Islands governor's wife employed by convicted sex-offender billionaire." *The Daily Caller,* April 22, 2012. https://dailycaller.com/2012/04/22/virgin-islands-governors-wife-employed-by-convicted-sex-offender-billionaire/
[^5]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Court filings show V.I. First Lady's loyalty to Epstein." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* June 21, 2023. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/court-filings-show-v-i-first-ladys-loyalty-to-epstein/article_c2dca0a7-a243-5365-88c0-389c576ad022.html (2012 response exchange; 144.9 million dollars in incentives 2013 to 2019; Plaskett deposition; no amendment of the law).
[^6]: "Apollo Announces Review of Significant Governance Enhancements as Part of Continued Evolution and Institutionalization of the Firm and Leadership Transition." *Apollo Global Management,* January 25, 2021. https://www.apollo.com/insights-news/pressreleases/2021/01/apollo-announces-review-of-significant-governance-enhancements-as-part-of-continued-evolution-and-institutionalization-of-the-firm-and-leadership-transition-211534651 (Dechert LLP review: about 158 million dollars paid by Black to Epstein, 2012 to 2017).
[^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/
[^8]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Still no resort plans for Epstein's islands purchased by Deckoff." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 6, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/still-no-resort-plans-for-epsteins-islands-purchased-by-deckoff/article_84d776de-8427-4080-a1b5-6cf81418e23d.html (Black Diamond Advisors and Black Diamond Holdings receiving EDC benefits since 2012).

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---
category: "U.S. Government"
tags:
- Organization
- VirginIslands
- JeffreyEpstein
- GovernmentCapture
- JPMorganChase
- SexOffenderRegistration
- Litigation
alias:
- Government of the Virgin Islands
- Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands
- USVI government
- GVI
summary: "The Government of the United States Virgin Islands is the territorial executive that registered and subsidized Jeffrey Epstein for two decades and after his death recovered about 180 million dollars in Epstein-related settlements."
location: "Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands"
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[Kenneth Mapp]]"
reverse: true
start: 2015-01-05
end: 2019-01-07
role: "governor"
fn: 7
- type: investigated
with: "[[JPMorgan Chase]]"
start: 2022-12-27
end: 2023-09
role: "Trafficking Victims Protection Act suit, settled for 75 million dollars"
fn: 8
- type: investigated
with: "[[Leon Black]]"
end: 2023-01
role: "potential Epstein-related claims, resolved by a 62.5 million dollar payment"
fn: 10
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
The Government of the [[United States]] Virgin Islands is the executive government of the unincorporated U.S. territory of the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], headed by an elected governor with supervision over all executive departments under the [[Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands|Organic Act]]. From 1998, when [[Jeffrey Epstein]] bought [[Little St. James]], to his death in 2019, its agencies registered him as a sex offender, verified his address, received his travel notices, inspected his construction, and through the [[Economic Development Commission]] granted his companies tax benefits later put at about 300 million dollars, while the wife of one governor managed his office and the next two governors' inaugural committees solicited or received his money. After his death the government, as plaintiff, sued his estate and [[JPMorgan Chase]], and with a payment from [[Leon Black]] recovered about 180 million dollars after legal fees. JPMorgan Chase argued in that litigation that the government itself had shielded Epstein, which the government called an attempt to shift blame.[^1][^2][^3][^4]
### Governors and Attorneys General
Three governors held office during and after Epstein's years as a registered sex offender in the territory: [[John de Jongh]] (2007 to 2015), [[Kenneth Mapp]] (2015 to 2019), and [[Albert Bryan]] (from January 7, 2019). Bryan served as de Jongh's Commissioner of Labor from 2007 to 2015 and, in 2013 and 2014, simultaneously chaired the Economic Development Commission. De Jongh's wife, [[Cecile de Jongh]], was office manager of Epstein's territorial companies throughout her husband's two terms. In March 2026 Bryan said the Organic Act gave the governor authority to order any department to act: "I could just tell them do it, you don't do it, you're fired."[^3][^5][^6]
The Attorney General heads the [[Virgin Islands Department of Justice]], which kept the territory's sex-offender registry. [[Vincent Frazer]] allowed Epstein to give 24 hours' notice of travel instead of the usual 21 days; acting Attorney General [[Carol Thomas-Jacobs]] rescinded that arrangement in March 2019 after Epstein was detained in the [[Dominican Republic]]. [[Denise George]], appointed by Bryan in 2019, filed the cases against the estate and JPMorgan and was fired on December 31, 2022. She was followed by Thomas-Jacobs, again acting, and by [[Ariel Smith]], who had been Civil Division chief on the estate case. In 2024 Bryan appointed [[Gordon Rhea]], who had represented Epstein's co-executor [[Richard Kahn]] in the estate litigation and said he would recuse himself from Epstein matters.[^3][^4][^7]
### Registration and Monitoring
Epstein registered as a sex offender in the territory in 2010 as a Tier 1 offender on the strength of his 2008 [[Florida]] conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution, which required annual registration, advance notice of travel, and random address checks. Most of his territorial companies were created in 2011 and 2012, soon after he registered. At his last verification, in July 2018, he refused to let Department of Justice investigators, assisted by [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals]], go beyond the dock of Little St. James, calling the dock his "front door," and arranged to meet them at his office on St. Thomas. His March 19, 2019 notice of a ten-day trip to France omitted travel to [[Vienna]] and [[Monaco]]. The [[Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources|Department of Planning and Natural Resources]] found his inspections of unpermitted construction on [[Great St. James]] objected to as "invasions" of his constitutional right to privacy in a home he defined as the entire island.[^2]
In May 2019 Bryan's nominee for planning commissioner, [[Jean-Pierre Oriol]], said publicly that Epstein was continuing construction on Great St. James despite a stop-work order; Epstein complained to Bryan, who replied "We got u." Following Epstein's July 2019 arrest, George said a civil claim filed in New York was insufficient to open a territorial investigation without a local complaint. Asked in March 2026 about territorial oversight of Epstein, Bryan said, "Are there any victims in the Virgin Islands saying they were abused?"[^5]
### Money and Access
The Economic Development Commission granted Epstein's [[Financial Trust Company]] benefits from 1999 and his [[Southern Trust Company]] a ten-year package from February 1, 2013, certified on January 24, 2014 over Bryan's signature as chairman. The territory later estimated that the Southern Trust certificate allowed Epstein to avoid 80,576,236 dollars in taxes; Economic Development Authority records put his incentives from 2013 to 2019 at 144.9 million dollars. The commission's general counsel from 2007 to 2014 was [[Stacey Plaskett]], who later became the territory's delegate to Congress and acknowledged receiving about 30,000 dollars in campaign contributions from Epstein and his employees.[^2][^3][^8][^9]
The JPMorgan exhibits record Epstein's office handling requests from the governors' political committees. In December 2014 Cecile de Jongh asked him to confirm a 10,000 dollar donation from Southern Trust to the Mapp-Potter inaugural committee; on September 1, 2016 Epstein told her to "prepare a check for mapps super pac. For 75k"; and on December 20, 2018 she relayed a request from the Bryan/Roach inaugural committee for 25,000 dollars. The JPMorgan exhibits do not show whether the Bryan committee was paid. The former senator [[Celestino White]], whom Bryan renominated to the [[Virgin Islands Port Authority]] board, had offered to work on Epstein's behalf, including on the purchase of the government-owned Dog Island.[^5][^9]
### Litigation and Recovery
On January 15, 2020 George sued the estate in the Superior Court under the territory's Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, naming the co-executors [[Darren Indyke]] and Richard Kahn and Epstein's companies. The case settled on November 30, 2022 for 105 million dollars, half the proceeds of the sale of Little St. James (about 11 million dollars), and 450,000 dollars for remediation on Great St. James; the law firm [[Motley Rice]], retained on contingency, stood to receive more than 23 million dollars. In January 2023 Leon Black paid 62.5 million dollars to resolve potential claims. The government sued JPMorgan on December 27, 2022 in the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York]] before Judge [[Jed Rakoff]], and the bank settled in September 2023 for 75 million dollars.[^1][^4][^8][^9][^10]
JPMorgan's defense was that "the entity that most directly failed to protect public safety and most actively facilitated and benefited from Epstein's continued criminal activity was the plaintiff in this case, the USVI government itself." The government's spokesperson Venetia Velazquez said the bank had "cherry-picked and mischaracterized Epstein's interactions with U.S. Virgin Islands officials" and that "the USVI identified and addressed deficiencies in Southern Trust's and Financial Trust's compliance." In an October 2023 interview with the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], George said Bryan had pressed her to grant Epstein a travel-notice waiver in 2019 and later to settle the estate case for 80 million dollars through the attorney [[Henry Smock]], saying the estate "just wanted to clear people"; Bryan has said Epstein received no special privilege from his administration.[^3][^5][^8]
The government received about 180 million dollars in Epstein-related settlements after Motley Rice's fees. A 2024 territorial law required a full report on how the money was spent; as of January 2026 the Bryan administration had not filed it, and it was unclear how much remained. As of June 2023 the territory had not amended its law to bar registered sex offenders from obtaining economic-development tax benefits.[^3][^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "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/
[^2]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 6, 132 to 137, 157 to 159, and 175, filed as Exhibit 1 to Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022), ECF pp. 3, 28 to 30, 33 to 34, 37. https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/001-01.pdf
[^3]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html
[^4]: "Virgin Islands prosecutor fired after accusing JPMorgan of aiding Epstein's sex trafficking ring." *The Washington Times,* January 3, 2023. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jan/3/virgin-islands-prosecutor-fired-after-accusing-jpm/
[^5]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Bryan unapologetic for texts with Epstein, doubles down on denial of wrongdoing." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* March 3, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bryan-unapologetic-for-texts-with-epstein-doubles-down-on-denial-of-wrongdoing/article_8bab46a1-6075-4c7c-abec-6efb19622e62.html
[^6]: "DOJ Drops Charges Against Former Governor De Jongh After $380,000 Settlement." *The Virgin Islands Consortium,* January 22, 2016. https://viconsortium.com/vi-vic_news/doj-drops-charges-against-former-governor-de-jongh-with-prejudice-after-380000-settlement
[^7]: "Governor Albert Bryan Jr." Biography submitted to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, hearing of March 24, 2021. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II00/20210324/111384/HHRG-117-II00-Bio-BryanJrA-20210324.pdf
[^8]: "V.I. Officials Enabled Epstein to Act With Impunity, JPMorgan Alleges in Latest Salvo." *St. Thomas Source,* June 16, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20240721172424/https://stthomassource.com/content/2023/06/16/v-i-officials-enabled-epstein-to-act-with-impunity-jpmorgan-alleges-in-latest-salvo/ ; "US Virgin Islands sue JPMorgan Chase over handling of Jeffrey Epstein accounts." *JURIST,* December 30, 2022. https://www.jurist.org/news/2022/12/us-virgin-islands-sue-jp-morgan-over-handling-of-jeffery-epstein-accounts/ ; "Attorney general going after Jeffrey Epstein's estate says she was fired for her dogged pursuit." *Fortune,* November 17, 2023. https://fortune.com/2023/11/17/jeffrey-epstein-us-virgin-islands-jpmorgan-attorney-general-investigation-fired/
[^9]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Court filings show V.I. First Lady's loyalty to Epstein." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* June 21, 2023. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/court-filings-show-v-i-first-ladys-loyalty-to-epstein/article_c2dca0a7-a243-5365-88c0-389c576ad022.html
[^10]: "Financier and MoMA Trustee Leon Black Agrees to Pay $62.5 Million to Settle Jeffrey Epstein-Related Claims in the Virgin Islands." *Artnet News,* 2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/leon-black-62-million-settlement-with-virgin-islands-epstein-claims-2341599

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---
category: "U.S. Government"
tags:
- Organization
- Government
- Congress
- CongressionalOversight
- JeffreyEpstein
- EpsteinFiles
- Subpoena
- ContemptOfCongress
alias:
- House Oversight Committee
- House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
- House Committee on Oversight and Reform
- United States House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
- House Government Reform and Oversight Committee
- House Committee on Government Reform
- United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
summary: "Principal investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, which from 2025 subpoenaed Jeffrey Epstein's estate, deposed Bill and Hillary Clinton, subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi and cited Leon Black for contempt."
start: 1927
location: "Washington, D.C."
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[James Comer]]"
reverse: true
role: "chairman"
fn: 2
- type: investigated
with: "[[Bill Clinton]]"
start: 2025-08
end: 2026-02
role: "subpoena, contempt vote and deposition in the Epstein inquiry"
fn: 12
- type: investigated
with: "[[Alexander Acosta]]"
start: 2025-09
role: "deposition on the 2008 non-prosecution agreement"
fn: 9
- type: investigated
with: "[[Ghislaine Maxwell]]"
start: 2025-07
end: 2026-02
role: "subpoena and deposition"
fn: 10
- type: investigated
with: "[[Pam Bondi]]"
start: 2026-03-04
role: "subpoena for testimony on the Epstein files"
fn: 3
- type: investigated
with: "[[Leon Black]]"
start: 2026-03-03
end: 2026-09-16
role: "subpoenas and contempt of Congress citation"
fn: 15
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal investigative committee of the [[United States House of Representatives]], with jurisdiction over the operations of the federal government and authority to investigate any matter within the jurisdiction of any other House committee. It was formed in 1927 as the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments and has since been renamed several times with changes of party control: Government Operations from 1952, Government Reform and Oversight from 1995, Government Reform from 1997, Oversight and Government Reform from 2007, Oversight and Reform from 2019, and Oversight and Accountability for the 118th Congress (2023 to 2025). The rules package of the 119th Congress restored the name Oversight and Government Reform in January 2025.[^1] Its chairman is [[James Comer]] of Kentucky; its ranking Democrat is [[Robert Garcia]] of California.[^2][^3]
### Earlier Investigations
As the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight under [[Dan Burton]], the committee investigated fundraising for the 1996 Clinton campaign; its 1998 interim report traced the partnership between the [[Lippo Group]] of the [[James Riady|Riady]] family and the [[Jackson Stephens|Stephens]] family of Arkansas through [[Stephens Finance Ltd.]] and [[Worthen Bank]].[^4] On July 2, 2008, the chairman [[Henry Waxman]] released documents showing that officials of the State and Commerce Departments knew of [[Hunt Oil]]'s interest in Iraqi Kurdistan months before its contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government.[^5] On July 26, 2023, a subcommittee of the renamed Committee on Oversight and Accountability heard [[David Grusch]], formerly of the [[National Reconnaissance Office]], testify that officials had told him of special access programs for the retrieval of unidentified anomalous phenomena that had not been disclosed to Congress.[^6]
In February 2025 Comer created a Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets under Representative [[Anna Paulina Luna]], with a remit covering the assassinations of [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Robert F. Kennedy]] and [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], unidentified aerial phenomena, the origins of COVID-19, the September 11 attacks and the Epstein "client list." Its Republican members included [[Nancy Mace]], [[Lauren Boebert]] and [[Tim Burchett]]. The task force had no subpoena power of its own.[^7]
### The Epstein Inquiry
On August 25, 2025, Comer subpoenaed the estate of [[Jeffrey Epstein]], and the committee also approved subpoenas to former officials and to Bill and [[Hillary Clinton]]. On September 2, 2025, it released records received from the [[Department of Justice]], and on September 8 the estate's first production, including the fiftieth-birthday album assembled by [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] in 2003. Comer said Democrats were "cherry-picking documents" and that "President Trump is not accused of any wrongdoing," and the committee stated that it had "obtained information about Epstein's bank accounts" and would "pursue these bank records."[^8] [[Alexander Acosta]], who as United States Attorney in Miami negotiated the [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement|2008 non-prosecution agreement]], sat for a closed deposition of about six hours in September 2025, and the committee released the transcript on October 17.[^9] On a motion by Burchett, Comer subpoenaed Maxwell in July 2025 for a deposition at the federal prison in [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]] on August 11. Her lawyers asked for immunity and wrote that if she "were to receive clemency" she would testify in public; the committee refused immunity and postponed the deposition. By then she had already been interviewed by Deputy Attorney General [[Todd Blanche]] on July 24 and 25 under a grant of limited immunity and moved to a minimum-security camp in Texas. At her deposition in early February 2026 she invoked the Fifth Amendment in answer to every question, and her lawyer said she would testify if [[Donald Trump]] granted her clemency.[^10]
On November 12, 2025, the committee's Democrats released three estate emails, including a 2019 message to the writer [[Michael Wolff]] in which Epstein wrote that Donald Trump "knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop," and a 2015 exchange in which Wolff suggested that a denial by Trump of having been on the plane or at the house would give Epstein "a valuable PR and political currency." Garcia said the emails "raise serious questions about what else the [[White House]] is hiding." Committee Republicans released about 20,000 pages from the estate the same day.[^11]
The Clintons declined to appear under the subpoenas. On January 21, 2026, the committee voted 34 to 8 to recommend that Bill Clinton be held in contempt of Congress and 28 to 15 for Hillary Clinton; nine Democrats voted for the first resolution and three for the second. Both were then deposed in late February 2026 near their home in Chappaqua, New York, where Bill Clinton said, "I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong," and video of the depositions was released in early March.[^12][^13]
On March 4, 2026, on a motion by Mace, the committee voted 24 to 19 to subpoena Attorney General [[Pam Bondi]], with Mace, Burchett, Boebert, [[Michael Cloud]] and [[Scott Perry]] joining the Democrats; Comer had told members that Bondi's chief of staff offered to brief small groups instead. Mace said: "The Epstein case is one of the greatest cover-ups in American history." The subpoena, issued on March 17, set a deposition for April 14.[^3] Donald Trump removed Bondi on April 2. Comer said he would consult committee Republicans on whether to pursue the subpoena; Garcia said Bondi "remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath."[^14]
On March 3, 2026, Comer asked [[Leon Black]], the co-founder of [[Apollo Global Management]] who paid Epstein about 158 million dollars, for a transcribed interview into how the federal government "for decades failed survivors" and "how Mr. Epstein sought to curry favor with influential individuals to avoid scrutiny." The [[Senate Committee on Finance]] minority referred its own findings on Black to the committee on June 4, 2026. Black walked out of a voluntary interview on June 26, 2026, and was subpoenaed for a deposition and for the nondisclosure agreements he had signed, including any with Epstein's victims; he did not appear on September 3 and sued the committee and Comer in the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] (Black v. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, No. 1:26-cv-03084). The committee voted 41 to 0 on September 15 to recommend contempt, and on September 16, 2026, the House held Black in contempt by unanimous consent, the first witness in the Epstein inquiry so cited, with referral to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Comer said: "No one is above the law." Black's lawyers called the action "outrageous."[^15][^16][^17][^18]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Congressional Research Service, *House Rules Changes Affecting Committee Procedure in the 119th Congress (2025-2026),* R48466. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48466 ; U.S. Government Publishing Office, "House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform," committee publications index. https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-oversight
[^2]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "About," committee website, accessed September 2026. https://oversight.house.gov/about/
[^3]: Dareh Gregorian, Kyle Stewart, Owen Hayes and Michael Kosnar, "House Oversight Committee votes to subpoena Pam Bondi for testimony on Epstein files," NBC News, March 4, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/pam-bondi-subpoenaed-testify-epstein-files-house-oversight-committee-rcna261779 ; House Oversight Committee Democrats, "Ranking Member Robert Garcia Statement on Securing Subpoena for Attorney General Pam Bondi," March 4, 2026. https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-robert-garcia-statement-on-securing-subpoena-for-attorney-general-pam-bondi-to-testify-before-oversight-in-epstein-files-cover-up ; Office of Representative Nancy Mace, "Rep. Nancy Mace Issues Statement After Oversight Committee Issues Subpoena to AG," March 17, 2026. https://mace.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-nancy-mace-issues-statement-after-oversight-committee-issues-subpoena-ag
[^4]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. *Investigation of Political Fundraising Improprieties and Possible Violations of Law: Interim Report.* House Report 105-829, 105th Congress, 2nd Session, 1998, vol. 2. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-105hrpt829/html/CRPT-105hrpt829-vol2.htm
[^5]: Waxman, Henry A., letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, July 2, 2008, as reported in "U.S. officials condoned Kurdish oil deal," NBC News, July 2008. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25506968
[^6]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs. *Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency,* hearing, July 26, 2023.
[^7]: "Congress creates task force to look into UAPs, COVID origins, JFK assassination, Epstein client list," The Washington Times, February 11, 2025. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/11/congress-creates-task-force-investigate-uaps-covid/
[^8]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "Oversight Committee Releases Records Provided by the Epstein Estate, Chairman Comer Provides Statement," September 8, 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-records-provided-by-the-epstein-estate-chairman-comer-provides-statement/ ; "US representative files discharge petition to compel release of Epstein investigation documents," JURIST, September 5, 2025. https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/09/us-representative-files-discharge-petition-to-compel-release-of-epstein-investigation-documents/
[^9]: "Alex Acosta, former US attorney who negotiated Epstein's plea deal, appears before House Oversight Committee," ABC News, September 2025 (transcript released October 17, 2025). https://abcnews.com/Politics/alex-acosta-former-us-attorney-negotiated-epsteins-plea/story?id=125731737
[^10]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "Chairman Comer Subpoenas Ghislaine Maxwell for Deposition at Federal Prison," July 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/release/chairman-comer-subpoenas-ghislaine-maxwell-for-deposition-at-federal-prison ; "House Oversight Committee rejects Ghislaine Maxwell's request for immunity," NBC News, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-oversight-committee-rejects-ghislaine-maxwells-request-immunity-rcna221773 ; "Ghislaine Maxwell pleads the Fifth, with lawyer saying she'll testify in Epstein probe if Trump grants her clemency," CBS News, February 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ghislaine-maxwell-house-oversight-committee-deposition-fifth-amendment/ ; Office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, "Whitehouse Demands Documents on Transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell to Minimum-Security Bureau of Prisons Facility," August 11, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-demands-documents-on-transfer-of-ghislaine-maxwell-to-minimum-security-bureau-of-prisons-facility
[^11]: House Oversight Committee Democrats, press release, November 12, 2025. https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-oversight-committee-releases-jeffrey-epstein-email-correspondence-raising ; "House committee releases over 20,000 documents from Epstein estate," NPR, November 13, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/11/13/nx-s1-5607057/house-committee-releases-over-20-000-documents-from-epstein-estate
[^12]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "Oversight Committee Republicans and Democrats Hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in Contempt for Defying Lawful Subpoenas," January 21, 2026. https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-republicans-and-democrats-hold-bill-and-hillary-clinton-in-contempt-for-defying-lawful-subpoenas ; "Vote to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress passes House Oversight Committee," The Washington Post, January 21, 2026. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/01/21/bill-clinton-hillary-clinton-epstein-contempt-congress-oversight-vote/
[^13]: "Bill Clinton defends himself at House deposition on Epstein: 'I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,'" CBS News, February 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-clinton-epstein-house-oversight-committee-deposition/ ; "Videos of Clinton depositions in Epstein investigation released," The Washington Post, March 2, 2026. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/02/bill-hillary-clinton-deposition-videos/
[^14]: "Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general, installs Todd Blanche as acting AG," CBS News, April 2, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pam-bondi-attorney-general/
[^15]: "House holds billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress over Epstein investigation," NPR, September 16, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/09/16/nx-s1-5954258/leon-black-jeffrey-epstein-contempt-congress ; "House votes to hold Leon Black in contempt of Congress over Epstein subpoenas defiance," CNBC, September 16, 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/16/leon-black-contempt-house-epstein-subpoenas-refusal.html
[^16]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, "Wyden Refers Findings on Leon Black's Epstein Ties to House Oversight Committee," June 4, 2026. https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-refers-findings-on-leon-blacks-epstein-ties-to-house-oversight-committee
[^17]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Resolution Recommending That the House of Representatives Find Leon D. Black in Contempt of Congress,* House Report 119-831, September 2026. https://www.congress.gov/committee-report/119th-congress/house-report/831/1
[^18]: Black v. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, No. 1:26-cv-03084 (D.D.C., filed September 3, 2026). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74743039/black-v-house-committee-on-oversight-and-government-reform/

47
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Apollo Global Management.md
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@ -11,13 +11,28 @@ tags:
alias:
- Apollo Advisors
- Apollo Global Management Inc
summary: "Private-equity and credit firm founded in 1990 by Leon Black and other Drexel Burnham Lambert alumni, whose co-founder's roughly 158 million dollars in payments to Jeffrey Epstein triggered an independent review, Black's 2021 resignation, and a Senate investigation."
- Apollo Global Management, Inc.
summary: "Private-equity and credit firm founded in 1990 by Drexel Burnham Lambert alumni, whose co-founder Leon Black's payments to Jeffrey Epstein led to a 2021 board review, his departure, and a Senate investigation."
location: "New York, New York"
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-09-25
relations:
- type: represented
with: "[[Milbank]]"
reverse: true
role: "company counsel for the Epstein/Black review"
start: 2020-10
end: 2021-01
fn: 4
- type: represented
with: "[[WilmerHale]]"
reverse: true
role: "review of reputational-risk practices"
end: 2021-01
fn: 5
---
Apollo Global Management is an American alternative-asset management firm founded in 1990 and headquartered in [[New York]]. It was built by [[Leon Black]] and other alumni of the collapsed investment bank [[Drexel Burnham Lambert]] into one of the largest managers of private-equity, credit, and insurance assets in the world. The firm's co-founder and longtime leader, Black, resigned as chief executive and chairman in 2021 after the disclosure that he had paid [[Jeffrey Epstein]] about 158 million dollars for tax and estate advice, a relationship that prompted an independent board review, a U.S. Senate investigation, and, in 2026, shareholder suits alleging the firm concealed the extent of the ties.[^1][^2]
Apollo Global Management is an American alternative-asset management firm founded in 1990 and headquartered in [[New York]]. It was built by [[Leon Black]] and other alumni of the collapsed investment bank [[Drexel Burnham|Drexel Burnham Lambert]] into one of the largest managers of private-equity, credit, and insurance assets in the world. The firm's co-founder and longtime leader, Black, resigned as chief executive and chairman in 2021 after the disclosure that he had paid [[Jeffrey Epstein]] about 158 million dollars for tax and estate advice, a relationship that prompted an independent board review, a U.S. Senate investigation, and, in 2026, shareholder suits alleging the firm concealed the extent of the ties.[^1][^2]
### Founding From Drexel
@ -33,16 +48,32 @@ A central part of Apollo's later growth was its relationship with the annuities
### The Epstein Scandal and the Leadership Transition
Press and investor scrutiny of Black's financial relationship with Jeffrey Epstein led Apollo's board to commission an independent review by the law firm [[Dechert]], released on January 25, 2021, which documented about 158 million dollars in payments from Black to Epstein between 2012 and 2017 for tax and estate-planning work and reported no evidence that Black participated in Epstein's crimes. The board accepted the findings and announced governance changes and a leadership transition the same day, with Black to step down as chief executive and Marc Rowan to succeed him.[^1][^2]
Press and investor scrutiny of Black's financial relationship with Jeffrey Epstein led Black to request an outside review at an October 20, 2020 board meeting. The board's Conflicts Committee, three independent directors, retained the law firm [[Dechert]], with [[Milbank]] acting as Apollo's own counsel. Dechert's memorandum, dated January 22, 2021 and filed with the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] on January 25, 2021, reported a review of more than 60,000 documents and interviews with more than twenty witnesses, including the co-founders, documented 158 million dollars in payments from Black to Epstein for tax and estate-planning work from 2012 to 2017, and reported no evidence that Black or any Apollo employee participated in Epstein's crimes. The board accepted the findings and announced governance changes and a leadership transition the same day, with Black to step down as chief executive and Marc Rowan to succeed him.[^1][^2][^4]
Black left more abruptly than planned, relinquishing the chairmanship as well on March 22, 2021, and Rowan became chief executive. Black publicly accused his co-founder Josh Harris of working to push him out, and the two men's feud played out in the financial press as Harris departed the firm. Rowan consolidated leadership and continued Apollo's expansion, while the Senate Finance Committee's investigation into Black's Epstein-linked tax planning, opened under Ranking Member [[Ron Wyden]], continued into 2026.[^2][^4]
Apollo and Black had stated that the firm never did business with Epstein, and Black repeated on the day of release that "Apollo did no business with Mr. Epstein." Dechert found that Epstein's [[Financial Trust Company]] bought 263,257 shares in Apollo's March 2011 initial public offering through a directed-share program managed by the lead underwriter, that the shares passed in 2013 to a second Epstein entity, [[Southern Financial LLC]], and remained there through at least September 2019, and that Black did not recall the purchase. In the early 2000s Financial Trust Company invested in AP SHL Investors LLC and AP Technology Partners LLC, entities formed by Apollo executives to pursue deals the firm had declined, for which Apollo employees handled some operational functions such as tax returns; in 2011 it invested in [[Environmental Solutions Worldwide]] alongside Black and members of his family. Epstein unsuccessfully pitched business to Apollo executives, and Black tried at Epstein's request to introduce him to the co-founders, neither of whom hired him. Dechert described the firm's statements as substantially accurate.[^4][^5]
In 2026, after further Epstein file releases renewed attention to Black and Apollo, the firm faced securities-fraud class-action suits alleging that it had failed to disclose to shareholders the scope of Black's dealings with Epstein and the resulting risks. Apollo has said Black's relationship with Epstein was a personal matter unrelated to the firm's business, a characterization the plaintiffs dispute.[^5]
Black's own estate-planning papers, released by the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] among Epstein's files, name the firm in the work Epstein was paid for. The January 14, 2014 version of the "Checklist for Leon Black Estate Planning and Restructuring," which Black's family office sent to Epstein on January 21, 2014, listed "Family Office/Apollo" and "Apollo" as the parties responsible for ascertaining the sources of "Trust Accounting Income" in Black's 2006 Trust and for calculating the amount that "should have been distributed to Leon annually and in the aggregate," both marked complete; it included the item "Confirm that John Hannan and Richard Ressler will proceed without separate counsel" among the steps toward a release and indemnification agreement for the 2006 Trust, and recorded decanting to entities labeled APO1 and APO2 as a first step toward a new "Heritage Trust."[^6][^7] A workbook titled "Apollo / Leon Black / Tax Receivable Agreement (TRA) Payment Workbook / Tax Year 2013," dated March 26, 2014, is in the same releases; no reference to Epstein appears in its text.[^8] The [[Senate Finance Committee]] later reported that the 2006 trusts had been funded with Black's interests in Apollo management partnerships.[^9]
In his January 25, 2021 letter to limited partners Black also asked the board to consider cancelling the Class C share that gave the co-founders extra votes in favor of "one share, one vote," announced new directors, disclosed that Apollo had engaged [[WilmerHale]] to review its reputational-risk and corporate-citizenship practices, and pledged 200 million dollars to initiatives for women, including survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking.[^5]
Black left more abruptly than planned, relinquishing the chairmanship as well on March 22, 2021, and Rowan became chief executive. Black publicly accused his co-founder Josh Harris of working to push him out, and the two men's feud played out in the financial press as Harris departed the firm. Rowan consolidated leadership and continued Apollo's expansion, while the Senate Finance Committee's investigation into Black's Epstein-linked tax planning, opened in June 2022 while [[Ron Wyden]] chaired the committee and prompted by what it called "inconsistencies" in the Dechert report, continued into 2026.[^2][^9][^10]
The committee reported in July 2023 that the 2006 trusts at the center of Epstein's work had been funded with Black's interests in Apollo's own management partnerships, including 30.35 percent of Apollo Management III, IV, V and VI and 44 percent of four other management entities, and that Black "improperly received excess income from Apollo partnership interests held in a trust, assets he indicated to the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] he no longer owned."[^9] In March 2025 Wyden wrote that his staff had found 12 million dollars in wires from Black to Epstein that "the Apollo Board's investigation omitted or failed to identify," and that Black's attorneys had offered no explanation.[^11] Wyden's August 2026 report put Black's holdings at more than 30 million Apollo shares worth at least 4 billion dollars.[^12]
In 2026, after further Epstein file releases renewed attention to Black and Apollo, the firm faced securities-fraud class-action suits alleging that it had failed to disclose to shareholders the scope of Black's dealings with Epstein and the resulting risks. Apollo has said Black's relationship with Epstein was a personal matter unrelated to the firm's business, a characterization the plaintiffs dispute.[^13]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Apollo Announces Review of Significant Governance Enhancements as Part of Continued Evolution and Institutionalization of the Firm and Leadership Transition." *Apollo Global Management,* January 25, 2021. https://www.apollo.com/insights-news/pressreleases/2021/01/apollo-announces-review-of-significant-governance-enhancements-as-part-of-continued-evolution-and-institutionalization-of-the-firm-and-leadership-transition-211534651
[^2]: "Leon Black quits Apollo months earlier than expected following Jeffrey Epstein investment scandal." *CNBC,* March 22, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/apollo-ceo-leon-black-leaves-follows-jeffrey-epstein-investment-scandal.html
[^3]: For Apollo's founding from Drexel Burnham Lambert, the Executive Life and Credit Lyonnais matter, the firm's growth and 2011 listing, and the Athene relationship and 2022 merger, see the contemporaneous business press and the firm's corporate filings.
[^4]: "How Wall Street's Apollo got tangled up again in the Epstein files." *CNN Business,* February 21, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/21/business/apollo-epstein-wall-street
[^5]: "Apollo, Leon Black sued for allegedly concealing Epstein business ties from shareholders." *Yahoo Finance / Reuters,* 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apollo-leon-black-sued-allegedly-004535212.html
[^4]: Dechert LLP, Memorandum to the Apollo Conflicts Committee, "Investigation of Epstein/Black Relationship and Any Relationship Between Epstein and Apollo Global Management, Inc.," January 22, 2021, filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Apollo Global Management, Inc. Form 8-K, January 25, 2021 (accession 0001193125-21-016405), pp. 1-4, 21-22. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex991.htm
[^5]: Leon D. Black, Letter to Apollo Limited Partners, January 25, 2021, filed as Exhibit 99.2 to Apollo Global Management, Inc. Form 8-K, January 25, 2021. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex992.htm
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00982173, DataSet 9, email from Ada Clapp, Black Family Partners, to Jeffrey Epstein, "6.7.13 Checklist for Leon Black Estate Planning and Restructuring-updated 1.14.14," January 21, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00982173.pdf
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00583490, DataSet 9, "Checklist for Leon Black Estate Planning and Restructuring, As of January 14, 2014." https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00583490.pdf
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00616944, DataSet 9, "Apollo / Leon Black / Tax Receivable Agreement (TRA) Payment Workbook / Tax Year 2013," March 26, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00616944.pdf
[^9]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, "Wyden Unveils Ongoing Investigation into Private Equity Billionaire Leon Black's Tax Planning and Financial Ties with Jeffrey Epstein," July 25, 2023. https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-unveils-ongoing-investigation-into-private-equity-billionaire-leon-blacks-tax-planning-and-financial-ties-with-jeffrey-epstein
[^10]: "How Wall Street's Apollo got tangled up again in the Epstein files." *CNN Business,* February 21, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/21/business/apollo-epstein-wall-street
[^11]: Letter from Senator Ron Wyden to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FBI Director Kash Patel, March 11, 2025. https://www.finance.senate.gov/download/wyden-letter-to-doj-treasury-fbi-on-epsteinpdf?download=1
[^12]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, "Looking the Other Way: How Wall Street Banks Enabled Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Trafficking," August 4, 2026, p. 13. https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden_wall_street_epstein_report.pdf
[^13]: "Apollo, Leon Black sued for allegedly concealing Epstein business ties from shareholders." *Yahoo Finance / Reuters,* 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apollo-leon-black-sued-allegedly-004535212.html

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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Bear Stearns.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- BearStearns
- InvestmentBank
- JeffreyEpstein
- WallStreet
- FinancialCrisis2008
- SEC
alias:
- Bear Stearns Companies
- The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.
- Bear, Stearns & Co.
summary: "New York investment bank that hired Jeffrey Epstein in 1976, parted with him in 1981 amid an SEC inquiry, handled his trades for decades, and collapsed into JPMorgan Chase in 2008."
end: 2008
location: "New York, New York"
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
start: 1976
end: 1981-03-12
role: "options trader; limited partner from 1980"
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[Alan Greenberg]]"
reverse: true
start: 1978
end: 1993
role: "chief executive officer"
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[James Cayne]]"
reverse: true
start: 1993
end: 2008-01
role: "chief executive officer"
fn: 2
- type: investigated
with: "[[Securities and Exchange Commission]]"
reverse: true
start: 1981
role: "St. Joe Minerals tender-offer inquiry"
fn: 1
- type: owned
with: "[[Liquid Funding]]"
role: "part owner"
fn: 4
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. was a [[New York]] investment bank and brokerage that employed [[Jeffrey Epstein]] from 1976 until March 1981, carried his business through his own firms for the next quarter century, and collapsed in March 2008 in a rescue sale to [[JPMorgan Chase]] backed by the [[Federal Reserve Board|Federal Reserve]]. [[Alan Greenberg]], chief executive from 1978 to 1993 and chairman from 1985 to 2001, and [[James Cayne]], chief executive from 1993 to January 2008, were Epstein's mentors at the firm and his principal contacts there until its failure.[^1][^2]
### Epstein at the Firm, 1976 to 1981
Epstein, a former teacher of physics and mathematics at the [[Dalton School]] in Manhattan, came to Bear Stearns after tutoring the son of Greenberg while at Dalton, and was friendly with a daughter of Greenberg's. Under the mentorship of Greenberg and Cayne he rose to limited partner, a rank below full partner. Fox Business, citing former Bear executives, reported that he was named a limited partner by 1980.[^1][^3]
He resigned on March 12, 1981, the day after the [[Seagram Company|Seagram Company Ltd.]] announced a tender offer for [[St. Joe Minerals]]. The [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] was investigating trading in St. Joe at Bear Stearns and other firms, had been told that Epstein had information on insider trading at Bear Stearns, and took his testimony on April 1, 1981 through the staff attorneys Jonathan Harris and Robert Blackburn. Epstein told the SEC that he had found "offensive" the way management handled a disciplinary action over a possible "Reg D" violation, a loan to his closest friend; in a 1989 deposition in a Philadelphia civil case he said he had lent about 20,000 dollars to Warren Eisenstein to buy stock. By his account, the partners Michael (Mickey) Tarnopol and Alvin Einbender questioned him around March 4 and told him on March 9 that the executive committee had weighed the loan together with earlier "carelessness" over expenses and fined him 2,500 dollars; he named Marvin Davidson as the partner who had made an "issue" of it. On expenses he testified, "There was discussion whether, in fact, I had ever put in an airline ticket for someone else and not myself and I said that it was possible, ... since my secretary handles my expenses." Asked about rumors surrounding his departure, he said, "It was having to do with an illicit affair with a secretary." The SEC questioned him on whether Cayne had inside information about St. Joe, and Epstein denied knowledge of any. Bear Stearns paid him his annual bonus of about 100,000 dollars on the way out.[^1]
The accounts of the exit conflict. Cayne said, "Jeffrey Epstein left Bear Stearns of his own volition. It was never suggested that he leave by any member of management, and management never looked into any improprieties by him." Greenberg said he could not recall. Contemporaries told Vanity Fair of internal rumors that the executive committee asked for his resignation after his two supporters, Greenberg and Cayne, were outvoted. A former Bear Stearns executive told Fox Business in 2019 that Epstein "left at our invitation ... it was very serious stuff." [[Steven Hoffenberg]] claimed that Epstein told him he had left after being discovered executing "illegal operations." The SEC never brought insider-trading charges against anyone at Bear Stearns in the St. Joe matter; several Italian and Swiss investors, including the financier [[Giuseppe Tome]], who had used his relationship with Seagram owner [[Edgar Bronfman Sr.]] to learn of the offer, were found guilty.[^1][^3]
### The Continuing Relationship
After 1981 Epstein claimed to manage money only for billionaires through his own firms, first [[International Assets Group]] and later [[J. Epstein & Co.]], and Bear Stearns remained his broker. In a 2009 verified complaint his company [[Financial Trust Company]] stated that "Epstein has had a relationship with Bear Stearns beginning in 1976. Since 1981, Epstein has conducted hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions with Bear Stearns for his own, as well as his clients', accounts and he conducted this business with the senior management of Bear Stearns," and that "because Financial Trust was a major, long-time investor in Bear Stearns, Epstein regularly communicated directly with the most senior management." Vanity Fair listed Cayne in 2003 among Epstein's admirers.[^1][^2]
From at least 2000 to 2007 Epstein was chairman of [[Liquid Funding]] Ltd., a Bermuda company partly owned by Bear Stearns that held mortgage-backed securities and collateralized loan obligations, according to files of the offshore law firm [[Appleby]] in the [[Paradise Papers]] reported by the [[Miami Herald]], McClatchy and the [[International Consortium of Investigative Journalists]]. A listed director of the company, the Austrian pension executive Marcus Klug, said, "There was neither a physical board meeting or a call between board members," and of Epstein, "I never met him."[^4]
### The 2007 Fund Collapse and the 2008 Failure
Two Bear Stearns Asset Management hedge funds, the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund and the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund, collapsed in June 2007 after heavy losses on securities backed largely by subprime mortgages. In June 2008 the SEC charged the portfolio managers [[Ralph Cioffi]] and [[Matthew Tannin]] with misleading investors about the funds' condition and redemption requests before investor losses of about 1.8 billion dollars; the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York]] indicted both men the same day. Fox Business reported that Epstein had put about 60 million dollars into the Enhanced Leverage Fund, "making him one of its largest investors," and that an investor plan to take control of the fund was put to him in the summer of 2007 and "fizzled."[^3][^5]
According to Financial Trust's later complaint, Epstein spoke with Cayne on August 6, 2007, while Financial Trust held 120,000 Bear Stearns shares in a [[Merrill Lynch]] account; Cayne told him the funds' problems were "contained to those two funds," cited a pending one billion dollar capital infusion from [[CITIC Group|China Citic Group]], and advised him to "hold tight." The complaint noted that the day after the Enhanced Fund's disintegration was announced on July 17, 2007, "Cayne and Spector commenced participating in a 10-day bridge tournament in Nashville, Tennessee." On March 10, 2008 the firm said there was "absolutely no truth to the rumors of the liquidity problems." That weekend JPMorgan Chase offered 2 dollars a share, later raised to 10 dollars, with the Federal Reserve agreeing to fund up to 30 billion dollars of Bear Stearns's less liquid assets, and Financial Trust sold its last 100,000 shares on March 17, 2008 at 3.41 dollars. Financial Trust sued Bear Stearns in the [[District Court of the Virgin Islands]] in August 2009 for fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation.[^2]
### The Grand Jury Subpoena and the Legacy Accounts
The chronological log of the 2006 to 2008 federal investigation of Epstein kept by the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida]] lists a grand jury subpoena to Bear Stearns returnable September 4, 2007, issued in the same weeks as subpoenas to Epstein's assistant [[Lesley Groff]], his bookkeeper [[Harry Beller]] and the model agent [[Jean-Luc Brunel]], and three weeks before the [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement|non-prosecution agreement]] was signed on September 24, 2007.[^6]
When JPMorgan Chase absorbed the firm, Epstein's brokerage accounts passed with it. JPMorgan produced 728 pages of Epstein's Bear Stearns account statements covering August 2008 through March 2014, and a May 2009 due-diligence report recorded that "Bear Stearns will hold the brokerage relationship with Mr. Epstein." Emails produced in May 2023 in the [[Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank|Virgin Islands suit against JPMorgan]] showed Bear Stearns employees involved in the Epstein relationship in the fall of 2008 and the summer of 2010, including one stating that Greenberg, by then at JPMorgan, had gone to general counsel [[Stephen Cutler]] "for an exception to the felony policy" for Epstein; JPMorgan confirmed that after Epstein's 2008 plea "people from legacy Bear Stearns, including Mr. Greenberg," may have approached Cutler about the policy requiring general counsel approval to keep a felon's brokerage account, and that the decision was Cutler's.[^7][^8] On January 19, 2011, while JPMorgan's compliance staff were pressing to exit Epstein, a JPMorgan Securities employee wrote to Epstein: "Ace would love to speak to Jeffrey. Can you please call Ace at [number], or e-mail him a phone number where Jeffrey can be reached?" JPMorgan had not produced the email, describing it as outside the "negotiated scope of search," until the territory asked for it specifically; the bank said there was "no evidence that Mr. Greenberg had anything to do with Epstein's accounts at the Private Bank."[^7][^8] In July 2011 JPMorgan proposed settling Epstein's own claims against Bear Stearns for 21 million dollars.[^9]
The territory asked the court in June 2023 to compel production of the Bear Stearns anti-money-laundering group's Epstein case file, "including documents and correspondence relating to any Epstein-related subpoena received by Bear Stearns," emails between Greenberg and Epstein, and emails about Epstein between Greenberg and [[Jamie Dimon]], [[Mary Erdoes]], [[Jes Staley]] or Cutler. JPMorgan answered that "Bear Stearns did not provide banking services and ceased to exist after the transaction," that it had identified a single former Bear Stearns compliance employee as a custodian, and that the case "has never been about Epstein's trading of securities in a Bear Stearns related brokerage account."[^7][^8] JPMorgan's own July 2019 internal review, Project Jeep, had been opened with the note that "There is a highbridge angle and one dating back to Bear," and its summary grouped messages on "lawsuits and litigation involving Epstein, JPMC, Bear Stearns, Highbridge, Zwirn etc."[^7]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Vicky Ward, "The Talented Mr. Epstein," *Vanity Fair,* March 2003, as republished by the author, on Epstein's hiring through Greenberg, his limited partnership, the March 12, 1981 resignation, the April 1, 1981 SEC testimony taken by Jonathan Harris and Robert Blackburn, the 1989 Philadelphia deposition, the Tarnopol, Einbender and Davidson account, the 2,500 dollar fine, the bonus, Cayne's statement, and the St. Joe Minerals outcome. https://vickyward.com/article/the-talented-mr-epstein/
[^2]: Financial Trust Company, Inc. v. The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., Civil No. 2009/106 (D.V.I.), Verified Complaint dated August 5, 2009, paragraphs 2, 6 to 13, 16 to 17, 32 to 40, 50 to 53; reproduced as Exhibit 253, ECF No. 244-8 (filed July 25, 2023), in Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011822/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/244-08.pdf
[^3]: Charles Gasparino and Lydia Moynihan, "The woes of Jeffrey Epstein: How he maintained Wall Street connections while downplaying child sex accusations," *Fox Business,* August 10, 2019. https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/jeffrey-epstein-wall-street-connections-child-sex-trafficking
[^4]: Spencer Woodman, "Jeffrey Epstein's offshore fortune traced to Paradise Papers," *International Consortium of Investigative Journalists,* July 18, 2019, summarizing Miami Herald and McClatchy reporting on the Appleby files. https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/jeffrey-epsteins-offshore-fortune-traced-to-paradise-papers/
[^5]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 20625, SEC v. Ralph R. Cioffi and Matthew M. Tannin, Civil Action No. 08 2457 (FB) (E.D.N.Y.), June 19, 2008. https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/litreleases/2008/lr20625.htm
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00224943, DataSet 9, "Epstein Investigation Timeline," Exhibit A-1 (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida), pp. 11, 21. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00224943.pdf
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808715, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), letter motion of Motley Rice to Judge Jed S. Rakoff seeking leave to reopen depositions, ECF No. 191, June 7, 2023 (filed June 20, 2023). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808715.pdf
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808625, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), letter of John J. Butts, WilmerHale, opposing the motion to reopen depositions, ECF No. 187, June 9, 2023 (filed June 15, 2023). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808625.pdf
[^9]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), Plaintiff's Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 221 (filed July 24, 2023), paras. 391-395. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653.221.0.pdf

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---
---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- Carbyne
- Reporty
- Surveillance
- EhudBarak
- JeffreyEpstein
- Israel
- FoundersFund
- EmergencyTech
alias:
- Carbyne
- Reporty Homeland Security
summary: "Carbyne is an Israeli-American emergency-communication and surveillance technology company founded in Tel Aviv as Reporty Homeland Security, into which Jeffrey Epstein quietly invested approximately one million dollars in 2015 through an arrangement brokered by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, and which has also received backing from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and has been deployed by U.S. police departments including Miami-Dade."
location: "Tel Aviv, Israel; New York, New York"
created: 2026-06-18
updated: 2026-06-18
---
Carbyne (originally incorporated as [[Reporty|Reporty Homeland Security]]) is an Israeli-American technology company that develops cloud-native emergency-communication and 911-response platforms providing real-time video, location, and data transmission from callers to emergency dispatchers. [[Forbes|Forbes]] reported in February 2026 that [[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein]] quietly invested approximately one million dollars in Reporty in 2015 through an arrangement brokered by [[Ehud Barak|former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak]], after Epstein was already a registered sex offender. Carbyne has also received backing from [[Founders Fund]], the [[Peter Thiel|Peter Thiel]] venture firm, and has been deployed by U.S. police departments including the [[Miami-Dade Police Department|Miami-Dade Police Department]].[^1][^2][^3]
### The Epstein-Barak Investment Arrangement (2015)
Forbes reported in February 2026 (Thomas Brewster) that Barak helped Epstein invest approximately one million dollars in Reporty in 2015, an investment that could have grown to be worth up to one hundred million dollars. The arrangement was made after Epstein's 2008 federal non-prosecution agreement and his subsequent [[Florida|Florida]] sex-offender registration. Barak was a key figure in the company and channeled Epstein's money into the startup. The [[Miami Herald|Miami Herald]] reported separately that Epstein secretly funded the startup subsequently used by the Miami-Dade Police Department.[^1][^2]
Through the Barak-Epstein-Carbyne arrangement, Epstein moved from social-network brokerage to direct commercial investment in surveillance-adjacent technology. Barak was the channel through which the investment was arranged. The company's emergency-response product integrates smartphone location, live video, and incident data into a centralized dispatcher view, and the same architecture supports population-level monitoring.[^1][^4]
### The Founders Fund Backing
Founders Fund is a documented backer of Carbyne, placing the company in the Thiel venture portfolio alongside [[Palantir Technologies|Palantir]], [[Anduril Industries|Anduril]], and [[Clearview AI|Clearview]]. The Founders Fund backing and the Epstein-Barak investment ran alongside each other, meaning the company simultaneously held Epstein investment (brokered by the former Israeli prime minister Barak) and Thiel-network venture backing.[^1][^2][^3]
Carbyne has been deployed in U.S. emergency-response systems including [[New Orleans|New Orleans]], where the platform was integrated into the city's 911 dispatch infrastructure. The Miami-Dade Police Department used the product that Epstein's money had funded, per the Miami Herald reporting on the Epstein-Carbyne investment chain. The documented deployment of an Epstein-funded product by a U.S. law-enforcement agency is the concrete operational outcome of the investment arrangement.[^1][^2]
The simultaneous Epstein-Barak and Founders Fund backing of a single Israeli surveillance-tech startup connects three networks through one company: the Epstein-Barak Israeli-intelligence channel, the Thiel commercial network, and the Israeli surveillance-technology export sector (documented on the [[NSO Group|NSO Group]] and Barak pages). Carbyne is the node where all three converge in a single corporate entity.[^1][^2][^3]
### The Israeli Surveillance-Technology Export Context
[[Jacobin|Jacobin]] reported in July 2023 that [[Israel|Israel]]'s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories has functioned as a "laboratory" for surveillance and security technology, giving Israeli firms specialized know-how in monitoring civilian populations. The Carbyne/Reporty emergency-response platform sits within this broader Israeli surveillance-technology export sector, and the [[Reason|Reason]] reporting on Epstein's spy-industry connections (August 2025) documented that Epstein and Barak marketed Israeli surveillance technology internationally, including to [[Nigeria|Nigeria]], with technology reportedly tested on Palestinian populations.[^4][^5]
The [[Black Agenda Report|Black Agenda Report]] documented a parallel pipeline in which Israel's Gaza-tested biometric and surveillance scanners were routed into a Nigerian ports deal through [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] channels. Nigeria is documented as [[Africa|Africa]]'s largest customer of surveillance-technology contracts, spending at least 470 million dollars on AI-powered surveillance devices. The Israeli surveillance-technology export sector, of which Carbyne is a part, operates across the documented chain from Palestinian-population testing through international marketing to deployment in authoritarian and democratic states alike.[^5][^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Brewster, Thomas. "Epstein Could Have Made $100 Million On A Secret Police Tech Investment With Ehud Barak." *Forbes,* February 10, 2026. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/02/10/epstein-police-surveillance-investments-with-ehud-barak/
[^2]: "Epstein secretly funded start-up used by Miami-Dade police." *Miami Herald,* 2020.
[^3]: "Founders Fund Invests in a 911 Startup Backed by Ehud Barak." *CTech (Calcalist),* documenting Peter Thiel's Founders Fund joining a Series B round in Carbyne/Reporty, the firm's first Israeli investment. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3744302,00.html
[^4]: "Inside Jeffrey Epstein's spy industry connections." *Reason,* August 27, 2025. https://reason.com/2025/08/27/inside-jeffrey-epsteins-spy-industry-connections/
[^5]: "Israel Has Turned the Occupied Territories Into a Laboratory for Surveillance." *Jacobin,* July 2023. https://jacobin.com/2023/07/israel-occupation-surveillance-security-state-technology-export
[^6]: "Epstein Flipped Israel's Gaza-Tested Biometric Scanners Into Nigeria Ports Deal." *Black Agenda Report.* For the Nigeria surveillance-technology spending, see the IDS Sussex and Punch Nigeria reporting.
tags:
- Organization
- Carbyne
- Reporty
- Surveillance
- EhudBarak
- JeffreyEpstein
- Israel
- FoundersFund
- EmergencyTech
alias:
- Carbyne
- Reporty Homeland Security
summary: "Carbyne, founded as Reporty, is an Israeli emergency-call and surveillance technology company in which Jeffrey Epstein invested through Ehud Barak in 2015, and which Axon Enterprise bought for 625 million dollars."
location: "Tel Aviv, Israel; New York, New York"
created: 2026-06-18
updated: 2026-09-25
relations:
- type: funded
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
role: "about one million dollars invested in Reporty, arranged through Ehud Barak"
start: 2015
fn: 1
- type: funded
with: "[[Founders Fund]]"
reverse: true
role: "Series B investor"
fn: 3
- type: owned
with: "[[Axon Enterprise]]"
reverse: true
role: "acquired for 625 million dollars"
start: 2026-02
fn: 4
- type: funded
with: "[[Nicole Junkermann]]"
reverse: true
role: "limited partner through NJF Capital in SUM (E.B.) Limited Partnership; 1.2 million dollars toward the warrant exercise"
start: 2019-03
fn: 8
- type: head_of
with: "[[Amir Elichai]]"
reverse: true
role: "founder and chief executive"
fn: 1
---
Carbyne (originally incorporated as [[Reporty|Reporty Homeland Security]]) is an Israeli-American technology company that develops cloud-native emergency-communication and 911-response platforms providing real-time video, location, and data transmission from callers to emergency dispatchers. [[Forbes|Forbes]] reported in February 2026 that [[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein]] quietly invested approximately one million dollars in Reporty in 2015 through an arrangement brokered by [[Ehud Barak|former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak]], after Epstein was already a registered sex offender. Carbyne has also received backing from [[Founders Fund]], the [[Peter Thiel|Peter Thiel]] venture firm, and has been deployed by U.S. police departments including the [[Miami-Dade Police Department|Miami-Dade Police Department]]. Its board included [[Pinhas Buchris]], a former commander of the Israeli signals-intelligence [[Unit 8200]]. The police-technology company [[Axon Enterprise]] agreed to acquire Carbyne for 625 million dollars in cash.[^1][^2][^3][^4]
### The Epstein-Barak Investment Arrangement (2015)
Forbes reported in February 2026 (Thomas Brewster) that Barak helped Epstein invest approximately one million dollars in Reporty in 2015, an investment that could have grown to be worth up to one hundred million dollars. The arrangement was made after Epstein's 2008 federal [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement|non-prosecution agreement]] and his subsequent [[Florida|Florida]] sex-offender registration. Barak was a key figure in the company and channeled Epstein's money into the startup. The [[Miami Herald|Miami Herald]] reported separately that Epstein secretly funded the startup subsequently used by the Miami-Dade Police Department.[^1][^2]
Through the Barak-Epstein-Carbyne arrangement, Epstein moved from social-network brokerage to direct commercial investment in surveillance-adjacent technology. Barak was the channel through which the investment was arranged. The company's emergency-response product integrates smartphone location, live video, and incident data into a centralized dispatcher view, and the same architecture supports population-level monitoring.[^1][^5]
### The Founders Fund Backing
Founders Fund is a documented backer of Carbyne, placing the company in the Thiel venture portfolio alongside [[Palantir Technologies|Palantir]], [[Anduril Industries|Anduril]], and [[Clearview AI|Clearview]]. The Founders Fund backing and the Epstein-Barak investment ran alongside each other, meaning the company simultaneously held Epstein investment (brokered by the former Israeli prime minister Barak) and Thiel-network venture backing.[^1][^2][^3]
Carbyne has been deployed in U.S. emergency-response systems including [[New Orleans|New Orleans]], where the platform was integrated into the city's 911 dispatch infrastructure. The Miami-Dade Police Department used the product that Epstein's money had funded, per the Miami Herald reporting on the Epstein-Carbyne investment chain. The documented deployment of an Epstein-funded product by a U.S. law-enforcement agency is the concrete operational outcome of the investment arrangement.[^1][^2]
The simultaneous Epstein-Barak and Founders Fund backing of a single Israeli surveillance-tech startup connects three networks through one company: the Epstein-Barak Israeli-intelligence channel, the Thiel commercial network, and the Israeli surveillance-technology export sector (documented on the [[NSO Group|NSO Group]] and Barak pages). Carbyne is the node where all three converge in a single corporate entity.[^1][^2][^3]
### The Israeli Surveillance-Technology Export Context
[[Jacobin|Jacobin]] reported in July 2023 that [[Israel|Israel]]'s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories has functioned as a "laboratory" for surveillance and security technology, giving Israeli firms specialized know-how in monitoring civilian populations. The Carbyne/Reporty emergency-response platform sits within this broader Israeli surveillance-technology export sector, and the [[Reason|Reason]] reporting on Epstein's spy-industry connections (August 2025) documented that Epstein and Barak marketed Israeli surveillance technology internationally, including to [[Nigeria|Nigeria]], with technology reportedly tested on Palestinian populations.[^5][^6]
The [[Black Agenda Report|Black Agenda Report]] documented a parallel pipeline in which Israel's Gaza-tested biometric and surveillance scanners were routed into a Nigerian ports deal through [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] channels. Nigeria is documented as [[Africa|Africa]]'s largest customer of surveillance-technology contracts, spending at least 470 million dollars on AI-powered surveillance devices. The Israeli surveillance-technology export sector, of which Carbyne is a part, operates across the documented chain from Palestinian-population testing through international marketing to deployment in authoritarian and democratic states alike.[^6][^7]
### Board and Investors
Barak served on the board of Reporty and Carbyne and left the board in 2019, the year Epstein was arrested and died.[^1] The board also included Pinhas Buchris, who commanded Unit 8200 and later served as director general of the Israeli [[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|Ministry of Defense]].[^4] The investment firm of [[Nicole Junkermann]] took part in Carbyne's Series A round. Forbes reported that Carbyne's website listed her as a director until 2020; Carbyne's chief executive, [[Amir Elichai]], said that "she is not and was never a board member," attributed the listing to a mistake by the company's marketing team, and said she no longer held a stake.[^1]
### The Investment Structure and the 2019 Warrants
Epstein's stake was held through an Israeli limited partnership, SUM (E.B.) Limited Partnership, whose general partner was Ergo (E.B. 2014) Ltd. On February 28, 2019 the partnership's lawyer, [[Tomer Toor]] of the [[Tel Aviv]] firm Furth, Wilensky, Mizrachi, Knaani, wrote to Epstein's attorney [[Darren Indyke]] and to NJF Capital, the renamed Montilla International Corporation of Nicole Junkermann, that "At the time of the initial investment in Carbyne Ltd. (formerly Reporty Ltd.), SUM (E.B.) Limited Partnership received Warrants to purchase additional 61,251 Preferred A Shares of Carbyne for an aggregate exercise price of US$ 3,500,000," and that exercising them would "increase the holdings % of SUM in Carbyne - from about 13% to about 26.33%, on a fully diluted basis."[^8] On March 7 Toor confirmed that [[Southern Trust Company]], Epstein's Virgin Islands company, had signed the Additional Investment Agreement and "transferred its share in the investment (US$2.4mm)," and on March 11 that the full 3.6 million dollars had reached Ergo's account.[^8]
The receiving bank then asked, under what Toor called "its own anti money laundry regulations," for a list of "the controlling person(s) of each limited partner, name and his/her citizenship" and a recommendation letter from each partner's transferring bank.[^8] Epstein forwarded the request to Barak, who replied on March 11, 2019: "Jeff, That's the Israeli banks paranoia after they paid the penalties they've paid to the US authorities for past mistakes. According to our experience it was never leaked out of the banks. Just kept with them as an insurance policy. We have to follow on it. On a minimal but satisfying base."[^9] On March 12 Indyke wrote to Epstein: "Not sure how to respond. I thought we did not want your name associated with this Investment? Also, Tomer is asking for a bank rec letter from the transferring bank which is DB," referring to [[Deutsche Bank]]. Epstein answered "ok," and on March 14, asked whether that meant Indyke could confirm that Epstein was "the controlling person of the STC," replied, "Yes."[^10]
A month earlier, on February 18, 2019, Junkermann had written to Epstein: "Carbyne invested 1.5 m (1m you and 0.5m me) net of fees is3.9m your share, Ehud carry1.5 m and my share 2m." Epstein had written that he had "litle idea of carbyne results to date."[^11]
### The Qatar Pitch
On May 21, 2018 Epstein wrote to Peter Thiel, whose Founders Fund was a Carbyne investor: "FYI trae is meeting carbyne Ehud Barak co."[^12] On January 1, 2019 Barak forwarded Carbyne's Qatar presentation, prepared by Elichai, to [[Jabor Al Thani]] with Epstein copied: "Please find attached short presentation of Carbine. Public safety company of which I'm the chairman and leading investor. We are interested in participating in the security effort for the 2022 Games. We can work through a European company of your choice and minimize Israeli profile."[^13] In a reply of January 20 quoted in the same thread, Jabor Al Thani wrote that his "security services company" wanted to begin discussions on the presentation "for the Qatar 2022 Games" and asked for help with "any anti-drone services or technologies." On February 3 Barak, signing "Ehud Barak, Carbyne, Chairman," named Elichai as contact and promised a separate email on "the anti-drone issue"; Elichai wrote, "Ehud, thanks for the intro." On February 4 Jabor Al Thani named the country manager of [[Lysys WLL]] as the Qatari contact. Epstein was shown as a recipient of the January 1, February 3, and February 4 messages.[^14]
### The Axon Acquisition
Axon Enterprise, the maker of Taser weapons and police body cameras, announced that it would acquire Carbyne for 625 million dollars in cash, with the transaction expected to close in the first quarter of 2026; it closed in February 2026.[^4][^15] Axon, led by its founder and chief executive [[Rick Smith]], described the purchase as "uniting cloud infrastructure and AI to redefine the 911 experience."[^15] Epstein's 2015 stake of about one million dollars was the one Forbes estimated could have grown to as much as one hundred million dollars.[^1]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Brewster, Thomas. "Epstein Could Have Made $100 Million On A Secret Police Tech Investment With Ehud Barak." *Forbes,* February 10, 2026. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/02/10/epstein-police-surveillance-investments-with-ehud-barak/
[^2]: "Epstein secretly funded start-up used by Miami-Dade police." *Miami Herald,* 2020.
[^3]: "Founders Fund Invests in a 911 Startup Backed by Ehud Barak." *CTech (Calcalist),* documenting Peter Thiel's Founders Fund joining a Series B round in Carbyne/Reporty, the firm's first Israeli investment. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3744302,00.html
[^4]: *Coverager,* on Axon's agreement to acquire Carbyne for 625 million dollars. https://coverager.com/axon-to-acquire-carbyne-for-625-million/ ; *CTech (Calcalist),* on the Axon acquisition. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rj4vnuokwg
[^5]: "Inside Jeffrey Epstein's spy industry connections." *Reason,* August 27, 2025. https://reason.com/2025/08/27/inside-jeffrey-epsteins-spy-industry-connections/
[^6]: "Israel Has Turned the Occupied Territories Into a Laboratory for Surveillance." *Jacobin,* July 2023. https://jacobin.com/2023/07/israel-occupation-surveillance-security-state-technology-export
[^7]: "Epstein Flipped Israel's Gaza-Tested Biometric Scanners Into Nigeria Ports Deal." *Black Agenda Report.* For the Nigeria surveillance-technology spending, see the IDS Sussex and Punch Nigeria reporting.
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02634615, DataSet 11, email chain "Carbyne warrants" among Tomer Toor, NJF Capital, Darren Indyke, and Jeffrey Epstein, February 28 to March 14, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02634615.pdf
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02632339, DataSet 11, email from Ehud Barak to Jeffrey Epstein, "Re: Carbyne warrants," March 11, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02632339.pdf
[^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02634615, DataSet 11, email exchange between Darren Indyke and Jeffrey Epstein, March 12-14, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02634615.pdf
[^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02630791, DataSet 11, email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and Nicole Junkermann, February 18, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02630791.pdf
[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01052344, DataSet 9, email from Jeffrey Epstein to Peter Thiel, May 21, 2018. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01052344.pdf
[^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02607775, DataSet 11, email from Ehud Barak to Jabor Al Thani, copied to Jeffrey Epstein, January 1, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02607775.pdf
[^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02628648, DataSet 11, email thread "Qatar Presentation <> Carbyne 911," January 1 to February 4, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02628648.pdf
[^15]: Axon Enterprise. "Axon to Acquire Carbyne, Uniting Cloud Infrastructure and AI to Redefine the 911 Experience." Press release, *PR Newswire.* https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/axon-to-acquire-carbyne-uniting-cloud-infrastructure-and-ai-to-redefine-the-911-experience-302604614.html

2
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/China Resources.md
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@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ In 1948 Liow & Co. was restructured and renamed China Resources, the second char
### Lippo
The House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight described China Resources as "a Chinese Government owned company which is a joint venture partner with the Lippo Group and partner in the Lippo controlled Hong Kong Chinese Bank." In late 1992 China Resources bought 15 percent of the bank, and it "subsequently infused the failing LippoLand with tens of millions of dollars, effectively bailing the Riady family out of a precarious financial situation. Since 1993, the Lippo Group and China Resources entered into dozens of joint venture projects in the People's Republic of China."[^2]
The [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Committee on Government Reform]] and Oversight described China Resources as "a Chinese Government owned company which is a joint venture partner with the Lippo Group and partner in the Lippo controlled Hong Kong Chinese Bank." In late 1992 China Resources bought 15 percent of the bank, and it "subsequently infused the failing LippoLand with tens of millions of dollars, effectively bailing the Riady family out of a precarious financial situation. Since 1993, the Lippo Group and China Resources entered into dozens of joint venture projects in the People's Republic of China."[^2]
The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs called it "a company wholly-owned and operated by the PRC government" and Lippo's "principal partner on the mainland." In the spring of 1997, according to the Senate committee, [[Stephen Riady]] announced that the Hong Kong Chinese Bank would be renamed the Lippo China Resources Bank "to reflect that China Resources is now an equal partner with Lippo in the bank," and when Lippo Land, the Indonesian company building two new cities outside [[Jakarta]], faced a cash flow crisis that threatened a run on Lippo Bank, China Resources "injected tens of millions of dollars into Lippo Land and became a substantial partner in that entity as well." The committee recorded the testimony of [[Thomas Hampson]], president of Search International, that China Resources "is widely reported to be a corporate agent of economic and political espionage serving the government of China." The committee added: "Intelligence officials have confirmed in the press that the Chinese intelligence establishment is heavily involved in the operation of China Resources, and that China Resources selects overseas business partners in part on the basis of their value as potential intelligence gatherers."[^3]

63
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Dechert.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- Dechert
- LawFirm
- LeonBlack
- JeffreyEpstein
- Apollo
- InternalInvestigation
- ENRC
alias:
- Dechert LLP
summary: "International law firm that conducted the 2020 to 2021 Apollo board review of Leon Black's 158 million dollars in payments to Jeffrey Epstein, which a Senate committee later said missed 12 million dollars."
location: "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"
relations:
- type: represented
with: "[[Apollo Global Management]]"
role: "independent counsel to the Conflicts Committee of the board"
start: 2020-10
end: 2021-01-22
fn: 1
- type: represented
with: "[[Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation]]"
role: "investigation counsel, through partner Neil Gerrard"
start: 2011
end: 2013
fn: 3
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
Dechert LLP is an American-founded international law firm. In October 2020 the three-member Conflicts Committee of [[Apollo Global Management]]'s board retained it as independent counsel to investigate the relationship between Apollo co-founder [[Leon Black]] and [[Jeffrey Epstein]]; its memorandum, dated January 22, 2021, was filed with the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] as an exhibit to Apollo's January 25, 2021 Form 8-K. The [[Senate Finance Committee]] under [[Ron Wyden]] opened its own investigation in June 2022 on the basis of "inconsistencies" in the report. In the [[United Kingdom]], the High Court found in 2022 that a former Dechert partner, [[Neil Gerrard]], had leaked a client's confidential material to the press and to the [[Serious Fraud Office]].[^1][^2][^3]
### The Apollo Investigation
Black asked for an outside review at an October 20, 2020 meeting of Apollo's board, and the Conflicts Committee engaged Dechert shortly afterward, placing, in the firm's words, "no restriction on Dechert's investigation." Over three months Dechert reviewed more than 60,000 documents collected from Black, Apollo, Black's family office [[Elysium Management]], and Black's outside counsel [[Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison]]. Apollo's own counsel for the investigation was [[Milbank]]; Paul Weiss and Milbank assisted with document collection and access to witnesses. Dechert interviewed more than twenty witnesses, including Black, current and former Apollo employees, the co-founders [[Josh Harris]] and [[Marc Rowan]], family-office staff and legal counsel. One former family-office employee declined to be interviewed.[^1][^4]
### Findings
Dechert reported that Black paid Epstein 158 million dollars for work from 2012 through 2017: 50 million dollars for 2013, 70 million for 2014, 30 million for 2015, nothing for 2016 amid a fee dispute, and 8 million for 2017. It found that Epstein had told Black he generally charged clients 40 million dollars a year; that his first project, resolving a flaw in a 2006 [[Grantor Retained Annuity Trust]] that exposed Black's estate to an estimated 500 million dollars or more in tax, was called a "grand slam" by outside counsel; that Black and witnesses believed Epstein's advice conferred more than one billion and as much as two billion dollars in value; and that "the compensation paid by Black to Epstein far exceeded any amounts Black paid to his other professional advisors." It also recorded that many of Epstein's ideas "did not hold up under scrutiny."[^1]
The report documented Black's separate loans of 22.5 million and 8 million dollars in early 2017 from his entity BV70 LLC to Epstein's Plan D LLC, of which Epstein repaid 10 million dollars; Black's appointment of Epstein in 1997 as an initial director of the Black Family Foundation; and a 10 million dollar donation from Black to Epstein's [[Gratitude America]] in October 2015. It found that Epstein's [[Financial Trust Company]] bought 263,257 shares in Apollo's March 2011 initial public offering through a directed-share program, that the shares passed to [[Southern Financial LLC]] and were held through at least September 2019, and that Financial Trust Company had invested in AP SHL Investors LLC and AP Technology Partners LLC, vehicles formed by Apollo executives, and alongside Black's family in [[Environmental Solutions Worldwide]]. Dechert concluded that Black's and Apollo's public statements about the relationship were substantially accurate and that it had "seen no evidence that Black or any employee of the Family Office or Apollo was involved in any way with Epstein's criminal activities."[^1]
On the day of release Black told Apollo's limited partners that the report "confirms several important facts that were previously disclosed. Apollo did no business with Mr. Epstein," announced that he would step down as chief executive by July 2021, and disclosed that Apollo had separately engaged [[WilmerHale]] to review its reputational-risk practices.[^4]
### The Senate Challenge
The Senate Finance Committee stated on July 25, 2023 that its investigation "was prompted by inconsistencies in a report by the law firm Dechert LLP," and that Black's attorneys had since told the committee that the idea behind a transaction for which Black paid Epstein 20 million dollars "was in the public domain and originated with Black's other legal advisors."[^2] On March 11, 2025 Wyden wrote that committee staff had found records of 12 million dollars in wires from Black to Epstein that the Apollo board's review did not identify, bringing the total to more than 170 million dollars, and that Black's attorneys had not explained the omission. The committee's August 2026 accounting listed 5.5 million dollars in 2012 and 6.3 million in 2016, years for which the Dechert schedule showed no fee payments.[^5][^6]
### ENRC and Neil Gerrard
From 2011 to 2013 Dechert partner Neil Gerrard led an internal investigation for the mining company [[Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation]] (ENRC) into its Kazakhstan subsidiary, which became the subject of a Serious Fraud Office criminal inquiry. In a judgment handed down on May 16, 2022, Mr Justice [[David Waksman|Waksman]] of the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] found that Gerrard had recklessly breached his duties to ENRC, including by instigating leaks to the press and making unauthorised disclosures to the SFO, and that the SFO had breached its own duties in some of its contacts with him, while rejecting a claim of misfeasance in public office against SFO Director [[Richard Alderman]]. Dechert admitted one reckless breach by Gerrard during the trial and afterward said the findings described conduct "completely at odds" with the firm's values.[^3][^7]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Dechert LLP, Memorandum to the Apollo Conflicts Committee, "Investigation of Epstein/Black Relationship and Any Relationship Between Epstein and Apollo Global Management, Inc.," January 22, 2021, filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Apollo Global Management, Inc. Form 8-K, January 25, 2021 (accession 0001193125-21-016405), pp. 1-4, 17-18, 21-22. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex991.htm
[^2]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, "Wyden Unveils Ongoing Investigation into Private Equity Billionaire Leon Black's Tax Planning and Financial Ties with Jeffrey Epstein," July 25, 2023. https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-unveils-ongoing-investigation-into-private-equity-billionaire-leon-blacks-tax-planning-and-financial-ties-with-jeffrey-epstein
[^3]: Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd v Dechert LLP and David Neil Gerrard; Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd v Director of the Serious Fraud Office [2022] EWHC 1138 (Comm), judgment of Waksman J, handed down May 16, 2022. https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ENRC-v-Dechert-judgment-160521.pdf
[^4]: Leon D. Black, Letter to Apollo Limited Partners, January 25, 2021, filed as Exhibit 99.2 to Apollo Global Management, Inc. Form 8-K, January 25, 2021. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex992.htm
[^5]: Letter from Senator Ron Wyden to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FBI Director Kash Patel, March 11, 2025. https://www.finance.senate.gov/download/wyden-letter-to-doj-treasury-fbi-on-epsteinpdf?download=1
[^6]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, "Looking the Other Way: How Wall Street Banks Enabled Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Trafficking," August 4, 2026, p. 10 (table of wires from Black's Bank of America accounts). https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden_wall_street_epstein_report.pdf
[^7]: Dechert LLP, "Dechert Statement in Response to Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation vs Dechert LLP vs Serious Fraud Office Judgment," May 2022. https://www.dechert.com/knowledge/announcement/2022/5/dechert-statement-in-response-to-eurasian-natural-resources-corp.html

50
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Deutsche Bank.md
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@ -12,21 +12,28 @@ tags:
alias:
- Deutsche Bank AG
- Deutsche Bank Trust Company of the Americas
summary: "German global bank that took Jeffrey Epstein as a client in 2013 after JPMorgan dropped him, processed suspicious payments to women and alleged co-conspirators despite internal warnings, and paid a 150 million dollar New York regulatory penalty and 75 million dollars to his victims."
summary: "German bank that handled Jeffrey Epstein's accounts from 2013 to 2018 after JPMorgan exited him, processed payments to women and alleged co-conspirators, and paid 225 million dollars in penalties and settlements."
location: "Frankfurt, Germany"
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-09-25
relations:
- type: investigated
with: "[[New York Department of Financial Services]]"
reverse: true
role: "consent order and 150 million dollar penalty"
end: 2020-07-06
fn: 1
---
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial institution headquartered in [[Frankfurt]], Germany, which operates a New York branch and a trust company, Deutsche Bank Trust Company of the Americas, licensed by the [[New York Department of Financial Services]]. The bank maintained a relationship with [[Jeffrey Epstein]] and his related entities from August 2013 until December 2018, taking him on after [[JPMorgan Chase]] dropped him and ending the relationship after renewed press attention to his 2008 plea deal. In July 2020 the New York Department of Financial Services imposed a 150 million dollar penalty for compliance failures centered on the Epstein relationship, and in 2023 the bank agreed to pay 75 million dollars to settle a lawsuit by his victims.[^1][^2]
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial institution headquartered in [[Frankfurt]], Germany, which operates a New York branch and a trust company, Deutsche Bank Trust Company of the Americas, licensed by the [[New York Department of Financial Services]]. The bank maintained a relationship with [[Jeffrey Epstein]] and his related entities from August 2013 until December 2018, taking him on after [[JPMorgan Chase]] dropped him and ending the relationship after renewed press attention to his 2008 plea deal. In July 2020 the New York Department of Financial Services imposed a 150 million dollar penalty for compliance failures centered on the Epstein relationship, at a time when the bank was already operating under an independent monitor imposed by a January 30, 2017 consent order, and in 2023 the bank agreed to pay 75 million dollars to settle a lawsuit by his victims. No federal enforcement action has been brought against the bank over Epstein.[^1][^2][^3]
### Onboarding Epstein in 2013
In early 2013 Epstein began moving his assets to Deutsche Bank, brought in by a relationship manager who had previously serviced his accounts at a competitor bank and had joined Deutsche Bank's private wealth department in November 2012.[^1] The relationship manager told senior management that Epstein could generate millions of dollars in revenue and leads for other clients, with one internal email estimating flows of 100 to 300 million dollars over time and revenue of 2 to 4 million dollars annually.[^1] A May 5, 2013 "approval email" from a senior executive reported that the head of anti-money-laundering compliance and the general counsel for the Americas did not think the relationship required reputational-risk review, and the bank's Americas Reputational Risk Committee did not meet on the initial onboarding.[^1]
In early 2013 Epstein began moving his assets to Deutsche Bank, brought in by a relationship manager who had previously serviced his accounts at a competitor bank and had joined Deutsche Bank's private wealth department in November 2012.[^1] The relationship manager told senior management that Epstein could generate millions of dollars in revenue and leads for other clients, with one internal email estimating flows of 100 to 300 million dollars over time and revenue of 2 to 4 million dollars annually.[^1] An April 2013 memorandum to the co-head of Wealth Management Americas and the division's chief operating officer disclosed Epstein's 2007 guilty plea to a prostitution charge and his 13 months in custody on an 18-month sentence.[^1] Senator [[Ron Wyden]]'s August 2026 report identified the relationship manager, "Relationship Manager-1" in the consent order, as [[Paul Morris]], who had covered Epstein's accounts at JPMorgan Chase for a decade and whom JPMorgan due-diligence reviews named as Epstein's primary contact there. In September 2013 Morris emailed co-head of wealth management [[Chip Packard]] that "Epstein sending over about $200(million) from JP, told them Friday," and Packard replied, "Great news! Congrats Paul." Morris presented Epstein at a managing directors' meeting as a "success story," describing him as a "billionaire entrepreneur" and "one of the largest brokerage clients at JP Morgan." A 2014 list of the bank's fifty largest private-banking clients placed Epstein, through [[Southern Financial LLC]], forty-seventh with 296 million dollars, the only client on the list covered by Morris. Morris has not been charged with any offense.[^3] A May 5, 2013 "approval email" from a senior executive reported that the head of anti-money-laundering compliance and the general counsel for the Americas, who chaired the reputational risk committee, did not think the relationship required reputational-risk review; the bank told the regulator it had no other record of that conversation, and the bank's Americas Reputational Risk Committee did not meet on the initial onboarding. When a compliance officer noted in October 2013 that one alleged co-conspirator had been named in a criminal case, a coordinator cleared the account by citing the approval email.[^1]
The relationship officially began on August 19, 2013, when Deutsche Bank opened brokerage accounts for Southern Trust Company Inc. and Southern Financial LLC, Epstein entities founded in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]].[^1] Over the course of the relationship, Epstein, his entities, and his associates opened and funded more than 40 accounts at the bank.[^1] The bank classified Epstein as "high-risk" and informally designated him an "Honorary PEP," or politically exposed person, because of his connections to prominent political figures.[^1]
The relationship had been publicly preceded by allegations against Epstein dating to 2005 and by his 2008 guilty plea to a state prostitution charge, after which press reports identified several alleged co-conspirators and described a modeling operation that brought young women, often from Eastern Europe, to the United States.[^1]
The relationship had been publicly preceded by allegations against Epstein dating to 2005 and by his 2008 guilty plea to a state prostitution charge, after which press reports identified several alleged co-conspirators and described a modeling operation that brought young women, often from Eastern Europe, to the [[United States]].[^1]
### Suspicious Transactions and Overridden Warnings
@ -34,17 +41,40 @@ As early as November 1, 2013, Epstein and his representatives used Deutsche Bank
Epstein's personal attorney made a total of 97 cash withdrawals from the bank's Park Avenue branch from 2013 to 2017, typically two to three times a month and each in the amount of 7,500 dollars, the bank's limit for third-party withdrawals, withdrawing in total more than 800,000 dollars on Epstein's behalf.[^1] In May 2014 the attorney asked the bank how often cash could be withdrawn without triggering an alert, and in July 2017 he broke a withdrawal exceeding 10,000 dollars over two days; bank personnel found him credible and let him continue.[^1] In a March 2017 exchange, a member of the transaction-monitoring team responded to an alert about payments to a Russian model and a Russian publicity agent by writing that "since this type of activity is normal for this client it is not deemed suspicious."[^1]
When the Americas Reputational Risk Committee considered the Epstein relationship at meetings in January 2015, it kept the relationship while imposing conditions, but those conditions were never communicated to all members of the Epstein relationship team or to the transaction-monitoring team, and a compliance officer narrowed the monitoring standard so that little changed.[^1] The consent order found the bank's fundamental failure was that, although it properly classified Epstein as high-risk, it did little to scrutinize, inquire into, or block payments to named co-conspirators and to or on behalf of young women, or to ask why Epstein used on average more than 200,000 dollars per year in cash.[^1]
In January 2015 an anti-money-laundering officer escalated the relationship, citing a June 2014 appellate ruling reopening victims' challenge to Epstein's 2008 plea agreement and press reports of Epstein's relationships with "a prominent former U.S. politician and a member of a European royal family," whom the regulator did not name; a second officer's escalation memo stated that "[b]y 2011, 40 underage girls had come forward with testimony of Epstein sexually assaulting them" and that "Epstein managed to settle at least 17 lawsuits out of court." Later in January 2015 the senior executive and the relationship manager met Epstein at his New York home to ask about the allegations; the bank has no contemporaneous record of what was said.[^1]
The Americas Reputational Risk Committee met on January 30, 2015. Although bank policy required minutes, none exist; the same day a committee member emailed that the committee was "comfortable with things continuing" and that another member had "noted a number of sizable deals recently." The committee decided to "continue business as usual with Jeff Epstein" subject to three conditions, but those conditions were never communicated to all members of the Epstein relationship team or to the transaction-monitoring team, and a compliance officer read the requirement to flag "unusual" activity as meaning unusual compared with Epstein's own history, so that little changed; monitoring staff were told only to check online that the women involved were over 18. In July 2015 the committee's chairman approved higher trading limits for Epstein without a meeting after the senior executive "confirmed" there was no negative news. On January 4, 2016 an Epstein accountant asked to open an account for [[Gratitude America]], Epstein's charity, and withdrew the request when the bank asked for an external due-diligence report.[^1]
A new relationship manager, identified by Wyden as [[Stewart Oldfield]], took over by 2016 and was never told of the 2015 conditions. In May 2018 a compliance officer asked about wires to women with Eastern European surnames at a Russian bank; the accountant's written explanation was "SENT TO A FRIEND FOR TUITION FOR SCHOOL," and the relationship manager answered further questions by saying Epstein had "the flexibility to use any account they like." No further inquiry is recorded. Oldfield has not been charged with any offense.[^1][^3] From 2013 to 2015 about 140 million dollars of [[Leon Black]]'s payments to Epstein, wired from Black's accounts at [[Bank of America]], went into [[Southern Trust Company]] accounts at Deutsche Bank, and a 2015 note from Deutsche Bank bankers recorded that another 20 million dollars from Black had "hit" Epstein's accounts.[^3][^4] The consent order found the bank's fundamental failure was that, although it properly classified Epstein as high-risk, it did little to scrutinize, inquire into, or block payments to named co-conspirators and to or on behalf of young women, or to ask why Epstein used on average more than 200,000 dollars per year in cash.[^1]
### Records Produced to the Grand Jury
Deutsche Bank's Epstein records were produced to the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York]] under grand jury secrecy, stamped "DB-SDNY" and "CONFIDENTIAL - PURSUANT TO FED. R. CRIM. P. 6(e)," and later appeared in the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s Epstein releases. A know-your-customer page headed "The 2013 Butterfly Trust" listed the trustee [[Erika Kellerhals]], the Virgin Islands lawyer who had testified with Epstein at the 2012 hearing on Southern Trust's tax-incentive application, with the note "(Deutsche Bank already has on file)," and set out the trust's "Current Potential Beneficiaries," among them Epstein's assistant [[Lesley Groff]], his pilot [[Larry Visoski|Lawrence Paul Visoski Jr.]] and his lawyer [[Darren Indyke]], with other staff and associates, one of them listed at 301 East 66th Street in Manhattan; a "KYC Print" of July 15, 2019, nine days after Epstein's arrest, recorded him as the trust's grantor.[^5]
Checks of Epstein's charity Gratitude America, Ltd., account address New York, New York 10154, were drawn on Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas in 2016, including one dated August 1, 2016 for 37,500 dollars payable to [[Leon Botstein]], president of [[Bard College]], with the memo "3rd Quarterly Payment of 4."[^6] The consent order records that on January 4, 2016 an Epstein accountant withdrew a request to open an account for Gratitude America when the bank asked for an external due-diligence report.[^1]
In Leon Black's estate planning, a family-office checklist dated as of October 2, 2013 recorded "Preliminary meetings with Deutsche Bank taken" on financing against Black's art, and proposed a use agreement "between Heritage Trust and DB regarding use of art held by the Heritage Trust."[^7]
In March 2019 Epstein's Southern Trust Company wired 2.4 million dollars to exercise warrants in the Israeli emergency-response company [[Carbyne]], and [[Bank Leumi]], where the investing partnership's general partner received the funds, asked for "a recommendation letter from the transferring bank of each limited partner." On March 12, 2019 Indyke wrote to Epstein that the lawyer handling the deal was "asking for a bank rec letter from the transferring bank which is DB. I have asked Rich to find out from Stewart Oldfield at DB with whom Rich has a decent relationship if that would even be possible at this point"; on March 14 he reported that "Stewart Oldfield is trying to find out what kind of letter he can get for us."[^8]
### The DFS Penalty and Victim Settlement
The New York Department of Financial Services issued its consent order on July 6, 2020, finding that Deutsche Bank conducted business in an unsafe and unsound manner in violation of New York Banking Law section 44 and failed to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program in violation of 3 NYCRR section 116.2.[^1] The order, brought under sections 39 and 44 of the Banking Law, also addressed the bank's correspondent relationships with [[FBME Bank]] and [[Danske Bank]] Estonia, through which it cleared more than 267 billion dollars in transactions and identified hundreds of suspicious transactions.[^1] The order required Deutsche Bank to pay a penalty of 150 million dollars and credited the bank's cooperation and remediation.[^1]
The New York Department of Financial Services issued its consent order on July 6, 2020, finding that Deutsche Bank conducted business in an unsafe and unsound manner in violation of New York Banking Law section 44 and failed to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program in violation of 3 NYCRR section 116.2.[^1] The order, brought under sections 39 and 44 of the Banking Law, also addressed the bank's correspondent relationships with [[FBME Bank]] and [[Danske Bank]] Estonia, through which it cleared more than 267 billion dollars in transactions and identified hundreds of suspicious transactions.[^1] The order required Deutsche Bank to pay a penalty of 150 million dollars within ten business days, barred it from deducting the penalty for tax purposes or seeking insurance or indemnification for it, and credited the bank's cooperation and remediation. It did not appoint a new monitor but expanded the mandate of the independent monitor already in place under the January 30, 2017 consent order. The Department agreed to take no further action against the bank for the conduct described in the order, provided the bank complied with it, while reserving the right to act on conduct the bank had not disclosed. The order stated that the regulator left the question of what Epstein's cash was used for "to the criminal authorities." It was signed for the Department by Superintendent [[Linda Lacewell]] and for the bank by general counsel [[Karen Kuder]].[^1]
The bank terminated the Epstein relationship after the [[Miami Herald]] published its November 2018 reporting on his 2008 plea deal, informing Epstein by letter on December 21, 2018 that it would no longer service his accounts.[^1] After the bank decided to offboard the accounts, a relationship manager nonetheless drafted reference letters to two other financial institutions stating that he was "unaware of any problems relating to the operation or use" of the accounts.[^1]
In May 2023 Deutsche Bank agreed to pay 75 million dollars to settle a federal lawsuit in [[New York]] brought by a survivor identified as Jane Doe, who sought class-action status on behalf of other victims and alleged that the bank knowingly benefited from Epstein's sex trafficking and chose profit over compliance with the law.[^2] The plaintiffs were represented by [[Edwards Pottinger]] and [[Boies Schiller Flexner]], and one firm characterized the deal as among the largest sex-trafficking settlements with a bank in U.S. history; a federal judge approved it in October 2023.[^2][^3]
After Epstein's July 2019 arrest, Deutsche Bank retroactively filed suspicious activity reports flagging more than 250 million dollars in wires, one of them covering 1,140 wires totaling 147 million dollars from 2013 to 2019, including payments to women in Russia and Eastern Europe and to modeling agencies; according to Wyden's report the bank had filed no contemporaneous report in almost six years. Wyden's staff asked the bank in June 2026 for the deposition transcript of Morris taken in the victims' suit, and the bank's lawyers declined.[^3]
In May 2023 Deutsche Bank agreed to pay 75 million dollars to settle a federal lawsuit in [[New York]] brought by a survivor identified as Jane Doe, who sought class-action status on behalf of other victims and alleged that the bank knowingly benefited from Epstein's sex trafficking and chose profit over compliance with the law.[^2] The plaintiffs were represented by [[Edwards Pottinger]] and [[Boies Schiller Flexner]], and one firm characterized the deal as among the largest sex-trafficking settlements with a bank in U.S. history; a federal judge approved it in October 2023.[^2][^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: New York State Department of Financial Services, In the Matter of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company of the Americas, Consent Order Under New York Banking Law sections 39 and 44 (July 6, 2020). https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/enforcement_discipline/ea20200706_deutsche_bank
[^1]: New York State Department of Financial Services, In the Matter of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company of the Americas, Consent Order Under New York Banking Law sections 39 and 44 (executed July 6, 2020), paras. 8, 16-58, 114-122 and signature page. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/enforcement_discipline/ea20200706_deutsche_bank
[^2]: "Deutsche Bank to pay $75 million to Epstein victims in groundbreaking settlement, lawyers say," *PBS NewsHour / Associated Press,* 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/deutsche-bank-to-pay-75-million-to-epstein-victims-in-groundbreaking-settlement-lawyers-say
[^3]: "US judge approves Deutsche Bank $75 million settlement with Epstein accusers," *CNN Business,* 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/20/business/deutsche-bank-settlement-epstein-accusers
[^3]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, "Looking the Other Way: How Wall Street Banks Enabled Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Trafficking," August 4, 2026, pp. 6-7, 9-10, 44-50, 59-61 (citing EFTA01344411, EFTA01344990, EFTA01344574, EFTA01460765 and EFTA01352796). https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden_wall_street_epstein_report.pdf
[^4]: Letter from Senator Ron Wyden to Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Robert Garcia, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, regarding Leon Black, June 4, 2026 (citing EFTA01376741). https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden_letter_to_house_oversight_on_leon_black-epstein_060426.pdf
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01364303, DataSet 10, Deutsche Bank know-your-customer page "The 2013 Butterfly Trust" (DB-SDNY-0054829); EFTA01372887, DataSet 10, Deutsche Bank "KYC Print," July 15, 2019 (DB-SDNY-0066790). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01364303.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01372887.pdf
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01348714, DataSet 10, check of Gratitude America, Ltd drawn on Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas to Leon Botstein, August 1, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01348714.pdf
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01071282, DataSet 9, "Checklist for Leon Black Estate Planning and Restructuring, As of October 2, 2013." https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01071282.pdf
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02634615, DataSet 11, email chain "Carbyne warrants" among Tomer Toor, NJF Capital, Darren Indyke and Jeffrey Epstein, February 28 to March 14, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02634615.pdf
[^9]: "US judge approves Deutsche Bank $75 million settlement with Epstein accusers," *CNN Business,* 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/20/business/deutsche-bank-settlement-epstein-accusers

2
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Dialog.md
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@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ The confirmed 2026 registrants, as reported by *WIRED*, spanned U.S. partisan po
Dialog's secrecy was breached twice before the 2026 leak, without producing a comprehensive membership disclosure. In April 2022 the statistician Gelman published a Dialog invitation to his Columbia University blog, describing the registration fee and format; this is the source of the published fee figure of more than 16,000 dollars. Gelman's post was a limited disclosure, naming the event and its cost but not the attendees.[^2]
Earlier, a 2013 Dialog retreat invitation surfaced in the U.S. Department of Justice document release from the [[Jeffrey Epstein]] files. The invitation had been forwarded to Epstein in November 2012, placing him on the circulation list for a Dialog event, and listed roughly 130 past participants as social proof of the gathering's prestige. The document (indexed as D-23831 in the [[Epstein Files|Epstein document release]]) established that Dialog's historical invitee network overlapped with the Epstein contact network at least a year after Epstein's 2008 federal non-prosecution agreement. Thiel separately met with Epstein in 2014, according to records reviewed by the *New York Times*, and the 2013 invite shows the channel ran through Dialog's own circulation list.[^1][^4][^5]
Earlier, a 2013 Dialog retreat invitation surfaced in the U.S. Department of Justice document release from the [[Jeffrey Epstein]] files. The invitation had been forwarded to Epstein in November 2012, placing him on the circulation list for a Dialog event, and listed roughly 130 past participants as social proof of the gathering's prestige. The document (indexed as D-23831 in the [[Epstein Files|Epstein document release]]) established that Dialog's historical invitee network overlapped with the Epstein contact network at least a year after Epstein's 2008 federal [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement|non-prosecution agreement]]. Thiel separately met with Epstein in 2014, according to records reviewed by the *New York Times*, and the 2013 invite shows the channel ran through Dialog's own circulation list.[^1][^4][^5]
### The D.C. Campus

33
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Edge Foundation.md
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@ -14,7 +14,15 @@ alias:
- Edge
summary: "The Edge Foundation is John Brockman's nonprofit that runs Edge.org, hosts the annual Edge Question and Billionaires' Dinner, and drew a majority of its 2001 to 2017 revenue from foundations associated with Jeffrey Epstein."
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-09-25
relations:
- type: funded
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
role: "638,000 dollars of about 857,000 dollars in revenue, through Epstein foundations"
start: 2001
end: 2015
fn: 2
---
The Edge Foundation is a New York nonprofit founded by literary agent [[John Brockman]] that operates the website [[Edge.org]], publishes the annual Edge Question, and for years hosted the Billionaires' Dinner. Foundations associated with [[Jeffrey Epstein]] provided $638,000 of nearly $857,000 in revenue the organization received between 2001 and 2017, making Epstein its dominant backer during that period.[^1][^2]
@ -23,9 +31,9 @@ The Edge Foundation is a New York nonprofit founded by literary agent [[John Bro
The Edge Foundation was incorporated in 1988 as an outgrowth of the Reality Club, an informal gathering of intellectuals that Brockman had convened from 1981 to 1996 in restaurants, lofts, and other venues around New York. The foundation describes its mission as promoting inquiry into scientific and intellectual ideas in the spirit of the "third culture" that Brockman set out in his 1995 book *The Third Culture*, in which scientists who write for a general public take the place of the traditional literary intellectual.[^3][^4]
The third-culture framing extended [[C. P. Snow]]'s 1959 lecture on the divide between literary and scientific cultures, recasting working scientists as the public intellectuals "rendering visible the deeper meanings of our lives." Brockman ran the site as a program of the foundation alongside his agency [[Brockman Inc.]], with [[Katinka Matson]] listed as co-founder, and many Edge participants were also agency clients whose books the firm sold.[^4][^3]
The third-culture framing extended [[C. P. Snow]]'s 1959 lecture on the divide between literary and scientific cultures, recasting working scientists as the public intellectuals "rendering visible the deeper meanings of our lives." Brockman ran the site as a program of the foundation alongside his agency [[Brockman Inc.]], with [[Katinka Matson]] listed as co-founder, and many Edge participants were also agency clients whose books the firm sold.[^3][^4]
Brockman launched Edge.org in 1996 as the online successor to the Reality Club, posting long-form conversations and essays by scientists and authors. The journalist [[John Naughton]] called the site "the world's smartest website" in a 2012 *Observer* profile, a phrase the foundation has since used in its own materials. Contributors over the years included [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Steven Pinker]], [[Daniel Kahneman]], [[Daniel Dennett]], [[Stephen Hawking]], [[Lawrence Krauss]], [[Marvin Minsky]], [[Martin Nowak]], and [[George Church]].[^5][^4]
Brockman launched Edge.org in 1996 as the online successor to the Reality Club, posting long-form conversations and essays by scientists and authors. The journalist [[John Naughton]] called the site "the world's smartest website" in a 2012 *Observer* profile, a phrase the foundation has since used in its own materials. Contributors over the years included [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Steven Pinker]], [[Daniel Kahneman]], [[Daniel Dennett]], [[Stephen Hawking]], [[Lawrence Krauss]], [[Marvin Minsky]], [[Martin Nowak]], and [[George Church]].[^4][^5]
### The Edge Question and the World Question Center
@ -33,7 +41,7 @@ Beginning in 1998, Edge posed an annual question to its contributors through wha
The annual responses fed a long-running book series, with collected volumes published as *What We Believe but Cannot Prove*, *What Is Your Dangerous Idea?*, *What Have You Changed Your Mind About?*, *This Will Change Everything*, *This Explains Everything*, and *Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think?*, among others. Brockman closed the annual question in 2018 after twenty editions, framing the final question as the finale of the series.[^4][^6]
The Third Culture program ran in parallel, with Edge publishing the conversations, video, and essays that fed Brockman's edited anthologies and supplied his agency clients with a steady channel to a general readership. The foundation positioned its participants as a continuation of the figures Brockman profiled in *The Third Culture* in 1995.[^4][^3]
The Third Culture program ran in parallel, with Edge publishing the conversations, video, and essays that fed Brockman's edited anthologies and supplied his agency clients with a steady channel to a general readership. The foundation positioned its participants as a continuation of the figures Brockman profiled in *The Third Culture* in 1995.[^3][^4]
### The Billionaires' Dinner
@ -49,7 +57,17 @@ The [[Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation]] and other Epstein-controlled entities, inc
Epstein's last recorded contribution was $30,000 in 2015, after which Edge raised only several thousand dollars from a single donor over 2016 and 2017. For multiple years Epstein was effectively the foundation's sole donor, and his withdrawal after 2015 coincided with the end of the dinner series.[^1][^2]
After Epstein's July 2019 arrest, the science writer [[Carl Zimmer]] asked to be removed from Edge, the author [[Naomi Wolf]] left Brockman Inc. on July 31, 2019, citing both Epstein's funding and the appearance of Sarah Kellen on the site, and [[Evgeny Morozov]] called on Brockman to close the foundation while publishing a 2013 email in which Brockman had tried to introduce him to Epstein. Photographs showing Kellen at Edge dinners were taken down. Most listed contributors did not publicly disassociate from the foundation, and the site continued to host its archived conversations.[^8][^1]
After Epstein's July 2019 arrest, the science writer [[Carl Zimmer]] asked to be removed from Edge, the author [[Naomi Wolf]] left Brockman Inc. on July 31, 2019, citing both Epstein's funding and the appearance of Sarah Kellen on the site, and [[Evgeny Morozov]] called on Brockman to close the foundation while publishing a 2013 email in which Brockman had tried to introduce him to Epstein. Photographs showing Kellen at Edge dinners were taken down. Most listed contributors did not publicly disassociate from the foundation, and the site continued to host its archived conversations.[^1][^8]
### Tax Filings and the Collapse
The Edge Foundation files with the [[Internal Revenue Service]] as Edge Foundation Inc., employer identification number 13-3528667, in care of Brockman Inc. at 260 Fifth Avenue, New York. Its filings report total contributions of 50,000 dollars in 2011, none in 2012, 50,000 dollars in 2013, 50,000 dollars in 2014 and 130,000 dollars in 2015, the year of Epstein's last recorded 30,000 dollar gift and the last Billionaires' Dinner, and no contributions in any year from 2019 to 2023. In 2023 it reported total assets of 73,610 dollars and revenue of 6,202 dollars. NPR reported in 2026 that Edge.org appeared to have ceased publication in 2023.[^9][^10]
An IRS filing of Epstein's [[C.O.U.Q. Foundation]] records a 50,000 dollar gift to Edge in 2007, months after *[[The New York Times]]* questioned whether prosecutors had given Epstein preferential treatment over allegations involving underage girls. Edge published Epstein's own answer to its 2008 question, "What have you changed your mind about?" Epstein foundation pages claimed support for Edge through at least 2014, which could not be matched to tax filings, and his contributor profile stayed on the site into 2019, months after the *[[Miami Herald]]* series. The geneticist George Church lists the Edge Foundation among his affiliations ("2005-present; science communication") on the same disclosure page that lists the "Epstein Foundation St. Thomas, VI" as a funder for 2005 to 2007.[^11][^12]
### A Club for Clients
The MIT cosmologist [[Alan Guth]], a Brockman client, told NPR that he understood Edge primarily as a vehicle for Brockman and as a club for his clients, whom Brockman called "Edgies," and that Brockman arranged a meeting at which Epstein was to consider funding Guth's projects; Epstein declined. The physicist [[Seth Lloyd]] met Epstein at a 2004 Brockman dinner. The Edge contributors Lawrence Krauss and [[Frank Wilczek]] attended Epstein's 2006 gravity conference in the Virgin Islands, and Krauss's Arizona State institute later took Epstein money; Edge contributors Church and Martin Nowak received Epstein-brokered gifts at Harvard. Epstein's foundation's 30 million dollar claim for Nowak's program, repeated in Brockman's 2013 email to Evgeny Morozov, compares with the 6.5 million dollars Harvard recorded.[^10][^11][^13]
### Footnotes
@ -61,3 +79,8 @@ After Epstein's July 2019 arrest, the science writer [[Carl Zimmer]] asked to be
[^6]: Brockman, John. *The Third Culture: Beyond the Scientific Revolution.* Simon & Schuster, 1995.
[^7]: "The Edge 'Billionaires' Dinner'" event pages, Edge.org, on the 1999 start of the dinner at the TED conference, the attendee mix, and Brockman's naming of the event. https://www.edge.org/events/edge-dinners
[^8]: "Edge Foundation President May Have Been Jeffrey Epstein's Connection to Intellectual Elite," *InsideHook,* 2019, on the gatekeeper role, the 2013 Morozov email, and the 2019 reckoning. https://www.insidehook.com/culture/edge-foundation-president-may-have-been-jeffrey-epsteins-connection-to-intellectual-elite
[^9]: "Edge Foundation Inc," EIN 13-3528667, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Form 990-PF data for tax years 2011 to 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133528667
[^10]: Neuman, Scott, and Ava Berger. "Epstein paid for a conference of top scientists in 2006. His motives are now clear," *NPR,* March 9, 2026, on Guth's account of Edge and "Edgies," the 2006 conference attendees, and Edge's apparent end of publication in 2023. https://www.npr.org/2026/03/09/nx-s1-5721150/epstein-scientists-physics-virgin-islands-conference
[^11]: Aldhous, Peter. "Jeffrey Epstein's Links To Scientists Are Even More Extensive Than We Thought," *BuzzFeed News,* August 27, 2019, on the 2007 C.O.U.Q. gift, Epstein's 2008 Edge answer, the unverified later claims, the profile's removal, and Lloyd's 2004 meeting. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-science-donations-apologies-statements
[^12]: Church, George M. "George M. Church's Tech Transfer, Advisory Roles, and Funding Sources," Church Lab, Harvard Medical School, accessed September 25, 2026. https://arep.med.harvard.edu/t
[^13]: Lopez, Diane E., Ara B. Gershengorn, and Martin F. Murphy. *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University.* Harvard OGC and Foley Hoag LLP, May 2020, pp. 3, 5, 13. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208

102
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Financial Trust Company.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- JeffreyEpstein
- VirginIslands
- FinancialTrustCompany
- ShellCompany
- TaxHaven
- BearStearns
- TowersFinancial
alias:
- Financial Trust Company, Inc.
- Financial Trust Co.
- The Financial Trust Company
- TFTC
- FTC (Epstein)
summary: "Jeffrey Epstein's St. Thomas money-management company, incorporated in 1998, which held Virgin Islands tax exemptions from 1999, a large Bear Stearns stake, and was accused of receiving Towers Financial proceeds."
start: 1998-11-06
location: "St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands"
relations:
- type: owned
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
start: 1998-11-06
end: 2019-08-10
role: "sole shareholder"
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
role: "president and chief executive officer"
fn: 4
- type: represented
with: "[[Troutman Sanders]]"
reverse: true
start: 2016-06
end: 2020-05
fn: 11
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
Financial Trust Company, Inc. was a [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] corporation owned and run by [[Jeffrey Epstein]], incorporated on [[St. Thomas]] in November 1998 to provide "financial counseling and investment advice" and to serve as trustee or fiduciary for clients. It received territorial tax exemptions from 1999, held a block of [[Bear Stearns]] stock through the firm's 2008 collapse, bought shares in the 2011 initial public offering of [[Apollo Global Management]], and reported 212 million dollars in assets on its last public balance sheet in 2012. Epstein's successor entity, [[Southern Trust Company]], took over its role in the territory's tax-incentive program from 2013. Investors in [[Towers Financial Corporation]] and [[Steven Hoffenberg]] alleged in two federal suits that the company was capitalized with money taken from the Towers Ponzi scheme; both suits ended within weeks of filing.[^1][^2][^3]
### Incorporation
The Articles of Incorporation of Financial Trust Company, Inc. were executed on November 6, 1998 and stamped received by the Office of the [[Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands]] the same day. The corporation's principal office was listed at 41-42 Kongens Gade, St. Thomas, with the attorney Paul Hoffman as resident agent, and the articles were signed by three incorporators before Hoffman as notary. The stated purposes were "to provide financial counseling and investment advice to clients both within and without the United States Virgin Islands, including serving as trustee and/or fiduciary for such clients and others," together with a general clause permitting any commercial, industrial, agricultural, marketing, transportation or service activity. The articles provided for perpetual existence and "unlimited" indebtedness.[^1]
The articles do not name Epstein. Epstein's own 2009 verified complaint against Bear Stearns described him as "the president, a director, and the sole shareholder of Financial Trust," and a 2018 investor complaint sued him "in his capacity as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Financial Trust Company." The same 2018 complaint described the company as "a hedge fund formed under the laws of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1996," a date that differs from the 1998 articles Epstein's lawyers filed in response. The Virgin Islands government, in its 2022 complaint against the estate, gave the incorporation date as November 6, 1998 and stated that the company "had assets of $212 million when it publicly filed its last balance sheet in 2012."[^2][^3][^4]
### Tax Exemptions From 1999
According to documents released by the [[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]] in February 2020, Epstein was first granted tax benefits for Financial Trust Co., Inc. in 1999 by the authority's predecessor, the Virgin Islands [[Industrial Development Commission]]. The certificate, signed by commission director [[Frandelle Gerard]], granted a 90 percent exemption from income tax and 100 percent exemptions from gross-receipts and excise taxes for ten years, and a 100 percent exemption of taxes "on real property used for the business of financial and economic consulting, money management, investment advisory and fiduciary services for its clients."[^5]
The certificate was amended in 2012 under the [[Economic Development Commission]], which added "special conditions": at least 100,000 dollars a year to "various Virgin Islands charities, youth sports organizations and clubs; and symposiums held in the Virgin Islands," scholarships of 10,000 dollars a year for five years at Kean and Charlotte Amalie high schools, 22,500 dollars to the commission's Workforce Development fund, and 3,000 dollars a year to the Territorial Scholarship fund. The amended certificate was signed by the commission's chairman, [[Albert Bryan]], then serving under Governor [[John de Jongh]]; Bryan also signed the later certificate for Southern Trust Company and was elected governor in 2018. De Jongh's wife, [[Cecile de Jongh]], worked for Epstein from 1998 and was listed as the office manager of both companies.[^5][^6]
In January 2020 the authority's assistant chief executive, [[Wayne Biggs Jr.]], told the Virgin Islands Daily News that Epstein "was in the program before he was convicted of any sex crimes under Financial Trust. And he changed from Financial Trust to Southern Trust." Authority officials declined to disclose how much any of the commission's 72 beneficiary companies received in tax breaks each year, and the value of the Financial Trust exemptions was not published at the time. The same reporting noted that Epstein owned 50 percent of [[American Yacht Harbor]] in Red Hook, where Southern Trust kept its office, and that the marina was still receiving commission tax breaks in 2020.[^5]
### Bear Stearns Holdings
Financial Trust was Epstein's principal vehicle for his long relationship with Bear Stearns, where he had worked from 1976 to 1981. In an August 5, 2009 verified complaint filed in the [[District Court of the Virgin Islands]], the company stated that "Epstein has had a relationship with Bear Stearns beginning in 1976. Since 1981, Epstein has conducted hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions with Bear Stearns for his own, as well as his clients', accounts and he conducted this business with the senior management of Bear Stearns." Financial Trust then held 120,000 Bear Stearns shares in a [[Merrill Lynch]] brokerage account, and Epstein alone made its investment decisions on the stock.[^2]
The complaint alleged that Bear Stearns induced Financial Trust to keep its shares because "other large investors would view Financial Trust's sale of a significant block of shares of Bear Stearns stock as a loss of confidence in Bear Stearns by a company owned and managed by a person seen by such large investors as close to the firm," at a time when the firm's valuations were being examined by the press, "including Landon Thomas at the [[New York Times]]," after the collapse of two [[Bear Stearns Asset Management]] hedge funds in the summer of 2007. Financial Trust sold 56,350 shares on August 6, 2007 at 101.38 dollars. That day, according to the complaint, Epstein spoke by telephone from the Virgin Islands with chief executive [[James Cayne]], who told him the problems were "contained to those two funds," described a pending one billion dollar capital infusion from [[CITIC Group|China Citic Group]], and advised him to "hold tight." The company sold its remaining 120,000 shares for 34.99 dollars (20,000 shares, March 14, 2008) and 3.41 dollars (100,000 shares, March 17, 2008) as [[JPMorgan Chase]] took over the firm. The complaint sought compensatory and punitive damages for fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, naming Cayne, [[Alan Greenberg]], [[Warren Spector]], [[Samuel Molinaro]] and [[Alan Schwartz]] as the officers whose statements Epstein had relied on. It was verified by the company's vice president and filed by the St. Croix lawyer [[John K. Dema]].[^2]
Epstein was also an investor in the funds themselves. Fox Business reported in 2019 that he had put about 60 million dollars into the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund, "making him one of its largest investors," and that a plan for investors to take control of the fund was put to him in the summer of 2007 and "fizzled." The [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] charged the funds' managers, [[Ralph Cioffi]] and [[Matthew Tannin]], in June 2008 with misleading investors before the funds collapsed in June 2007 with losses of about 1.8 billion dollars; the release does not name individual investors.[^7][^8]
### Apollo Shares and the Leon Black Payments
The law firm [[Dechert]], reporting to the conflicts committee of Apollo Global Management in January 2021, found that "in 2011, one of Epstein's entities, Financial Trust Company, purchased 263,257 shares of Apollo's stock in its initial public offering" through a directed share offering program, and that the shares "appear to have later been transferred to a second Epstein entity, Southern Financial LLC, and appear to have been held through at least September 2019." The same review found that Apollo's co-founder [[Leon Black]] paid Epstein 158 million dollars for work performed from 2012 through 2017; the written 2013 service agreement it described was with Southern Trust Company, Inc., which received the first payments. Dechert reported no evidence that Black paid Epstein for anything other than "legitimate advice."[^9]
### The 2007 Grand Jury Subpoena
The company was subpoenaed in the federal investigation that ended in Epstein's [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement|non-prosecution agreement]]. The investigation timeline kept by the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida]] records subpoenas on May 31, 2007 to Financial Trust Company, Inc., returnable June 12, 2007, and to the J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc., J. Epstein & Company, Inc. and "Epstein Interests," returnable June 21, 2007, with the defense lawyer [[Gerald Lefcourt]] as the correspondent, and a "Production response to 5/31/07 subpoenas" from all four on June 13, 2007. The same log lists earlier subpoenas to Chase and JPMorgan Chase in 2006 and 2007 and a subpoena to Bear Stearns returnable September 4, 2007.[^10]
### The Towers Financial Allegations
On May 27, 2016, Steven Hoffenberg, the former chief executive of Towers Financial Corporation, sued Epstein and "The Financial Trust Company" in the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York]], individually and as self-described "constructive trustee of the Noteholders and Bondholders of Towers Financial Corporation." Epstein and the company were represented by Bennet J. Moskowitz of [[Troutman Sanders]], who wrote to Judge [[Richard J. Sullivan]] on June 28, 2016 seeking dismissal with prejudice on the grounds that Hoffenberg lacked standing, that every claim was time-barred, that he was barred by in pari delicto, and that he failed to state a claim. Hoffenberg withdrew the complaint with prejudice by letter of July 1, 2016, and Sullivan dismissed the case on July 5, 2016.[^11][^12]
On August 20, 2018, two Towers noteholders, Marvin Gerber and Kalma Koenig, filed a putative class action against Epstein and Financial Trust. Their complaint alleged that Epstein used proceeds of the Towers scheme "to start his own company, Defendant TFTC," and attached an affidavit Hoffenberg swore on August 17, 2018 stating that "Epstein used the monies he misappropriated and earned from his illegal trading activities and used them as start-up capital for his corporations, including The Financial Trust Company." Moskowitz moved to dismiss with prejudice on September 14, 2018, filing the 1998 Financial Trust articles among his exhibits, and the case was terminated on October 5, 2018. Epstein's lawyers called the action "Hoffenberg's rehashing of several of his prior lawsuits aimed at harassing" Epstein and his businesses; Epstein was never charged in connection with Towers.[^3][^4][^13]
A draft of the Troutman Sanders memorandum of law for Epstein and "The Financial Trust Company," marked "Privileged and Confidential; Attorney Work Product," is among the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s Epstein releases. Headed "Multiple SDNY Judges Warned the Person Driving This Action Against Such Frivolous Lawsuits," it recounted that Judge [[Richard M. Berman]] had warned Hoffenberg in 2001 that "he may not assert baseless claims or abuse the judicial process through the instigation of frivolous or duplicative suits," that Judge [[Robert W. Sweet]] had found in 2003 that Hoffenberg "will be enjoined from filing any further litigation ... without prior approval," and that Judge [[P. Kevin Castel]] had found a 2013 Hoffenberg petition "appears in several respects to be a frivolous pleading filed in violation of Rule 11(b)." It summarized the complaint as alleging that Hoffenberg, Towers' chief executive from 1975 to 1993, hired Epstein "as a consultant back in 1987," and quoted Hoffenberg's counsel telling Sweet on December 5, 2013 that "Mr. Epstein is a critical player here. ... and he's [Epstein] not a victim." It cited the 2003 *Vanity Fair* account of Hoffenberg's claim to an Illinois grand jury in 1993 that Epstein "came up with the idea" of financing takeover bids through Towers' purchase of two Illinois insurers and was the "technician" executing the schemes. The draft noted that "Defendants have never been found guilty of any wrongdoing related to Hoffenberg's fraud."[^14]
After Epstein's death, a civil suit by a plaintiff identified only as "VE," No. 1:19-cv-07625 (S.D.N.Y.), named Financial Trust Company, Inc. as a defendant alongside the estate's co-executors [[Darren Indyke]] and [[Richard Kahn]], [[Nine East 71st Street Corporation]] and NES, LLC; Charles L. Glover of Troutman Sanders appeared for all of them in May 2020.[^15]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Articles of Incorporation of Financial Trust Company, Inc., executed November 6, 1998, with Consent of Agent for Service of Process (Paul Hoffman), received by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands November 6, 1998; filed as Exhibit N to the Declaration of Bennet J. Moskowitz, Gerber v. The Financial Trust Company, No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 16-14 (September 14, 2018), pp. 2 to 8. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593.16.14.pdf
[^2]: Financial Trust Company, Inc. v. The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., Civil No. 2009/106 (D.V.I.), Verified Complaint dated August 5, 2009, paragraphs 1 to 53 and verification; reproduced as Exhibit 253, ECF No. 244-8 (filed July 25, 2023), in Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011822/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/244-08.pdf
[^3]: Marvin Gerber and Kalma Koenig v. The Financial Trust Company, XYZ Corp., ABC, Inc., and Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO (S.D.N.Y.), Complaint, ECF No. 7 (filed August 21, 2018), paragraphs 11 to 12, 32, 53 to 54, and Exhibit B, Affidavit of Steven J. Hoffenberg sworn August 17, 2018, ECF No. 7-2, paragraphs 12 and 18. https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Gerber-v-The-Financial-Trust-Co-complaint.pdf
[^4]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Darren K. Indyke et al., No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint (filed November 30, 2022), paragraphs 139 to 141; reproduced as ECF No. 1-1 in Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y., filed December 27, 2022), ECF p. 30. https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/001-01.pdf
[^5]: Suzanne Carlson, "Epstein estate could be ordered to repay more than $144 million in tax breaks," *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 13, 2020, reproduced as Exhibit 36, ECF No. 158-36 (filed May 23, 2023), in No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/epstein-estate-could-be-ordered-to-repay-more-than-144-million-in-tax-breaks/article_b84d9710-14af-5e69-a890-bcf8265cf8f9.html
[^6]: "V.I. Officials Enabled Epstein to Act With Impunity, JPMorgan Alleges in Latest Salvo," *St. Thomas Source,* June 16, 2023, on the January 24, 2014 Southern Trust certificate signed by Albert Bryan. https://web.archive.org/web/20240721172424/https://stthomassource.com/content/2023/06/16/v-i-officials-enabled-epstein-to-act-with-impunity-jpmorgan-alleges-in-latest-salvo/
[^7]: Charles Gasparino and Lydia Moynihan, "The woes of Jeffrey Epstein: How he maintained Wall Street connections while downplaying child sex accusations," *Fox Business,* August 10, 2019. https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/jeffrey-epstein-wall-street-connections-child-sex-trafficking
[^8]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 20625, SEC v. Ralph R. Cioffi and Matthew M. Tannin, Civil Action No. 08 2457 (FB) (E.D.N.Y.), June 19, 2008. https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/litreleases/2008/lr20625.htm
[^9]: Dechert LLP, Memorandum to the Apollo Conflicts Committee, "Investigation of Epstein/Black Relationship and Any Relationship Between Epstein and Apollo Global Management, Inc.," January 22, 2021, pp. 3 to 4, 16 to 17, filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Apollo Global Management, Inc., Form 8-K (January 25, 2021). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex991.htm
[^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00224943, DataSet 9, "Epstein Investigation Timeline," Exhibit A-1 (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida), pp. 1, 4-7, 11. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00224943.pdf
[^11]: Letter of Bennet J. Moskowitz, Troutman Sanders LLP, to Hon. Richard J. Sullivan, June 28, 2016, Hoffenberg v. Epstein, No. 1:16-cv-03989-RJS (S.D.N.Y.), filed as Exhibit G, ECF No. 16-7, in No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO (S.D.N.Y.). https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593.16.7.pdf
[^12]: Hoffenberg v. Epstein, No. 1:16-cv-03989 (RJS) (S.D.N.Y.), docket (complaint filed May 27, 2016; terminated July 5, 2016), and Order of Judge Richard J. Sullivan, July 5, 2016, filed as Exhibit I, ECF No. 16-9, in No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13248845/hoffenberg-v-epstein/ ; https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593.16.9.pdf
[^13]: Gerber v. The Financial Trust Company, No. 1:18-cv-07580 (S.D.N.Y.), docket (filed August 20, 2018; terminated October 5, 2018; Judge J. Paul Oetken), including Declaration of Bennet J. Moskowitz in support of motion to dismiss, ECF No. 16 (September 14, 2018); Joseph N. DiStefano, "Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's old boss says he knows where the mystery millions came from," *Philadelphia Inquirer,* July 11, 2019, quoting the defendants' response. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7698990/gerber-v-the-financial-trust-company/ ; https://www.inquirer.com/business/jeffrey-epstein-hoffenberg-trump-clinton-20190711.html
[^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00802452, DataSet 9, draft Defendants' Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss, Gerber v. The Financial Trust Company, No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO (S.D.N.Y.), Troutman Sanders LLP, September 2018. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00802452.pdf
[^15]: VE v. Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn, as Joint Personal Representatives of the Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, Nine East 71st Street, Corporation, Financial Trust Company, Inc., NES, LLC, No. 1:19-cv-07625-AJN (S.D.N.Y.), Notice of Appearance of Charles L. Glover, Troutman Sanders LLP, May 12, 2020 (ECF No. 62). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117012714/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/VE%20v.%20Nine%20East%2071st%20Street,%20No.%20119-cv-07625%20(S.D.N.Y.%202019)/062.pdf

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---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- JeffreyEpstein
- GratitudeAmerica
- PrivateFoundation
- VirginIslands
- LeonBlack
- DeutscheBank
- Philanthropy
alias:
- Gratitude America, Ltd.
- Gratitude America Ltd
- Gratitude America, Ltd
- Gratitude America, Inc.
summary: "Jeffrey Epstein's St. Thomas private foundation, recognized by the IRS in 2012, which took 10 million dollars from Leon Black in 2015 and paid Bard president Leon Botstein 150,000 dollars in 2016."
start: 2012
location: "St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands"
relations:
- type: director_of
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
role: "resignation reported to Deutsche Bank by his accountant in January 2016"
end: 2016-01
fn: 2
- type: funded
with: "[[Leon Botstein]]"
role: "quarterly payments of 37,500 dollars for a one-year advisory board term"
start: 2016
end: 2016
fn: 11
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
Gratitude America, Ltd. is a tax-exempt private foundation in [[St. Thomas]], [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], described by the [[New York State Department of Financial Services]] as "Mr. Epstein's private charity." The [[Internal Revenue Service]] recognized it in September 2012, four years after [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s Florida guilty plea, and its filings are addressed in care of the St. Thomas lawyer [[Erika Kellerhals]]. It reported almost no assets until 2015, when it received 10,003,000 dollars in contributions, 10 million of them from [[Leon Black]]. In 2016 it paid [[Leon Botstein]], president of [[Bard College]], 37,500 dollars a quarter from an account at [[Deutsche Bank]] Trust Company Americas, and it still reported about 8.2 million dollars in assets in its filing for 2022.[^1][^2][^3][^4]
### Formation and Filings
The foundation's IRS record lists it as Gratitude America Ltd, employer identification number 66-0789697, a section 501(c)(3) private foundation with a ruling date of September 2012, at 9053 Estate Thomas, Suite 101, St. Thomas, in care of Erika Kellerhals. Its Form 990-PF returns for 2012, 2013 and 2014 reported revenue and assets of one dollar. For 2015 it reported gross contributions of 10,003,000 dollars, total revenue of 10,007,332 dollars, expenses of 768 dollars and year-end assets of 10,006,564 dollars. For 2019, the year of Epstein's death, it reported revenue of 242,470 dollars, mostly investment income and capital gains, grants of 110,000 dollars and assets of 8,184,284 dollars; its returns for 2020 through 2022 each reported assets of 8,175,884 dollars and no grants.[^1]
Kellerhals testified with Epstein at the November 2012 [[Economic Development Commission]] hearing on the tax-incentive application of [[Southern Trust Company]], and was a trustee of Epstein's Butterfly Trust; in September 2012 Epstein paid Southern Trust's 5,000 dollar application fee by wire from [[JPMorgan Chase]] to Kellerhals Ferguson LLP.[^5][^6][^7] The [[Government of the United States Virgin Islands]], in its 2022 complaint against Epstein's estate, listed "Gratitude America, Inc." among the entities of which [[Darren Indyke]] or [[Richard Kahn]], "frequently both," were officers or directors.[^8]
### The Black Donation
The review of Black's dealings with Epstein that the law firm [[Dechert]] prepared for [[Apollo Global Management]] in January 2021 found that "Black also made a $10 million donation to Gratitude America in October 2015, which was a charitable organization affiliated with Epstein," and that Black "felt comfortable making this donation because he understood that Epstein was a strong proponent of scientific innovation." Dechert also found an August 21, 2015 letter from Gratitude America thanking Black for a 5 million dollar donation, confirmed in an email from Epstein to Black, but "did not find any document prepared by Black or the Family Office confirming this donation or any bank record reflecting such payment."[^3] *[[BuzzFeed News]]* reported in 2019 that the foundation's 2015 IRS filing showed a 10 million dollar transfer from a company called BV70, which shared an address with Black's family investment office; BV70 LLC was also the entity through which Black lent Epstein 30.5 million dollars in 2017.[^3][^9] In the same year Black was paying Southern Trust 30 million dollars for tax and estate advice.[^3]
### Deutsche Bank and the Botstein Checks
On January 4, 2016 an accountant for Epstein asked Deutsche Bank to open a brokerage account for Gratitude America. When the bank's reputational risk committee ordered an external due-diligence report on Epstein, the accountant "informed the Bank of Mr. Epstein's resignation from Gratitude America and withdrew the request to open the account. As a result, no due diligence report was run on Mr. Epstein."[^2]
Checks of "Gratitude America, Ltd," with an account address in New York, New York 10154, were drawn on Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas during 2016 and were later produced by the bank to the federal grand jury in New York. One, dated August 1, 2016, paid 37,500 dollars to Leon Botstein, with the memo "Leon Botstein, Bard College, 30 Campus Road, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY 12504, 3rd Quarterly Payment of 4."[^4] Bard confirmed in May 2023 that Botstein received 150,000 dollars from the foundation in 2016 for a one-year term on its advisory board "as an expert in music," and said he gave the full amount to Bard the same year as part of a one million dollar gift. Botstein said, "I didn't benefit personally at all," and that he had not recalled the payments when earlier asked about Epstein's gifts because "the contract was signed by someone else."[^10][^11]
### Other Grantees
Gratitude America was listed with the [[Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation]] and the C.O.U.Q. Foundation among the funders of [[John Brockman]]'s [[Edge Foundation]]; financial records reviewed by *BuzzFeed News* showed that the Epstein entities together provided 638,000 dollars of the roughly 857,000 dollars Edge received from 2001 to 2017.[^12] In June 2026 Representative [[Jamie Raskin]], ranking Democrat on the [[House Judiciary Committee]], asked Bard for all records of payments from a list of Epstein-linked entities that included "Gratitude America Ltd.," the Butterfly Trust, Southern Trust Company, Inc., Southern Financial LLC, Plan D, LLC and the "Haze Trust."[^13]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Internal Revenue Service, Form 990-PF data for Gratitude America Ltd, EIN 66-0789697, tax years 2012 to 2022, and IRS Business Master File record (ruling date September 2012; in care of Erika Kellerhals, 9053 Estate Thomas Suite 101, St. Thomas), as indexed by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/660789697
[^2]: New York State Department of Financial Services, In the Matter of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company of the Americas, Consent Order Under New York Banking Law sections 39 and 44 (executed July 6, 2020), para. 44. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/enforcement_discipline/ea20200706_deutsche_bank
[^3]: Dechert LLP, Memorandum to the Apollo Conflicts Committee, "Investigation of Epstein/Black Relationship and Any Relationship Between Epstein and Apollo Global Management, Inc.," January 22, 2021, pp. 16-19 and note 4, filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Apollo Global Management, Inc., Form 8-K (January 25, 2021). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex991.htm
[^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01348714, DataSet 10, check of Gratitude America, Ltd drawn on Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas to Leon Botstein, August 1, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01348714.pdf
[^5]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Darren K. Indyke et al., No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint (filed November 30, 2022), paragraphs 157 to 176; reproduced as ECF No. 1-1 in Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y., filed December 27, 2022). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/001-01.pdf
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01364303, DataSet 10, Deutsche Bank know-your-customer page "The 2013 Butterfly Trust" (DB-SDNY-0054829). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01364303.pdf
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01580553, DataSet 10, memorandum from Harry Beller to JPMorgan wire desk, September 21, 2012 (JPM-SDNY-00059908). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01580553.pdf
[^8]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Darren K. Indyke et al., No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint (filed November 30, 2022), paragraph 80; reproduced as ECF No. 1-1 in No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/001-01.pdf
[^9]: Aldhous, Peter. "Jeffrey Epstein's Links To Scientists Are Even More Extensive Than We Thought," *BuzzFeed News,* August 27, 2019. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-science-donations-apologies-statements
[^10]: Scott Jaschik, "Leon Botstein received $150,000 from Jeffrey Epstein," *Inside Higher Ed,* May 18, 2023. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/05/18/leon-botstein-received-150000-jeffrey-epstein
[^11]: Victor Feldman, "Bard's Botstein Received $150,000 from Jeffrey Epstein Charity But Promptly Donated it to the College, School Confirms," *The Daily Catch,* May 18, 2023. https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/bards-botstein-received-150000-from-epstein-charity-but-promptly-donated-it-to-the-college-school-confirms/
[^12]: Aldhous, Peter. "How Jeffrey Epstein Bankrolled The Exclusive Edge Foundation And Reaped The Benefits," *BuzzFeed News,* 2019. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-john-brockman-edge-foundation
[^13]: Letter from Representative Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member, House Committee on the Judiciary, to James Cox Chambers, Chair, Board of Trustees, Bard College, June 17, 2026, p. 7. https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-06-17-raskin-to-chambers-bard-re-epstein.pdf

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@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ The Hong Kong Chinese Bank was a bank in [[Hong Kong]] in which the family of [[
### The Worthen Exchange
The Stephens and Riady families had formed [[Stephens Finance Ltd.]] in Hong Kong in 1978 and both bought into Worthen in 1983. [[James Riady]] and [[John Huang]] stayed in Little Rock until about 1987, when, according to the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, "the Riadys sold their shares of Worthen Bank and focused their attention on a bank they previously had purchased in San Francisco." The committee explained the exchange in a footnote sourced to the depositions of [[Vernon Weaver|Arthur Vernon Weaver]] and [[C. Joseph Giroir]]: "The Riadys were bought out of Worthen by the Stephens family after the bank experienced a major defalcation by Bevil Bressler in 1986. After the defalcation, regulators investigated the quality of Worthen's assets and determined there were problems. Allegations were made against Worthen's loan practices and asset quality. Eventually, the Riadys traded their interest in the Worthen Bank for the Stephens' interest in the Hong Kong Chinese Bank, and also traded their interests in other joint ventures." The failed securities dealer was [[Bevill, Bresler and Schulman]].[^1]
The Stephens and Riady families had formed [[Stephens Finance Ltd.]] in Hong Kong in 1978 and both bought into Worthen in 1983. [[James Riady]] and [[John Huang]] stayed in Little Rock until about 1987, when, according to the [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Government Reform and Oversight Committee]], "the Riadys sold their shares of Worthen Bank and focused their attention on a bank they previously had purchased in San Francisco." The committee explained the exchange in a footnote sourced to the depositions of [[Vernon Weaver|Arthur Vernon Weaver]] and [[C. Joseph Giroir]]: "The Riadys were bought out of Worthen by the Stephens family after the bank experienced a major defalcation by Bevil Bressler in 1986. After the defalcation, regulators investigated the quality of Worthen's assets and determined there were problems. Allegations were made against Worthen's loan practices and asset quality. Eventually, the Riadys traded their interest in the Worthen Bank for the Stephens' interest in the Hong Kong Chinese Bank, and also traded their interests in other joint ventures." The failed securities dealer was [[Bevill, Bresler and Schulman]].[^1]
### China Resources

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---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- JeffreyEpstein
- InternationalAssetsGroup
- AssetRecovery
- TowersFinancial
- Finance
alias:
- International Assets Group Inc.
- I.A.G.
- IAG (Epstein)
- Intercontinental Assets Group
- Intercontinental Asset Group
summary: "Consulting company Jeffrey Epstein ran from his Manhattan apartment after leaving Bear Stearns in 1981, described as recovering stolen money for the wealthy, and his vehicle when he joined Towers Financial."
location: "New York, New York"
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
role: "chairman of the board"
fn: 3
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
International Assets Group Inc. (I.A.G.) was the consulting company [[Jeffrey Epstein]] operated out of his apartment in [[New York]] after leaving [[Bear Stearns]] in 1981 and before forming [[J. Epstein & Co.]] Epstein described its business as recovering money stolen from wealthy clients or governments. It was the firm he represented when [[Steven Hoffenberg]] engaged him as a consultant to [[Towers Financial Corporation]] around 1987, and a 1987 Towers press release on the attempted takeover of [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] identified Epstein as its chairman.[^1][^2][^3]
### Name
The company appears under three spellings. Vanity Fair's 2003 investigation called it "International Assets Group Inc. (I.A.G.)." A 2018 federal complaint by Towers investors and the sworn affidavit of Steven Hoffenberg attached to it use the same form, "International Assets Group Inc." The 1987 Towers press release quoted by CBS News gave "Intercontinental Asset Group," and later secondary accounts use "Intercontinental Assets Group." No incorporation record for any of the three forms has been published.[^1][^2][^3]
### Business
Vanity Fair reported that Epstein ran I.A.G. "out of his apartment in the Solo building on East 66th Street in New York." Friends who knew him in the early 1980s recalled that he described himself as a "bounty hunter," "recovering lost or stolen money for the government or for very rich people." Though he later claimed to manage money only for billionaires, in a 1989 deposition he testified that he "spent 80 percent of his time helping people recover stolen money from fraudulent brokers and lawyers." He also sold risky, tax-sheltered oil and gas investments to smaller investors.[^1]
A suit by Michael Stroll, the former head of [[Williams Electronics]], showed that in 1982 I.A.G. received 450,000 dollars from Stroll, which Epstein put into oil. Stroll asked for the money back in 1984 and by 1988 had received 10,000 dollars. Stroll lost the case after Epstein told the court, among other things, that the 10,000 dollar check was payment for a horse he had bought from Stroll. "My net worth never exceeded four and a half million dollars," Stroll said.[^1]
### Hoffenberg, Leese and Mitchell
Epstein met Steven Hoffenberg in London in the 1980s. Hoffenberg said the two were introduced by [[Douglas Leese]], whom Vanity Fair described as a defense contractor; Epstein said the introduction was made by [[John Mitchell]], the former attorney general.[^1] In his August 17, 2018 affidavit Hoffenberg swore that when they met, "Epstein was running his own consulting company, International Assets Group Inc. out of his [[New York City]] apartment," and that around 1987 he hired Epstein "as an associate and expert to consult with TFC and me."[^2]
A Towers press release on the proposed 1987 Pan Am acquisition stated: "Jeffrey Epstein, chairman of the board of directors of Intercontinental Asset Group, is a financial advisor who has been familiar with Pan Am for approximately six years. Epstein serves as an advisor to Towers/United's management with respect to the proposed transaction." Towers attempted to use 3 million dollars from its insurance holding company, [[United Diversified Corporation]], to finance the bid. A 1991 suit by the [[Illinois Department of Insurance]] listed "a series of checks payable to Jeff Epstein or Jeff Epstein & Co. totaling $215,000" among improper disbursements from the United Fire and United Diversified accounts; Epstein was not a defendant.[^3]
Hoffenberg later swore that Epstein used money taken in the Towers scheme "as start-up capital for his corporations, including [[Financial Trust Company|The Financial Trust Company]]," the St. Thomas company Epstein incorporated in 1998. Epstein denied any dealings with the Towers insurers and was never charged; Vanity Fair noted that much of Hoffenberg's testimony in his criminal case "has proven to be false."[^1][^2]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Vicky Ward, "The Talented Mr. Epstein," *Vanity Fair,* March 2003, as republished by the author, on I.A.G. and the Solo building apartment, the "bounty hunter" description, the 1989 deposition, the oil and gas deals, the Stroll suit, the Leese and Mitchell accounts, Epstein's denial of dealings with the insurers, and the reliability of Hoffenberg's testimony. https://vickyward.com/article/the-talented-mr-epstein/
[^2]: Marvin Gerber and Kalma Koenig v. The Financial Trust Company, XYZ Corp., ABC, Inc., and Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO (S.D.N.Y.), Complaint, ECF No. 7 (filed August 21, 2018), paragraph 21, and Exhibit B, Affidavit of Steven J. Hoffenberg sworn August 17, 2018, ECF No. 7-2, paragraphs 5, 6 and 18. https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Gerber-v-The-Financial-Trust-Co-complaint.pdf
[^3]: Brian Pascus, "Jeffrey Epstein worked at Towers Financial with Steven Hoffenberg, who committed Ponzi scheme crimes," *CBS News,* August 13, 2019, quoting the 1987 Towers press release and the 1991 Illinois Department of Insurance complaint. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-worked-at-towers-financial-with-stephen-hoffenberg-who-committed-ponzi-scheme-crimes/

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---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- JeffreyEpstein
- MoneyManagement
- LesWexner
- VillardHouses
- Finance
alias:
- J. Epstein & Co
- J. Epstein and Company
- Jeff Epstein & Co.
summary: "Jeffrey Epstein's money-management firm, run from the Villard Houses from about 1988, which he said served only billionaire clients and whose only acknowledged client was Leslie Wexner."
start: 1988
location: "New York, New York"
relations:
- type: founded
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
start: 1988
fn: 1
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
J. Epstein & Co. was the money-management business [[Jeffrey Epstein]] ran in [[New York]] from about 1988, after his consulting company [[International Assets Group]] and his engagement at [[Towers Financial Corporation]]. Epstein said it accepted only clients worth a billion dollars or more. Its one publicly acknowledged client was [[Leslie Wexner]], founder of [[L Brands|The Limited]]. By 2003 he had run the business for about fifteen years.[^1]
### Offices and Clients
In 1987, according to sources Vanity Fair cited, [[Steven Hoffenberg]] set Epstein up in the offices he still occupied in 2003 in the [[Villard Houses]] on Madison Avenue, "across a courtyard from the restaurant Le Cirque," while paying him 25,000 dollars a month as a Towers consultant. Checks payable to "Jeff Epstein or Jeff Epstein & Co." totaling 215,000 dollars drawn on the accounts of Towers's Illinois insurance subsidiaries were listed as improper disbursements in a 1991 suit by the [[Illinois Department of Insurance]].[^1][^2]
Epstein told people, "I was the only person crazy enough, or arrogant enough, or misplaced enough, to make my limit a billion dollars or more," and said his income came from flat fees and from playing the currency markets "with very large sums of money." He kept every client except Wexner secret. He dated his work for Wexner variously to 1986 and 1989, and when asked whether Wexner knew of his connection to Hoffenberg, said "it was certainly not the same time." A person who saw the contract between the two men said Epstein was involved in "everything, not just a little here, a little there. Everything!"[^1] Fox Business, citing former Bear Stearns executives, reported that the firm "left a scant paper trail" and that Wexner took up the vast majority of Epstein's time.[^3]
### Finances
Papers from a 1995 rent dispute with the Villard offices' nonprofit landlord, the [[Municipal Art Society]], included Epstein's financial statement for 1988, in which he claimed a net worth of 20 million dollars: 7 million dollars in securities, 1 million dollars in cash, nothing in residential property, and 11 million dollars in other assets including his stake in [[Riddell Sports]]. Towers's financial statements for 1988 showed a 400,000 dollar loan to Epstein in the year he invested 1.6 million dollars in Riddell alongside [[Robert Nederlander]] and [[Leonard Toboroff]]; Hoffenberg claimed the money came from him, and Epstein disputed the accuracy of the Towers reports. When the co-investors bought out his Riddell stake in 1995 for about 3 million dollars and asked him to guarantee access to a few million dollars against later disputes, Wexner signed for him.[^1]
Through his firms Epstein remained a large customer of [[Bear Stearns]], which he had left in 1981. His St. Thomas company [[Financial Trust Company]], incorporated in November 1998, later stated that "since 1981, Epstein has conducted hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions with Bear Stearns for his own, as well as his clients', accounts."[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Vicky Ward, "The Talented Mr. Epstein," *Vanity Fair,* March 2003, as republished by the author, on J. Epstein & Co., the billionaire client limit, the Villard House offices, Wexner, the Riddell and Towers loan, the 1988 financial statement in the Municipal Art Society dispute, and the 1995 Riddell guarantee. https://vickyward.com/article/the-talented-mr-epstein/
[^2]: Brian Pascus, "Jeffrey Epstein worked at Towers Financial with Steven Hoffenberg, who committed Ponzi scheme crimes," *CBS News,* August 13, 2019, quoting the 1991 Illinois Department of Insurance complaint. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-worked-at-towers-financial-with-stephen-hoffenberg-who-committed-ponzi-scheme-crimes/
[^3]: Charles Gasparino and Lydia Moynihan, "The woes of Jeffrey Epstein: How he maintained Wall Street connections while downplaying child sex accusations," *Fox Business,* August 10, 2019. https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/jeffrey-epstein-wall-street-connections-child-sex-trafficking
[^4]: Financial Trust Company, Inc. v. The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., Civil No. 2009/106 (D.V.I.), Verified Complaint dated August 5, 2009, paragraph 6; reproduced as Exhibit 253, ECF No. 244-8 (filed July 25, 2023), in Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011822/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/244-08.pdf

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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/JPMorgan Chase.md
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@ -9,41 +9,120 @@ tags:
- PrivateBanking
- SexTrafficking
- JesStaley
- SuspiciousActivityReports
- Highbridge
alias:
- JPMorgan
- J.P. Morgan
- JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.
summary: "Largest U.S. bank, which kept Jeffrey Epstein as a private-banking client from 1998 to 2013 despite internal compliance warnings and later paid 290 million dollars to his victims and 75 million dollars to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle sex-trafficking-facilitation claims."
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- JPMorganChase
- JPMC
summary: "Largest U.S. bank, which kept Jeffrey Epstein as a client from 1998 to 2013 over compliance objections, flagged most of his suspicious transactions only after his 2019 arrest, and paid 365 million dollars in settlements."
location: "New York, New York"
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-09-25
relations:
- type: investigated
with: "[[Securities and Exchange Commission]]"
reverse: true
role: "Enron-related antifraud action, settled for 135 million dollars"
end: 2003-07-28
fn: 21
- type: investigated
with: "[[Senate Finance Committee]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-09-24
fn: 16
- type: owned
with: "[[Highbridge Capital Management]]"
role: "majority stake, raised to 77.5 percent in 2009"
start: 2004
fn: 6
---
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the largest bank in the United States by assets, headquartered in [[New York City]] and led since 2006 by chief executive [[Jamie Dimon]]. From 1998 to 2013 it maintained [[Jeffrey Epstein]] as a private-banking and wealth-management client across the period during which Epstein was arrested, pleaded guilty to a Florida prostitution charge, and registered as a sex offender. In 2023 the bank settled two lawsuits in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]] before [[Jed Rakoff]], paying 290 million dollars to a class of Epstein's victims and 75 million dollars to the [[Government of the United States Virgin Islands]], and it filed a third-party claim seeking to shift liability to its former executive [[Jes Staley]].[^1][^2][^3]
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the largest bank in the [[United States]] by assets, headquartered in [[New York City]] and led since 2006 by chief executive [[Jamie Dimon]]. From 1998 to 2013 it maintained [[Jeffrey Epstein]] as a private-banking and wealth-management client across the period during which Epstein was arrested, pleaded guilty to a Florida prostitution charge, and registered as a sex offender. In 2023 the bank settled two lawsuits in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]] before [[Jed Rakoff]], paying 290 million dollars to a class of Epstein's victims and 75 million dollars to the [[Government of the United States Virgin Islands]], and it filed a third-party claim seeking to shift liability to its former executive [[Jes Staley]]. Between 2002 and 2016 the bank filed seven suspicious activity reports on Epstein's accounts totaling about 4.3 million dollars; in August and September 2019, after his arrest, it filed reports covering more than 5,000 wire transfers worth about 1.28 billion dollars.[^1][^2][^3][^4]
### The Epstein Banking Relationship
Epstein became a client of JPMorgan's private bank in 1998, and the relationship was managed by Staley, who led [[JPMorgan Asset Management]] and later the investment bank.[^1] The bank retained Epstein through his 2006 arrest in [[Palm Beach, Florida]], his 2008 guilty plea to soliciting a minor for prostitution, and his registration as a sex offender, generating fees and using Epstein as a referral source for wealthy prospective clients.[^1] [[Mary Erdoes]], who ran the bank's asset and wealth management division, was identified in victims' filings as a defender of keeping Epstein as a client.[^4]
Epstein became a client of JPMorgan's private bank in 1998, and the relationship was managed by Staley, who headed the private bank from 1999 to 2001, led [[JPMorgan Asset Management]] from 2001 to 2009 and later the investment bank. The [[Upper Tribunal]] found that Staley was introduced to Epstein as a private-bank client in 1999 or 2000.[^1][^5] A forensic accountant retained by the Virgin Islands identified 134 JPMorgan accounts owned by Epstein or related people and entities, some opened as late as April 2013: six in Epstein's name, 59 for companies, LLCs and trusts he owned or controlled, and 69 for associates including [[Ghislaine Maxwell]], [[Richard Kahn]], [[Darren Indyke]], [[Harry Beller]] and [[Nadia Marcinkova]].[^4][^6]
In a July 2011 email, JPMorgan general counsel [[Stephen Cutler]] told Erdoes and Staley that Epstein was "not an honorable person in any way" and "should not be a client," and Cutler later testified under oath that Staley and Erdoes made the decision to retain him.[^4] Plaintiffs alleged that the bank processed payments consistent with the trafficking operation, including cash withdrawals and transfers to women and to alleged co-conspirators, and that JPMorgan underreported suspicious activity to authorities.[^4] A deposition indicated that Dimon said he was not aware of a 2011 internal warning about Epstein.[^5]
A May 2003 due-diligence report stated that "Jeffrey Epstein, through the trading of his accounts and that of [[Leslie Wexner]], generates one of the largest annual revenue flows of private clients in the private bank." In 2003 Epstein brought in more than 8.1 million dollars in revenue, the most of any investor client of JPMorgan Wealth Management and nearly double the second-highest. The Closely Held Business Group's September 2009 "Wall of Cash" list put his balances at 142,867,562 dollars, more than 15 percent of the book of his banker [[Mary Casey]]. A February 2011 team meeting listed him among "Potential Clients to Target Going Forward"; in May 2012 he ranked eighth among the team's top twenty clients by revenue, and a June 2013 report ranked him second. JPMorgan earned more than 8.1 million dollars from Epstein and related entities from 2009 to 2014, the only years for which it produced figures.[^6][^7] Epstein also referred clients to the bank, including [[Thomas Pritzker]], and arranged introductions for Staley to [[Ehud Barak]], [[Peter Mandelson]] and [[Bill Gates]]; in January 2008 Staley had his assistant arrange a meeting with Barak for JPMorgan executives through Jamie Dimon's office.[^7] The bank retained Epstein through his 2006 arrest in [[Palm Beach, Florida]], his 2008 guilty plea to soliciting a minor for prostitution, and his registration as a sex offender, generating fees and using Epstein as a referral source for wealthy prospective clients.[^1] [[Mary Erdoes]], who ran the private bank from 2005 and the asset and wealth management division from 2009, was identified in victims' filings as a defender of keeping Epstein as a client. JPMorgan admitted in the Virgin Islands case that Erdoes, [[Catherine Keating]] and Casey knew in 2006 of Epstein's arrest for solicitation of prostitution and that Erdoes was involved in decisions to keep him as a customer.[^7][^8]
JPMorgan exited the Epstein relationship in 2013, the same year Staley left the bank for [[BlueMountain Capital]].[^4] Epstein then moved his accounts to [[Deutsche Bank]], which banked him from 2013 until 2018.[^6]
After the 2006 arrest the bank's Rapid Response Team met on October 17, 2006 and, "after internal discussion with Jes Staley, Mary Erdoes, Catherine Keating, John Duffy and Mary Casey," decided to "keep Mr. Epstein solely as a banking client and on a 'reactive', client service basis," not proactively soliciting new investment business from him. His balances rose from about 32 million dollars in October 2006 to about 121.5 million dollars by July 2008 and 156 million dollars in September 2008. An August 28, 2008 email from Casey counted his assets as a probable outflow "as I can't imagine it will stay (pending Dimon review)." A 2009 due-diligence report recorded that after his conviction "Jes Staley conferred with Stephen Cutler and the decision was made to keep Mr. Epstein as a PB client," for "banking and custody only," with brokerage execution withdrawn.[^4][^7] In 2005 the bank had approved a one million dollar standby letter of credit in Epstein's name backing a [[Mellon United National Bank]] loan to [[MC2 Model Management]], the agency of [[Jean-Luc Brunel]], and renewed it on annual review; a 2011 report by the bank's Global Corporate Security division said it was "unknown if the money was given as a secret investment or payment for services as a procurer."[^4][^7]
The chronological log of the [[Operation Leap Year]] investigation kept by the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida]] records a grand jury subpoena to Chase returnable August 18, 2006, issued alongside subpoenas to [[Colonial Bank]], [[Washington Mutual]] and [[Capital One]] and to Epstein's aviation companies Hyperion Air, Inc. and JEGE, Inc.; a subpoena to "JP Morgan Chase" returnable March 6, 2007; and a subpoena to Chase Bank USA, N.A. returnable April 24, 2007. The same log lists subpoenas to [[Financial Trust Company]], Inc., returnable June 12, 2007, and to [[Bear Stearns]], returnable September 4, 2007, and an April 2007 email between Assistant U.S. Attorney [[Ann Marie Villafana]] and the Justice Department's money-laundering specialist [[Stefan Cassella]] "re money laundering question."[^9] On September 21, 2012 Epstein's bookkeeper Harry Beller faxed JPMorgan a memorandum directing it to wire 5,000 dollars from Epstein's account, for further credit to the St. Thomas law firm Kellerhals Ferguson LLP, referenced to the Southern Trust Company application fee; Epstein's September 2012 JPMorgan statement records the debit as "Southern Trust Company Application Fee." [[Southern Trust Company]] applied for its Virgin Islands tax benefits the following month.[^10]
In December 2010 anti-money-laundering official [[Philip DeLuca]] wrote to the bank's AML director [[William Langford]] about "that scum Epstein," and Langford replied, "Let me know if McCleerey waffles on Epstein. No patience for this." In January 2011 Langford asked the private bank to re-evaluate its sponsorship of Epstein and "request re-approval from Steve Cutler if we wanted to retain"; the banker [[Paul Morris]] answered, "I thought we decided this was not necessary." A 2011 email recorded that AML operations had asked at a private-bank risk meeting "that we exit this relationship," that no one on a later call favored keeping him, "Seems it is all due to Jes's personal relationship," and that he had "about 212 mil in the bank." In August 2010 [[Alan Greenberg|Alan "Ace" Greenberg]], the former Bear Stearns chairman who had mentored Epstein there, asked Cutler for an exception to the bank's felon policy to keep doing business with him.[^4][^7]
On July 19, 2011 JPMorgan, which had bought Bear Stearns in March 2008, proposed settling Epstein's claims against Bear Stearns for 21 million dollars. General counsel [[Stephen Cutler]] responded the next day that Epstein was "not an honorable person in any way" and "should not be a client," and on July 21 wrote to Erdoes, "I would like to put it and HIM behind us." An August 4, 2011 Rapid Response meeting concluded that [[John Duffy]] would "reach out to Jes Staley and advise that we exit while things are a bit settled." Cutler later testified under oath that Staley and Erdoes made the decision to retain him.[^7][^8] The Upper Tribunal recorded internal evidence that Cutler's view was that Epstein "would have been exited as a client of JPM had not Mr Staley vouched for him."[^5] In March 2012 Duffy, chief executive of the U.S. private bank, told a risk manager he had asked Epstein to withdraw cash for jet fuel from his aviation account rather than his personal accounts, writing, "this is a better pattern than I thought."[^4] Plaintiffs alleged that the bank processed payments consistent with the trafficking operation, including cash withdrawals and transfers to women and to alleged co-conspirators, and that JPMorgan underreported suspicious activity to authorities.[^8] A deposition indicated that Dimon said he was not aware of a 2011 internal warning about Epstein.[^11]
On July 27, 2011 Epstein wrote to Staley and Erdoes, copying [[Boris Nikolic]], chief science and technology adviser to Bill Gates, about a charitable fund: "the mimimum donation would be 100 million. a portfolio will be established for each donor.according to their own critieria, there will be established silos for Medicine, Science , Women issues, Education, etc. ... the charitable fees. audit fees, investment mgmt fees, trustee fees, will all be JPM."[^12] On August 27, 2011 he wrote to the same two executives that senior staff of the Gates foundation "say they are getting confusing messages from JPM. They say that JPM wants to use the current foundation to do other things. Bill is at his country house. and most likely will not deal with it before wed."[^13]
JPMorgan exited the Epstein relationship in 2013, the same year Staley left the bank for [[BlueMountain Capital]].[^8] On July 18, 2013 compliance staff found another 800,000 dollars in unreported cash withdrawals from 2009 to 2013; one wrote, "issue is he really never stopped the large cash withdrawals," and DeLuca replied, "Shouldn't the business have been telling us this?" The next day Duffy sent Erdoes talking points for the exit conversation, citing "the repetitive nature of your cash transactions" and "your personal history," and she replied, "I think that is fine."[^7] Epstein then moved his accounts to [[Deutsche Bank]], which banked him from 2013 until 2018, brought there by Morris, who had joined Deutsche Bank in November 2012.[^4][^14]
On August 14, 2013, Duffy wrote to Erdoes that Epstein "maintains he will become Leon's primary advisor and will be calling the shots," referring to [[Leon Black]], and that he had "told [Epstein] that we would work with him as long as it was through the client accounts, JE Entities would not be acceptable. That's ok right?" Erdoes replied, "Y." Banker [[Justin Nelson]] later sought meetings with Epstein about "Leon B's family office," wrote to him in May 2015 about "a line of credit for Leon at JPM," and met him at his townhouse at least six times between 2014 and 2018; on August 13, 2014 Epstein wrote to banker [[Paul Barrett]], "are we set now for Leon, $10 million was wired yesterday."[^4]
### Highbridge Capital
JPMorgan's 2004 purchase of a majority stake in the hedge fund [[Highbridge Capital Management]], founded by [[Glenn Dubin]] and [[Henry Swieca]], was described by Staley to the Upper Tribunal as the largest acquisition of a hedge fund to that time, in which Epstein had been instrumental while acting as an adviser to another party.[^5] A March 18, 2004 memorandum to Dimon, then still chairman of [[Bank One Corporation]], chairman [[William B. Harrison Jr.]] and [[David Coulter]] stated that "Highbridge has approached JB, JPMC based on an existing relationship with the founders/owners, and with Jeffrey Epstein [a founding investor in Highbridge]." A June 16, 2004 email to Staley said, "We continue to be concerned about the role Jeffrey Epstein is or is not playing. One concern that we have is that Jeffrey has been educating Glenn & Henry about our structure and valuation thoughts."[^7][^15] Dimon testified that he had "ultimate approval of the transaction," did not know of Epstein's role, and could not explain why Staley wrote to him about it: "You got me."[^15] JPMorgan raised its stake to 77.5 percent in 2009. Senator [[Ron Wyden]] asked the bank in 2025 about "the reported $15 million paid by JPMC to Epstein related to the acquisition of Highbridge"; the bank did not answer.[^6][^16]
### Suspicious Activity Reports
Seven suspicious activity reports on Epstein filed by JPMorgan between April 2002 and September 2016 covered about 4.3 million dollars. The bank filed no report between April 15, 2003 and August 15, 2008, a span in which Epstein withdrew more than 3.5 million dollars in cash, and none between August 2008 and August 8, 2013; the 2013 report covered activity back to January 2009, and a report filed in March 2015 covered activity from 2006 and 2007. On August 13, 2019, five weeks after his July 6, 2019 arrest, the bank filed a report on 469 wires totaling about 201 million dollars, including payments to women in Russia, Belarus and Turkmenistan through correspondent accounts at Russian banks, among them [[Sberbank]] and [[Alfa-Bank]], and on September 26, 2019 a report on 4,725 wires totaling 1,081,819,653 dollars from October 2003 to July 2019. The reports described counterparties who had "been in a relationship with Epstein" or were "procurers of women as part of trafficking," and activity "consistent with negative media involving alleged sex trafficking of minors, the use of multiple accounts, the misappropriation of funds as a money manager and the high-risk jurisdiction of the Russian federation."[^4]
The Virgin Islands' forensic accountant found that Epstein withdrew more than 7 million dollars in cash from JPMorgan accounts from 2002 to 2013 and paid more than 3 million dollars to dozens of women. A former JPMorgan executive testified at Maxwell's 2021 trial that Epstein paid Maxwell at least 31 million dollars, about 25 million from JPMorgan accounts; on June 15, 2007 Maxwell received a 7.4 million dollar wire from Epstein, moved it the same day to her company Air Ghislaine's JPMorgan account, and paid 7,352,825 dollars to [[Sikorsky Aircraft]] three days later toward an S-76C helicopter registered N908GM.[^4][^6] In March 2026 Wyden told the Senate that "there could be more than $1.5 billion in suspicious Epstein transactions" in the Treasury records his staff had reviewed, and that JPMorgan "waited until after he died to flag more than 99 percent of his suspicious payments."[^17]
### The 2023 Litigation Before Judge Rakoff
Two suits proceeded against JPMorgan in the Southern District of New York before Judge Rakoff. One was brought by a survivor identified as Jane Doe 1 on behalf of a class of women abused by Epstein, alleging the bank knowingly benefited from and facilitated his sex trafficking.[^2] The other was brought by the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned [[Little Saint James]], alleging the bank ignored red flags about his conduct on the island.[^3] Both suits asserted that JPMorgan kept Epstein despite documented internal concern and processed transactions that supported the abuse.[^2][^3]
On March 9, 2023 JPMorgan filed a third-party complaint against Staley within the Virgin Islands action, asserting indemnification, contribution, breach of fiduciary duty, and "faithless servant" claims and seeking to recover compensation paid to him from at least 2006 through 2013.[^7] The complaint alleged Staley had concealed his personal activities with Epstein and misrepresented Epstein's character to the bank.[^7] Staley moved to dismiss, contending the bank was using him as a "shield" for its own failures.[^8]
On March 9, 2023 JPMorgan filed a third-party complaint against Staley within the Virgin Islands action, asserting indemnification, contribution, breach of fiduciary duty, and "faithless servant" claims and seeking to recover compensation paid to him from at least 2006 through 2013.[^18] The complaint alleged Staley had concealed his personal activities with Epstein and misrepresented Epstein's character to the bank.[^18] Staley moved to dismiss, contending the bank was using him as a "shield" for its own failures.[^19]
In June 2023 JPMorgan agreed to pay 290 million dollars to resolve the survivors' class claims, and in September 2023 it agreed to pay 75 million dollars to settle the Virgin Islands suit.[^2][^3] The bank did not admit wrongdoing in either settlement.[^3] The Virgin Islands settlement allocated 30 million dollars to charitable organizations, 25 million dollars to strengthen anti-trafficking law enforcement, and 20 million dollars to attorneys' fees.[^3] Judge Rakoff granted final approval of the 290 million dollar class settlement at a hearing in November 2023.[^9]
In June 2023 JPMorgan agreed to pay 290 million dollars to resolve the survivors' class claims, and in September 2023 it agreed to pay 75 million dollars to settle the Virgin Islands suit.[^2][^3] The bank did not admit wrongdoing in either settlement.[^3] The Virgin Islands settlement allocated 30 million dollars to charitable organizations, 25 million dollars to strengthen anti-trafficking law enforcement, and 20 million dollars to attorneys' fees.[^3] Judge Rakoff granted final approval of the 290 million dollar class settlement at a hearing in November 2023.[^20]
Dimon was deposed on May 26, 2023 at the bank's Madison Avenue offices. He testified that he did not recall knowing anything about Epstein until 2018 or 2019, had never met him, and that on retention of clients with criminal records "the ultimate decider would have been the general counsel of the company." Staley admitted in the same litigation that Dimon communicated with him in 2006 about Epstein's arrest. In an April 2023 CNN interview Dimon said, "Hindsight is a fabulous gift," and that the bank had "some of the best lawyers in the world, compliance, out of the [[Department of Justice|DOJ]], out of SEC important divisions." Cutler had been the SEC's Director of Enforcement when the Commission's Enron case against JPMorgan was settled for 135 million dollars in July 2003.[^7][^15][^21]
### Project Jeep
On July 22, 2019, the day *[[The New York Times]]* published "Jeffrey Epstein's Deep Ties to Top Wall Street Figures," Peter Neilson, the bank's Global Head of Financial Crimes Compliance, wrote to two chief compliance officers: "Have been working on this (Epstein et al) today. Top of house requested that we expand our analysis to related parties and put together slides. Should have in a few days. We are treating it as a project at this point. There is a highbridge angle and one dating back to Bear." The project was named Project Jeep. On October 27, 2019 a compliance officer circulated a 22-page "summary of the e-comms review that Trade Surveillance conducted regarding Epstein and Staley," with a note that a colleague had built "a timeline combining the e-comms with the relevant transactional activity"; compliance manager Howard Maleton forwarded it the next day under the subject "Project Jeep Current Review."[^22][^23]
The summary grouped the emails by topic. Its headings stated that "Jes Staley appears to have a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, regularly communicating with him and seeking advice from him including while Epstein is incarcerated"; that Epstein "appears to maintain relationships with a number of senior business executives and senior government officials globally"; that he "appears to maintain a particularly close relationship with [[Prince Andrew]] ... and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British Government. He also appears to have a close relationship with [[Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem|Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem]] who is a senior [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] official involved in ownership of the Dubai Ports"; that "Beginning in 2011 Jes Staley and Mary Erdoes have regular communication with Jeffrey Epstein relating to certain strategic initiatives and business proposals"; and that certain messages concerned "lawsuits and litigation involving Epstein, JPMC, Bear Stearns, Highbridge, Zwirn etc." Under the heading on "inappropriate behavior with one reference between Epstein and Staley to a modeling agency," the reviewers paired an August 27 to 29, 2009 exchange, in which Staley wrote that he would be "In London with Jamie, mid week," Epstein asked "Do you need anything there?" and Staley replied "Yep," with a 3,000 dollar wire sent from Epstein's JPMorgan account on August 29, 2009 to a woman in [[Lithuania]] associated with a ballet company there, who had received 2,000 dollars from Epstein on January 8, 2009.[^22][^23] The Government of the United States Virgin Islands told the court that the summary set out "more than four pages of Epstein referrals to JPMorgan," including [[Andrew Farkas]], Nikolic, Gates and Mandelson, and that Dimon had testified, "We did not need introductions to anybody."[^22]
JPMorgan produced the summary on May 28, 2023, near the close of discovery. The Virgin Islands' counsel, [[Motley Rice]], moved on June 7, 2023 to recall Dimon, depose Maleton and compel production of Bear Stearns records, citing late-produced emails showing that Alan "Ace" Greenberg had gone to general counsel Stephen Cutler "for an exception to the felony policy" for Epstein, a January 19, 2011 message from a JPMorgan Securities employee to Epstein ("Ace would love to speak to Jeffrey") that the bank had not produced as outside the "negotiated scope of search," and a 2008 email stating that "JPM requires top of the house ok for clients who are convicted felons. (ie PCS Legal to Asset Mgt Legal to Cutler to Jaime Daimnon [sic])."[^22] The bank's counsel, [[WilmerHale]], answered on June 9, 2023 that the summary was compiled after Epstein's death by employees with "no contemporaneous knowledge" of the relationship, that 216 of its 222 underlying emails had been produced months earlier, that Dimon had testified he did not recognize the name "Project Jeep" and had instructed the general counsel to "do everything" to establish the facts, that the author of the 2019 email had confirmed "top of house" meant then general counsel [[Stacey Friedman]], and that a follow-up sent eight minutes after the 2008 email showed "top of the house" there referred to Cutler. It confirmed that after Epstein's 2008 plea "people from legacy Bear Stearns, including Mr. Greenberg," may have approached Cutler about the policy requiring general counsel approval to keep a brokerage account for a felon, a decision "made by Mr. Cutler," and said there was "no evidence that Mr. Greenberg had anything to do with Epstein's accounts at the Private Bank."[^24] In August 2023, on a separate motion filed July 18, 2023, Judge Rakoff ordered the bank to produce financial records for newly identified women Epstein had paid, and denied the request "to compel production of all documents and information concerning 'Project Jeep' or other investigations by JPMorgan that occurred after Epstein's 2019 arrest."[^25]
### The Wyden Inquiry
On September 24, 2025 Wyden sent Dimon 31 questions, citing reported internal emails that described a 2008 retention decision as "pending Dimon review" and Cutler reviewing Epstein documents "for Jamie," and asking why the bank waited six years after exiting Epstein to report his transactions.[^16] JPMorgan replied on October 10, 2025 that it had "fired him as a client in 2013," that "with the exception of former JPMC executive Jes Staley, the Firm's executives (current and former) are respected professionals who acted with integrity," that discovery of more than a million pages had not established Dimon's knowledge of Epstein before 2019, and that it was "not legally permitted to comment" on any suspicious-activity filings under the [[Bank Secrecy Act]].[^26] A second letter on October 20, 2025 drew another reply without answers or documents, and the bank declined to give Wyden's staff the deposition transcript of Morris.[^4]
Wyden's August 4, 2026 report concluded that JPMorgan likely violated federal anti-money-laundering law and named Erdoes, Staley, Cutler, Duffy, Nelson, Barrett, Casey, Morris, [[David Brigstocke]] and [[Jeff Matusow]] among thirteen bankers whose conduct it said merited investigation, noting that several still held senior posts. None has been charged. On June 24, 2026 the board's compensation committee approved a one-time 20 million dollar retention award for Erdoes.[^4][^27]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "JPMorgan kept Epstein as client for years after warnings, deposition shows," *The Washington Post,* 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/26/epstein-jpmorgan-client-sex-offender-warnings/
[^2]: "JPMorgan Chase and Epstein survivor Jane Doe 1 reach $290 million settlement," *NPR,* 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/12/1181675580/epstein-jane-doe-1-290-million-settlement-jpmorgan-chase
[^3]: "JPMorgan Chase settles Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking suit by U.S. Virgin Islands for $75 million," *CNBC,* 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/26/jpmorgan-to-settle-jeffrey-epstein-suit-by-virgin-islands.html
[^4]: "JPMorgan kept Epstein as client for years after warnings, deposition shows," *The Washington Post,* 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/26/epstein-jpmorgan-client-sex-offender-warnings/
[^5]: "JPMorgan's Dimon not aware of 2011 warning about Jeffrey Epstein: Deposition," *AOL / Reuters,* 2023. https://www.aol.com/dimon-not-aware-2011-warning-235933765.html
[^6]: New York State Department of Financial Services, In the Matter of Deutsche Bank AG, Consent Order Under New York Banking Law sections 39 and 44, July 6, 2020. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/enforcement_discipline/ea20200706_deutsche_bank
[^7]: "JPMorgan Sues Ex-Executive Associated With Jeffrey Epstein," *Time,* 2023. https://time.com/6261243/jpmorgan-lawsuit-jes-staley-epstein-trafficking/
[^8]: "Jes Staley Says JPMorgan Using Him as 'Shield' for Epstein Failures," *U.S. News & World Report / Reuters,* 2023. https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-04-24/jes-staley-seeks-to-dismiss-jpmorgan-chase-lawsuit-over-jeffrey-epstein
[^9]: "JPMorgan's $290 million settlement with Epstein accusers wins approval by U.S. judge," *CNBC / Reuters,* 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/09/jpmorgans-290-million-settlement-with-epstein-accusers-wins-approval-by-us-judge.html
[^4]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, "Looking the Other Way: How Wall Street Banks Enabled Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Trafficking," August 4, 2026, pp. 5-7, 15-43, 47-48, 58-61 (quoting JPM-SDNYLIT-W-00000175-182, JPM-SDNYLIT-W-00017206-210, JPM-SDNYLIT-00036575, JPM-SDNYLIT-00152748_R, JPM-SDNYLIT-00101010, JPM-SDNYLIT-00230825 and EFTA01480940). https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden_wall_street_epstein_report.pdf
[^5]: Staley v The Financial Conduct Authority [2025] UKUT 00203 (TCC), Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber), decision released June 26, 2025. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685d21fec2633bd820a92a52/Staley_v_FCA_decision_for_release.pdf
[^6]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), Expert Report of Jorge Amador, ECF No. 238-31 (filed July 25, 2023), report pp. 6, 16-17, 24, 46. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653.238.31.pdf
[^7]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), Plaintiff's Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 221 (filed July 24, 2023), paras. 33, 55, 98-99, 111, 129-131, 157-158, 168, 254-266, 290-306, 372-375, 387-395, 401-402, 418-419. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653.221.0.pdf
[^8]: "JPMorgan kept Epstein as client for years after warnings, deposition shows," *The Washington Post,* 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/26/epstein-jpmorgan-client-sex-offender-warnings/
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00224943, DataSet 9, "Epstein Investigation Timeline," Exhibit A-1 (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida), pp. 1, 4-6, 11. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00224943.pdf
[^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01580553, DataSet 10, memorandum from Harry Beller to JPMorgan wire desk, September 21, 2012 (JPM-SDNY-00059908); EFTA01483636, DataSet 10, JPMorgan statement for Jeffrey E. Epstein, September 1-28, 2012 (JPM-SDNY-00004812). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01580553.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01483636.pdf
[^11]: "JPMorgan's Dimon not aware of 2011 warning about Jeffrey Epstein: Deposition," *AOL / Reuters,* 2023. https://www.aol.com/dimon-not-aware-2011-warning-235933765.html
[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01861564, DataSet 10, email from Jeffrey Epstein to Jes Staley and Mary Erdoes, cc Boris Nikolic, July 27, 2011. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01861564.pdf
[^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00918200, DataSet 9, email from Jeffrey Epstein to Jes Staley and Mary Erdoes, August 27, 2011. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00918200.pdf
[^14]: New York State Department of Financial Services, In the Matter of Deutsche Bank AG, Consent Order Under New York Banking Law sections 39 and 44, July 6, 2020. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/enforcement_discipline/ea20200706_deutsche_bank
[^15]: Deposition of James Dimon, May 26, 2023, Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), transcript pp. 51-57, 179-180, 218, 261-269. https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rQOuhi8KqiM0/v0
[^16]: Letter from Senator Ron Wyden to Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co., September 24, 2025. https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_from_senator_wyden_to_jpmorgan_chase_epstein_accounts_09-24-25pdf.pdf
[^17]: Congressional Record, vol. 172, no. 40 (March 3, 2026), Senate, pp. S748 ff. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2026-03-03/html/CREC-2026-03-03-pt1-PgS748-2.htm
[^18]: "JPMorgan Sues Ex-Executive Associated With Jeffrey Epstein," *Time,* 2023. https://time.com/6261243/jpmorgan-lawsuit-jes-staley-epstein-trafficking/
[^19]: "Jes Staley Says JPMorgan Using Him as 'Shield' for Epstein Failures," *U.S. News & World Report / Reuters,* 2023. https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-04-24/jes-staley-seeks-to-dismiss-jpmorgan-chase-lawsuit-over-jeffrey-epstein
[^20]: "JPMorgan's $290 million settlement with Epstein accusers wins approval by U.S. judge," *CNBC / Reuters,* 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/09/jpmorgans-290-million-settlement-with-epstein-accusers-wins-approval-by-us-judge.html
[^21]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "SEC Settles Enforcement Proceedings against J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup," Press Release 2003-87, July 28, 2003. https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2003-87.htm ; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Press Release 2005-56, April 14, 2005. https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2005-56.htm
[^22]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808715, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), letter motion of Motley Rice to Judge Jed S. Rakoff seeking leave to reopen depositions, ECF No. 191, June 7, 2023 (filed June 20, 2023). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808715.pdf
[^23]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808647, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), Exhibit 3 to ECF No. 191, email "Project Jeep Current Review," October 27-28, 2019 (JPM-SDNYLIT-00901997). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808647.pdf
[^24]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808625, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), letter of John J. Butts, WilmerHale, opposing the motion to reopen depositions, ECF No. 187, June 9, 2023 (filed June 15, 2023). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808625.pdf
[^25]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02814941, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), Order of Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Dkt. 212, August 2023. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02814941.pdf
[^26]: Letter from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Senator Ron Wyden, Ranking Member, Committee on Finance, October 10, 2025. https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/101025jpmcresponsetowyden.pdf
[^27]: JPMorgan Chase & Co., Form 8-K, Item 5.02 (awards approved June 24, 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19617/000001961726000241/jpm-20260624.htm

2
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Lippo Group.md
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@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ The Lippo Group is the banking, insurance, and property conglomerate of [[Mochta
### Arkansas
The two families formed [[Stephens Finance Ltd.]] in [[Hong Kong]] in 1978 and both bought into [[Worthen Bank]] in 1983. About 1987 the Riadys exchanged their Worthen shares for the Stephens interest in the [[Hong Kong Chinese Bank]] and turned to [[California]], where they had bought the [[Bank of Trade (Los Angeles)|Bank of Trade]] and renamed it [[LippoBank]]. [[John Huang]] was the group's chief representative in the [[United States]]. In April 1993 [[C. Joseph Giroir]], former managing partner of the [[Rose Law Firm]], incorporated the [[Arkansas International Development Corporation]] with Lippo capital to develop joint ventures, and a second company of the same name followed in 1995. According to the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, the Riadys paid Giroir between 350,000 and 600,000 dollars a year. [[Mark Middleton]], a former aide to President [[Bill Clinton]], also went to work for the group. Giroir helped draw up the list of those invited to the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] meeting in [[Jakarta]] in 1994, among them [[Webster Hubbell]], to whom the Lippo company [[Hong Kong China Limited]] had paid 100,000 dollars that June. The House committee also found that the head of the group paid the college tuition of Hubbell's daughter.[^1]
The two families formed [[Stephens Finance Ltd.]] in [[Hong Kong]] in 1978 and both bought into [[Worthen Bank]] in 1983. About 1987 the Riadys exchanged their Worthen shares for the Stephens interest in the [[Hong Kong Chinese Bank]] and turned to [[California]], where they had bought the [[Bank of Trade (Los Angeles)|Bank of Trade]] and renamed it [[LippoBank]]. [[John Huang]] was the group's chief representative in the [[United States]]. In April 1993 [[C. Joseph Giroir]], former managing partner of the [[Rose Law Firm]], incorporated the [[Arkansas International Development Corporation]] with Lippo capital to develop joint ventures, and a second company of the same name followed in 1995. According to the [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Government Reform and Oversight Committee]], the Riadys paid Giroir between 350,000 and 600,000 dollars a year. [[Mark Middleton]], a former aide to President [[Bill Clinton]], also went to work for the group. Giroir helped draw up the list of those invited to the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] meeting in [[Jakarta]] in 1994, among them [[Webster Hubbell]], to whom the Lippo company [[Hong Kong China Limited]] had paid 100,000 dollars that June. The House committee also found that the head of the group paid the college tuition of Hubbell's daughter.[^1]
### BCCI Hong Kong

2
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/LippoBank.md
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@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ The records of the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]] for the bank (certi
- March 26, 1998: main office moved back to San Francisco.
- May 31, 2000: merged, without assistance, into the First Bank of California, which survived.
The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee reported that when the Riadys left [[Worthen Bank]] in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]] about 1987 they "focused their attention on a bank they previously had purchased in San Francisco, California. Soon thereafter they established the Bank of Trade in Los Angeles, which later became LippoBank." Huang's résumé was among the documents LippoBank produced to the committee. The committee found that the Lippo Group's American operations were generally unprofitable, and that while many in the group's hierarchy wanted unprofitable operations closed, others argued that "LippoBank California was important 'strategically,' in order to have a presence in the United States," and prevailed.[^3]
The [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Government Reform and Oversight Committee]] reported that when the Riadys left [[Worthen Bank]] in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]] about 1987 they "focused their attention on a bank they previously had purchased in San Francisco, California. Soon thereafter they established the Bank of Trade in Los Angeles, which later became LippoBank." Huang's résumé was among the documents LippoBank produced to the committee. The committee found that the Lippo Group's American operations were generally unprofitable, and that while many in the group's hierarchy wanted unprofitable operations closed, others argued that "LippoBank California was important 'strategically,' in order to have a presence in the United States," and prevailed.[^3]
### Plea

65
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/MC2 Model Management.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- MC2ModelManagement
- JeanLucBrunel
- JeffreyEpstein
- JPMorganChase
- Modeling
- SexTrafficking
alias:
- MC2
- MC2 Models
summary: "Modeling agency founded in the mid-2000s by Jean-Luc Brunel with Jeffrey Epstein's money, which JPMorgan's own 2011 compliance report linked to Epstein in 'racketeering that involved luring in minor children.'"
start: 2005
location: "New York, New York and Miami, Florida"
relations:
- type: founded
with: "[[Jean-Luc Brunel]]"
reverse: true
start: 2005
fn: 1
- type: funded
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
role: "one million dollars in 2005, line of credit"
start: 2005
fn: 2
- type: funded
with: "[[JPMorgan Chase]]"
reverse: true
role: "letter of credit extended in relation to Epstein"
fn: 2
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
MC2 Model Management was a modeling agency with offices in [[New York City]] and [[Miami]], founded around 2004 to 2005 by the French agent [[Jean-Luc Brunel]] out of the restructured American division of his Paris agency, [[Karin Models]], and financed by [[Jeffrey Epstein]]. Epstein's bank, [[JPMorgan Chase]], extended a letter of credit to the agency in connection with Epstein and recorded internally in 2011 that "MC2 Model Management and Jeffrey Epstein engaged in racketeering that involved luring in minor children for sexual play for money." The bank kept Epstein as a client until 2013. Brunel died in a Paris prison in February 2022 while under investigation for the rape of minors.[^1][^2][^3]
### Founding and Financing
Brunel built MC2 from the U.S. arm of Karin Models, which he had run in Paris since the late 1970s and which had been the subject of a 1988 [[60 Minutes]] report in which American models said Brunel and another Paris agent drugged and raped them. Financial records cited in litigation show Epstein wiring about one million dollars to Brunel in connection with the launch and providing the agency a line of credit; some accounts put his backing closer to two million dollars. MC2's former bookkeeper, Maritza Vasquez, testified in a 2010 deposition that Epstein had invested roughly one million dollars in the agency.[^1]
### JPMorgan's Files
According to shareholder complaints quoting JPMorgan's internal records, a March 2011 report by the bank stated that MC2 and Epstein "engaged in racketeering that involved luring in minor children for sexual play for money," that the agency's owner was a "frequent passenger on Epstein's private jet and often visited Epstein in jail," and that Epstein had paid MC2 one million dollars in 2005, "unknown if the money was given as a secret investment or payment for services as a procurer."[^2]
A 2011 compliance summary relayed that a press report on the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] investigation said Epstein had "brought under age girls to the US via a modeling agency M2 that is owned by a guy named Brunel," and continued: "Turns out the banker said today we extended Epstein a loan in relation to this modeling agency." The loan was a JPMorgan letter of credit to MC2. The writer judged the agency "legit" and added that "it would be hard for us to tell" whether "girls were exploited via their contract or arrangement." The same summary recorded that anti-money-laundering staff had asked at a private-bank risk meeting that the bank "exit this relationship."[^2]
On July 20, 2011, JPMorgan's general counsel, [[Stephen Cutler]], wrote to [[Jes Staley]] and [[Mary Erdoes]], among others: "This is not an honorable person in any way. He should not be a client." The next day he wrote to Erdoes that Epstein was "[n]ot a person we should do business with, period." Epstein's accounts remained open, and the bank continued to do business with him personally until 2013. Payments drawn from his JPMorgan accounts included nearly 1.5 million dollars to known recruiters, among them MC2.[^2]
### Recruitment
U.S. prosecutors and investigators reported that they believed MC2 functioned as a cover to recruit and supply women and girls for Epstein.[^3] Flight logs place Brunel on Epstein's aircraft, including a February 2005 flight with [[Nadia Marcinkova]], one of the four women later immunized as potential co-conspirators in Epstein's 2007 [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement|non-prosecution agreement]].[^1] [[Virginia Giuffre]] alleged in court filings that Brunel "offered modeling opportunities to lure young girls, some as young as 12, to the U.S." and that Epstein directed her to have sex with him; [[Sarah Ransome]] produced photographs of young women on Epstein's island, some of which she said Brunel had taken and given to her. Brunel denied all allegations.[^1][^4][^5]
Brunel was detained at [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] on December 16, 2020 as he prepared to fly to [[Dakar]], placed under formal investigation for the rape of minors over fifteen and sexual harassment, and found hanged in his cell at [[La Santé Prison]] on February 19, 2022.[^4][^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Jean-Luc Brunel: The French Modeling Honcho at the Center of Jeffrey Epstein's Web," *The Fashion Law,* on Karin Models, the 1988 60 Minutes report, the MC2 founding and Epstein funding, Maritza Vasquez's deposition, and flight logs. https://www.thefashionlaw.com/jean-luc-brunel-at-the-center-of-jeffrey-epsteins-web-of-underage-girls/
[^2]: City of Miami General Employees & Sanitation Employees Retirement Trust v. Dimon, No. 1:23-cv-03903-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), Verified Amended Stockholder Derivative Complaint, ECF No. 17, paras. 24-26, 152-154, 165 (June 30, 2023), citing the complaint in Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904 (S.D.N.Y.), paras. 42, 48, 98. https://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CITY-OF-MIAMI-GENERAL-et-al-v-James-Dimon-et-al-JPMorgan-Chase-Amended-Complaint-June-30-2023.pdf
[^3]: "Modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel arrested in Paris in Epstein probe," *NBC News,* December 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/modeling-agent-jean-luc-brunel-arrested-paris-epstein-probe-n1251589
[^4]: "France charges Epstein ex-associate over sex crime claims," *Al Jazeera,* December 19, 2020. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/19/france-charges-epstein-ex-associate-over-sex-crime-claims
[^5]: "Discredited claims about Clinton, Trump mentioned in latest batch of Epstein docs," *ABC News,* January 9, 2024. https://abcnews.com/US/new-round-jeffrey-epstein-court-documents-unsealed/story?id=106174129
[^6]: "Jean-Luc Brunel, Jeffrey Epstein associate accused of rape, supplying girls, found hanged in prison," *Washington Post,* February 19, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/19/jean-luc-brunel-hanged-epstein/

91
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/MIT Media Lab.md
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@ -34,34 +34,101 @@ relations:
reverse: true
role: "Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences"
fn: 2
- type: funded
with: "[[Bill Gates]]"
reverse: true
role: "2 million dollars, described in internal emails as directed by Epstein; Gates denies"
start: 2014-10
fn: 3
- type: funded
with: "[[Leon Black]]"
reverse: true
role: "5.5 million dollars per internal emails; Goodwin Procter records a claimed 5 million dollar anonymous gift"
start: 2014
fn: 3
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Joscha Bach]]"
reverse: true
role: "research fellow, salary subsidized by Epstein"
start: 2014
end: 2016
fn: 4
- type: investigated
with: "[[Goodwin Procter]]"
reverse: true
role: "fact-finding for the MIT Executive Committee"
start: 2019-09
end: 2020-01-10
fn: 11
created: 2026-09-22
updated: 2026-09-22
updated: 2026-09-25
---
The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory of the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]]. [[Nicholas Negroponte]] was its co-founder, and [[Marvin Minsky]] held its Toshiba Professorship of Media Arts and Sciences until his death in 2016.[^1][^2] [[Joi Ito]] was its director from 2011 until he resigned on September 7, 2019.[^1][^3]
### Epstein's Donations
The law firm Goodwin Procter, engaged by MIT after Ito's resignation, found that [[Jeffrey Epstein]] made ten donations to MIT totaling 850,000 dollars between 2002 and 2017. The first, 100,000 dollars from his C.O.U.Q. Foundation in 2002, supported Minsky's research. The nine after his 2008 conviction went either to the Media Lab (525,000 dollars) or to the mechanical engineering professor [[Seth Lloyd]] (225,000 dollars).[^1]
The law firm [[Goodwin Procter]], engaged by MIT after Ito's resignation, found that [[Jeffrey Epstein]] made ten donations to MIT totaling 850,000 dollars between 2002 and 2017. The first, 100,000 dollars from his C.O.U.Q. Foundation in 2002, supported Minsky's research. The nine after his 2008 conviction went either to the Media Lab (525,000 dollars) or to the mechanical engineering professor [[Seth Lloyd]] (225,000 dollars).[^1]
Ito was introduced to Epstein by Linda Stone, a former member of the lab's advisory council, at the TED conference in Long Beach in February 2013. For "due diligence" he ran a Google search and consulted, among others, Negroponte, who replied: "I know him quite well. The person who is his closest friend is Marvin Minsky, who even visited him in jail. I would take Berlusconi's money, so why not Jeff." Epstein's first Media Lab gift, 100,000 dollars in May 2013, was for Ito's discretion. Three more, totaling 300,000 dollars, supported Joscha Bach, a German researcher whom Epstein had introduced to Ito; the lab "hired Bach in large part because Epstein subsidized the cost." Gifts in 2015 and 2017, totaling 125,000 dollars, supported Professor Neri Oxman, whom Ito introduced to Epstein on the campus in October 2015.[^1]
Ito was introduced to Epstein by [[Linda Stone]], a former member of the lab's advisory council, at the [[TED Conference|TED conference]] in Long Beach in February 2013. For "due diligence" he ran a Google search and consulted, among others, Negroponte, who replied: "I know him quite well. The person who is his closest friend is Marvin Minsky, who even visited him in jail. I would take Berlusconi's money, so why not Jeff." Epstein's first Media Lab gift, 100,000 dollars in May 2013, was for Ito's discretion. Three more, totaling 300,000 dollars, supported [[Joscha Bach]], a German researcher whom Epstein had introduced to Ito; the lab "hired Bach in large part because Epstein subsidized the cost." From 2014 Bach also kept an office at Harvard's [[Program for Evolutionary Dynamics]], where Epstein had introduced him to [[Martin Nowak]].[^4] Gifts in 2015 and 2017, totaling 125,000 dollars, supported Professor [[Neri Oxman]], whom Ito introduced to Epstein on the campus in October 2015.[^1]
Three members of MIT's senior team, the general counsel R. Gregory Morgan, the vice president for resource development Jeffrey Newton and the treasurer Israel Ruiz, knew of Epstein's sex-offense record and in 2013 set up the informal framework under which all his later gifts were accepted. On June 26, 2013, Newton wrote to Ito: "We will keep the money, but it will be listed as anonymous," and instructed the recording secretary: "Please mark all of Epstein's gifts as anonymous. We do not want his name appearing on any list of supporters or donors in any form." MIT's records were altered accordingly. In November 2016 Ito asked the chairman of the MIT Corporation, Robert Millard: "Can you help me figure out how to get money from JE?" Millard declined Epstein's dinner invitation.[^1]
Three members of MIT's senior team, the general counsel [[R. Gregory Morgan]], the vice president for resource development [[Jeffrey Newton]] and the treasurer [[Israel Ruiz]], knew of Epstein's sex-offense record and in 2013 set up the informal framework under which all his later gifts were accepted. On June 26, 2013, Newton wrote to Ito: "We will keep the money, but it will be listed as anonymous," and instructed the recording secretary: "Please mark all of Epstein's gifts as anonymous. We do not want his name appearing on any list of supporters or donors in any form." MIT's records were altered accordingly. In November 2016 Ito asked the chairman of the MIT Corporation, [[Robert Millard]]: "Can you help me figure out how to get money from JE?" Millard declined Epstein's dinner invitation.[^1]
Epstein also claimed in 2014 to have arranged an anonymous 2 million dollar gift to the lab from [[Bill Gates]] and a 5 million dollar anonymous gift from [[Leon Black]]. Gates's representatives told the investigators that he "flatly denies" Epstein had anything to do with his donation; Black had publicly acknowledged giving to charities "affiliated" with Epstein but had not said whether Epstein asked him to give to MIT. The investigators found no evidence that the money of either was Epstein's.[^1] In August 2015 [[Reid Hoffman]] hosted a dinner in [[Palo Alto]], presented as a fundraiser for the lab, attended by Ito, Epstein, [[Peter Thiel]], [[Elon Musk]] and [[Mark Zuckerberg]]; Hoffman apologized in September 2019 for his part in the Epstein-linked donations.[^4][^5]
Epstein also claimed in 2014, according to Goodwin Procter, to have arranged an anonymous 2 million dollar gift to the lab from [[Bill Gates]] and a 5 million dollar anonymous gift from [[Leon Black]]. Gates's representatives told the investigators that he "flatly denies" Epstein had anything to do with his donation; Black had publicly acknowledged giving to charities "affiliated" with Epstein but had not said whether Epstein asked him to give to MIT. The investigators found no evidence that the money of either was Epstein's.[^1] In August 2015 [[Reid Hoffman]] hosted a dinner in [[Palo Alto]], presented as a fundraiser for the lab, attended by Ito, Epstein, [[Peter Thiel]], [[Elon Musk]] and [[Mark Zuckerberg]]; Hoffman apologized in September 2019 for his part in the Epstein-linked donations.[^5][^6]
On September 6, 2019, [[Ronan Farrow]] reported in *[[The New Yorker]]* that the lab had concealed the relationship and referred to Epstein internally as "Voldemort." Ito resigned the next day, despite a petition supporting him signed by hundreds of faculty, students and alumni.[^1][^3] A staff member later circulated photographs from Minsky's memorial with the request that they be posted only "as long as Jeffrey Epstein does not appear in any of the photos."[^6]
On September 6, 2019, [[Ronan Farrow]] reported in *[[The New Yorker]]* that the lab had concealed the relationship and referred to Epstein internally as "Voldemort." Ito resigned the next day, despite a petition supporting him signed by hundreds of faculty, students and alumni.[^1][^3] A staff member later circulated photographs from Minsky's memorial with the request that they be posted only "as long as Jeffrey Epstein does not appear in any of the photos."[^7]
### The Bin Sulayem Visit
On November 29, 2016, the lab's director's office coordinated with Epstein's assistant [[Lesley Groff]] and the chairman's office of [[DP World]] a visit, scheduled for November 30 and December 1, 2016, by DP World's chairman, [[Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem]], which Epstein had arranged. Ito wrote that "Sultan will be with me at the Media Lab," that he was "locking in a bunch of meetings for Sultan at the Media Lab from 9:30AM-11AM," and that Epstein "was going to drop by the Media Lab at 11AM"; the party was then to go to Martin Nowak's office at 1 Brattle Square, Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. The assistant to the director wrote to Groff that "Joi is planning to leave here with them around 11am to head to the Harvard."[^8] The visit came four weeks after Ito's November 3, 2016 email to Millard asking how "to get money from JE."[^9]
### Other Research
From October 2020 to June 2023 the lab ran a project applying topic modeling and network analysis to the leaked forums of the neo-fascist site [[Iron March]].[^7]
From October 2020 to June 2023 the lab ran a project applying topic modeling and network analysis to the leaked forums of the neo-fascist site [[Iron March]].[^10]
### The Anonymity Framework
MIT's first post-conviction Epstein money came through the physicist Seth Lloyd, who had known Epstein for years, visited him at his office during his work release, and had personally received a 60,000 dollar gift from him in about 2005 or 2006 that MIT never recorded. On June 7, 2012, Lloyd told MIT staff to expect a donation without naming the donor, giving only the name of Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff, later named as a co-conspirator defendant in civil suits against Epstein's estate, as the person "taking care of the donation from the donor's end." The Goodwin Procter investigators concluded that "the only reasonable inference is that Professor Lloyd did this to obscure the fact that Epstein was the donor." A presidential acknowledgment letter bearing [[L. Rafael Reif]]'s signature and dated August 16, 2012 thanked Epstein for the gift; Reif signed about 500 such letters a year.[^11]
When Epstein's unsolicited 100,000 dollar gift to Ito's discretionary account arrived in May 2013, Vice President Jeffrey Newton told Ito that Epstein should be asked "not to publicize his support of MIT, as we are handling these funds as anonymous," and instructed the recording secretary: "Mark his file with a message that there is to be no contact with him without contacting me first. No acknowledgment letters from the president. I think this is the best we can do right now." MIT's records of Epstein's post-conviction gifts were altered to read "anonymous"; the 2002 [[C.O.U.Q. Foundation]] gift to Minsky was left unchanged. Alerts added to the donor files of Epstein's foundations Epstein Interests and [[Enhanced Education]] read: "There is to be [no] contact with Epstein without contacting VP Jeff Newton first. Sensitive situation, no presidential acknowledgement." No one interviewed could recall another donor made anonymous at MIT's own initiative rather than the donor's request. Epstein's websites continued to advertise support for "Marvin Minsky and MIT's AI and Media Labs," and one 2014 foundation press release claimed a gift to MIT for art restoration that he never made.[^12]
In January 2015, weighing a proposal that Epstein give millions, Treasurer Israel Ruiz set the terms under which further gifts would be accepted: "We determined that number to be below $5M a year and we would be much more comfortable with anonymous and no publicity at $1 or $2 million levels." In September 2018 Ruiz approved a proposed 500,000 dollar Epstein gift because it "meets the criteria"; that gift never arrived.[^13]
### The Directed Gifts
Ronan Farrow, drawing on dozens of pages of internal emails, reported that Epstein was credited with securing at least 7.5 million dollars for the lab from others, including 2 million dollars from Bill Gates and 5.5 million dollars from Leon Black, gifts the emails describe as "directed" by Epstein or made at his behest. In October 2014 Ito wrote internally: "This is a $2M gift from Bill Gates directed by Jeffrey Epstein." The lab's development director, [[Peter Cohen]], replied: "For gift recording purposes, we will not be mentioning Jeffrey's name as the impetus for this gift." The mandatory gift record stated only that "Gates is making this gift at the recommendation of a friend of his who wishes to remain anonymous." When it circulated widely, Cohen wrote that future Epstein-related filings should go forward only "if there is a way to do it quietly." An agent for Gates asked the lab to keep Gates's name out of any public discussion. A Gates spokesperson said that "any claim that Epstein directed any programmatic or personal grantmaking for Bill Gates is completely false."[^3]
Of the Black gift, Cohen asked Ito, "Can you ask Jeffrey to ask Leon that? . . . We can make it anonymous easily, unless Leon would like the credit. If Jeffrey tells you that Leon would like a little love from MIT, we can arrange that too." A person close to Black said he had not intended the gift to be anonymous. Farrow reported that several years after Epstein's conviction, Black, his children and Epstein jointly invested in a company making emission-control products. Between 2012 and 2017 Black paid Epstein about 158 million dollars for tax and estate advice. In late 2014 Ito also asked Epstein to make an initial donation of up to 5 million dollars to trigger a matching gift that Ito said the [[John Templeton Foundation]] had discussed; the foundation told Farrow it had "no records related to any such plan," and no such gift was made.[^3][^13][^14]
### The Disqualified Code
Farrow reported that Epstein was listed as "disqualified" in MIT's central donor database and that the lab worked around the listing. Goodwin Procter disputed this: "Contrary to certain media reports, neither Epstein nor his foundations was ever coded as 'disqualified' in MIT's donor systems. Further, the code 'disqualified' does not mean that a person or entity is 'blacklisted' or prohibited from donating to the Institute. Rather, the term 'disqualified' is a database code for any donor who previously donated to MIT but presently is dormant or is no longer interested in giving to MIT."[^3][^12]
### Staff Objections
Staff in Ito's office referred to Epstein as "Voldemort" or "he who must not be named," and Ito told Linda Stone that "[p]eople in my office are a bit weirded out by him." [[Ethan Zuckerman]], director of the lab's Center for Civic Media, pulled Ito aside in 2013 over calendar entries marked "J.E.": "I heard you're meeting with Epstein. I don't think that's a good idea." Ito answered, "You know, he's really fascinating. Would you like to meet him?" On Ito's calendar Epstein appeared only by his initials.[^3][^15]
The former development associate [[Signe Swenson]] told Farrow that at her 2014 job interview Cohen said the lab was "currently working with Epstein," although she had seen him listed as disqualified: "I knew he was a pedophile and pointed that out." At a later meeting on how to take Epstein's money without reporting it within the university, she said, Ito told Cohen, "we can take small gifts anonymously." For a 2015 campus visit, staff were told to keep Zuckerman away from the glass-walled office where Epstein would meet faculty, and, according to Swenson, Ito relayed that Epstein "never goes into any room without his two female 'assistants'"; the women were made to wait outside. The visit was entered on Ito's calendar without Epstein's name: "It was just marked as a V.I.P. visit." Swenson resigned in 2016 and said in 2019, "I was a participant in covering up for Epstein in 2014." In late 2017 Professor Neri Oxman had a Media Lab "orb" sent to Epstein as thanks, at Ito's direction, she told investigators; a student who helped prepare it objected once she learned the recipient.[^3][^15]
### Disclosure and Findings
On August 22, 2019, after declining to comment, MIT acknowledged 800,000 dollars from Epstein, all to Lloyd or the Media Lab. Reif wrote to staff that "despite following the processes that have served MIT well for many years, in this instance we made a mistake of judgment," and pledged an equal sum to a charity for victims. Zuckerman and [[Nathan Matias]] announced they were cutting ties with the lab. Goodwin Procter, with [[Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison]] retained separately by the Executive Committee, reviewed more than 610,000 documents and raised the figure to 850,000 dollars in its January 10, 2020 report. It found that Morgan, Newton and Ruiz "made significant mistakes of judgment" but that "no Senior Team member violated any law, breached any MIT policy, or acted in pursuit of personal gain," and that Reif "was not contemporaneously aware of Epstein's donations." Executive Committee chairman Robert Millard, whom Ito had asked in 2016 for help getting "money from JE," recused himself from oversight of the investigation.[^9][^11][^16]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Goodwin Procter LLP. "Report Concerning Jeffrey Epstein's Interactions with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology." Released by MIT January 10, 2020. https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf
[^2]: Lohr, Steve. "Marvin Minsky, Pioneer in Artificial Intelligence, Dies at 88." *The New York Times,* January 25, 2016.
[^3]: Farrow, Ronan. "How an Elite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein." *The New Yorker,* September 6, 2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-university-research-center-concealed-its-relationship-with-jeffrey-epstein
[^4]: "Mark Zuckerberg's 'Wild' Dinner With Epstein Revealed in Files." *The Daily Beast,* 2026, on EFTA00344556 and EFTA00344564. https://www.thedailybeast.com/mark-zuckerbergs-wild-dinner-with-epstein-revealed-in-files/
[^5]: "Exclusive: Reid Hoffman apologizes for role in Epstein-linked donations to MIT." *Axios,* September 12, 2019. https://www.axios.com/2019/09/12/reid-hoffman-jeffrey-epstein-mit-donations
[^6]: "Eight revelations from MIT's Jeffrey Epstein report." *MIT Technology Review,* January 10, 2020. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/01/10/130928/mit-jeffrey-epstein-donations-media-lab-joi-ito-seth-lloyd-funding-ethics/
[^7]: MIT Media Lab. "Investigating the Iron March Forums with Computational Tools: Far-Right Forum Network and LDA Analysis." Project overview, October 2020 to June 2023. https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/investigating-the-iron-march-forums-with-computational-tools-far-right-forum-network-and-lda-analysis/overview/
[^3]: Farrow, Ronan. "How an Elite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein." *The New Yorker,* September 6, 2019, on the 7.5 million dollars in directed gifts, the Gates and Black email chains, the "disqualified" listing, Swenson's account, Zuckerman's 2013 objection, the 2015 visit, and Ito's calendar entries. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-university-research-center-concealed-its-relationship-with-jeffrey-epstein
[^4]: Lopez, Diane E., Ara B. Gershengorn, and Martin F. Murphy. *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University.* Harvard OGC and Foley Hoag LLP, May 2020, p. 20 n. 14, on Joscha Bach's primary affiliation with the Media Lab from 2014 to 2016 and his office access at Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208
[^5]: "Mark Zuckerberg's 'Wild' Dinner With Epstein Revealed in Files." *The Daily Beast,* 2026, on EFTA00344556 and EFTA00344564. https://www.thedailybeast.com/mark-zuckerbergs-wild-dinner-with-epstein-revealed-in-files/
[^6]: "Exclusive: Reid Hoffman apologizes for role in Epstein-linked donations to MIT." *Axios,* September 12, 2019. https://www.axios.com/2019/09/12/reid-hoffman-jeffrey-epstein-mit-donations
[^7]: "Eight revelations from MIT's Jeffrey Epstein report." *MIT Technology Review,* January 10, 2020. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/01/10/130928/mit-jeffrey-epstein-donations-media-lab-joi-ito-seth-lloyd-funding-ethics/
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00439714, DataSet 9, email chain among Lesley Groff, Joichi Ito, the MIT Media Lab director's office and DP World staff, "Re: Jeffrey Epstein," November 29, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00439714.pdf
[^9]: Goodwin Procter LLP, *Report,* January 10, 2020, pp. 40-41 and n. 42, on Ito's November 3, 2016 email to Millard and Millard's recusal. https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf
[^10]: MIT Media Lab. "Investigating the Iron March Forums with Computational Tools: Far-Right Forum Network and LDA Analysis." Project overview, October 2020 to June 2023. https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/investigating-the-iron-march-forums-with-computational-tools-far-right-forum-network-and-lda-analysis/overview/
[^11]: Goodwin Procter LLP. *Report Concerning Jeffrey Epstein's Interactions with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.* January 10, 2020, pp. 3-5, 10, 20-21 and nn. 5, 22-24, on the Paul Weiss engagement, the 610,000 documents, the summary findings, Lloyd's 60,000 dollar personal gift, the Groff email, and the August 16, 2012 presidential letter. https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf
[^12]: Goodwin Procter LLP, *Report,* January 10, 2020, pp. 27-28 and nn. 28-30, on Newton's instructions, the altered records, the "Alerts and Messages" entries, Epstein's website claims, and the "disqualified" code. https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf
[^13]: Goodwin Procter LLP, *Report,* January 10, 2020, pp. 32-33, 40, on the Templeton matching proposal and Ruiz's 2015 and 2018 guidance. https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf
[^14]: "Billionaire Leon Black made a $158 million payment to Jeffrey Epstein. Senators want to know why," *CNN Business,* July 25, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/business/leon-black-jeffrey-epstein-senate-investigation
[^15]: Goodwin Procter LLP, *Report,* January 10, 2020, pp. 54-55 and n. 54, on the "Voldemort" nickname, Zuckerman, staff discomfort, the Oxman orb, and the senior team findings. https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf
[^16]: Aldhous, Peter. "Jeffrey Epstein's Links To Scientists Are Even More Extensive Than We Thought," *BuzzFeed News,* August 27, 2019, on MIT's August 22 acknowledgment of 800,000 dollars, Reif's email, and the Zuckerman and Matias departures. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-science-donations-apologies-statements

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---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- MegaGroup
- LesWexner
- CharlesBronfman
- Philanthropy
- JeffreyEpstein
alias:
- Study Group
- The Mega Group
summary: "Private circle of wealthy Jewish American businessmen founded in 1991 by Leslie Wexner and Charles Bronfman as the Study Group, disclosed by The Wall Street Journal in 1998."
start: 1991
location: "New York, New York"
relations:
- type: founded
with: "[[Leslie Wexner]]"
reverse: true
start: 1991
fn: 1
- type: founded
with: "[[Charles Bronfman]]"
reverse: true
start: 1991
fn: 1
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
The Mega Group, formally called the Study Group, is a private association of wealthy Jewish American business owners founded in 1991 by [[Leslie Wexner]], founder of [[L Brands|The Limited]], and [[Charles Bronfman]], co-chairman of the [[Seagram Company]]. It met twice a year for seminars on philanthropy and Jewish affairs, charged annual dues of about 30,000 dollars, and grew from about 20 founding members toward 50. Its existence became public in a May 1998 [[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]] article. The group was founded in the year Wexner gave [[Jeffrey Epstein]] power of attorney over his finances.[^1][^2]
### The 1998 Disclosure
The Wall Street Journal article, headlined "Titans of Industry Join Forces To Work for Jewish Philanthropy" and published May 4, 1998, described an April 1998 gathering of about 20 of the members at the Manhattan apartment of the hedge-fund manager [[Michael Steinhardt]]. Bronfman was quoted on the group's low profile: "From the beginning we didn't want to be seen as a threat to anybody. And that still pertains. We don't want to be seen as the Sanhedrin," the high court of ancient Judaism. Members named in the account included Wexner, Charles Bronfman, his brother [[Edgar Bronfman Sr.]], then president of the [[World Jewish Congress]], Steinhardt, [[Max Fisher]], [[Leonard Abramson]], [[Laurence Tisch]], [[Charles Schusterman]] and [[Harvey Meyerhoff]].[^1]
### Epstein and the Wexner Circle
In July 1991, the year the Study Group was formed, Wexner granted Epstein a power of attorney over his personal finances, and Epstein managed Wexner's money through [[J. Epstein & Co.]] until the fall of 2007.[^2] Wexner wrote in 2019 that "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." Vanity Fair reported in 2003 that in 1992 Epstein persuaded Wexner to put him on the board of the [[Wexner Foundation]] in place of Wexner's ailing mother, [[Bella Wexner]], who recovered and demanded to be reinstated; Epstein said they settled the matter by splitting the foundation in two. The same account said Wexner had given Epstein "the power of fiduciary over all of his private trusts and foundations."[^3][^4]
The Seagram name had appeared earlier in Epstein's record. The 1981 [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] inquiry that coincided with his departure from [[Bear Stearns]] concerned insider trading ahead of Seagram's tender offer for [[St. Joe Minerals]], in which the financier [[Giuseppe Tome]] had used his relationship with Edgar Bronfman Sr. to obtain information; Epstein testified that he knew of no insider trading in St. Joe at Bear Stearns.[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Lisa Miller, "Titans of Industry Join Forces To Work for Jewish Philanthropy," *The Wall Street Journal,* May 4, 1998. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB894240270899870000 (article identifier resolves to May 4, 1998; the byline, member list and Bronfman quotation are as reported in later coverage of the article, and the archived text was not available to verify them directly).
[^2]: Heather Long and Renae Merle, "Lawyers Question Wexner's Financial Arrangement With Jeffrey Epstein," *WOSU / NPR,* August 8, 2019. https://www.wosu.org/news/2019-08-08/lawyers-question-wexners-financial-arrangement-with-jeffrey-epstein
[^3]: Leslie Wexner, "Letter from Les," *The Wexner Foundation,* August 2019. https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/letter-from-les/
[^4]: Vicky Ward, "The Talented Mr. Epstein," *Vanity Fair,* March 2003, as republished by the author, on the 1992 Wexner Foundation board seat, the fiduciary powers, and the St. Joe Minerals inquiry. https://vickyward.com/article/the-talented-mr-epstein/

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---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- Harvard
- JeffreyEpstein
- SciencePhilanthropy
- EvolutionaryDynamics
- ReputationLaundering
- LeonBlack
alias:
- Program for Evolutionary Dynamics
- Harvard Program for Evolutionary Dynamics
- Program in Evolutionary Dynamics
- Program on Evolutionary Dynamics
- PED
- Evolutionary Dynamics
summary: "Harvard research center founded in 2003 with a 6.5 million dollar Jeffrey Epstein gift, directed by Martin Nowak, where Epstein kept an office and keycard access until 2018; Harvard closed it in 2021."
start: 2003
end: 2021
location: "One Brattle Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts"
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
relations:
- type: funded
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
role: "6.5 million dollar founding gift"
start: 2003
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[Martin Nowak]]"
reverse: true
role: "director"
start: 2003
end: 2021
fn: 2
- type: funded
with: "[[Leon Black]]"
reverse: true
role: "7 million dollars in three gifts with Debra Black and the Black Family Foundation, introduced by Epstein"
start: 2011-11-22
end: 2015-10-30
fn: 12
- type: funded
with: "[[Falconwood Foundation]]"
reverse: true
role: "500,000 dollars, introduced by Epstein"
start: 2010-09-10
fn: 12
- type: funded
with: "[[John Templeton Foundation]]"
reverse: true
role: "1.5 million dollar grant"
start: 2015
fn: 14
- type: member_of
with: "[[Joscha Bach]]"
reverse: true
role: "listed as research scientist, unpaid, with office access"
start: 2014
end: 2019
fn: 7
- type: investigated
with: "[[Harvard University]]"
reverse: true
role: "Office of the General Counsel review"
start: 2019-09
end: 2020-05-01
fn: 21
---
The Program for Evolutionary Dynamics (PED) was a research center of [[Harvard University]] devoted to mathematical models of evolution, cooperation, cancer and infectious disease. It was created in 2003 with a 6.5 million dollar gift from [[Jeffrey Epstein]], the largest he made to Harvard, and was directed from its founding by the mathematical biologist [[Martin Nowak]]. After Epstein's 2008 conviction the program kept an office for his use, gave him keycard and passcode access, hosted more than forty of his visits, and posted a page about him on its harvard.edu website. Harvard announced the program's closure in March 2021.[^1][^2]
### Founding and Structure
PED's own website described the program as "established in 2003 by Harvard University President [[Larry Summers|Lawrence H. Summers]] following an imaginative proposal by Jeffrey Epstein and [[Benedict Gross]]," operating "under the auspices of [[William Kirby]], Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences," with Nowak as faculty director. Harvard recruited Nowak from the [[Institute for Advanced Study]] in Princeton, where Epstein had already supported his work. Epstein's unrestricted 6.5 million dollar gift allowed Harvard and Nowak to lease a separate research facility in a private Harvard Square office building at [[One Brattle Square]], where the [[Harvard Kennedy School]] held the lease and sublet a floor to PED. The *[[The Harvard Crimson|Harvard Crimson]]* and other outlets reported at the time that the gift was part of a 30 million dollar pledge; Harvard's 2020 review found no Harvard record of any such pledge.[^1][^3]
The program described "evolutionary dynamics" as "the study of the fundamental mathematical principles that guide evolution" and listed as current topics the evolution of cooperation, cancer, viruses, evolutionary game and graph theory, prelife, protocells, eusociality, evolution of language and evolutionary economics. Its 2021 homepage stated: "Our ambitious goals include curing the world of cancer, infectious disease, selfishness, and inclusive fitness theory." PED ran Harvard's undergraduate course Math 153, "Mathematical Biology: Evolutionary Dynamics," and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows trained there included [[Corina Tarnita]], [[Erez Lieberman Aiden]], [[Franziska Michor]] and [[David G. Rand]]. Its later work included a paper by PED researchers Chuck Noble and Ben Adlam with Nowak, the Harvard geneticist [[George Church]] and [[Kevin Esvelt]] warning against field trials of [[CRISPR]] gene drives.[^4][^5]
When Epstein was arrested in 2006, Harvard declined to return the gift. A university spokesman told the *Crimson* on September 13, 2006: "Mr. Epstein's gift is funding important research using mathematics to study areas such as evolutionary dynamics, viruses, and cancers. The University is not considering returning this gift." Interim President [[Derek Bok]] referred the paper to his 1979 open letter, which held that Harvard would generally accept money from donors who had earned it immorally "on the ground that the tangible benefits of using the money . . . should overcome the more abstract, symbolic considerations."[^1][^6]
### The Office, the Visits and the Access Cards
After his 2009 release, Epstein held no Harvard appointment, but PED maintained Office 610, which staff called "Jeffrey's Office." Epstein brought his own rug, hung his own photographs, and had a Harvard telephone line in the room until 2017, when PED removed it "as a cost-cutting measure." Before 2017 Nowak authorized PED to issue Epstein and his assistants proximity cards to the building, the keypad passcode to the program's suite, and a key to Office 610. Harvard's review counted likely visits by year: four in 2010, five in 2011, two in 2012, three in 2013, four in 2014, eight in 2015, nine in 2016, five in 2017 and six in 2018, the last in October 2018. Epstein chose the dates and generally set the guest lists, met academics from other institutions at least as often as Harvard faculty, occasionally brought political figures, and was "routinely accompanied" by young women in their twenties described as assistants. The visits ended only after PED researchers complained to Nowak.[^7]
In 2017 Harvard installed a card-reader system requiring Harvard identification for unaccompanied entry. The rules allowed Nowak or PED's Chief Administrative Officer to sponsor a temporary guest identification, which required attesting that the visitor had "a legitimate business, research or education reason" and having the visitor photographed. The administrator instead asked Harvard security for "unassigned access cards for our short term visitors," sent two of them by Federal Express to an Epstein assistant, and told Nowak she had done so because it was "easier than arranging a temporary [identification] Card which would have to be annually renewed and Jeffrey would have to have [a] photo taken." Nowak did not reply. The review concluded that the administrator, "with Professor Nowak on notice, circumvented Harvard's efforts to tighten . . . security procedures and permitted Epstein to continue to have unfettered access."[^7]
The artificial-intelligence researcher [[Joscha Bach]], whom Epstein introduced to Nowak in 2014 and whose position at the [[MIT Media Lab]] Epstein subsidized, was listed as a PED research scientist from 2014 to 2019 and kept PED office space, though Harvard never paid him and he never signed a Visitor Participation Agreement. Bach often met Epstein at PED, and at least two papers he published after leaving MIT acknowledged support from Epstein and PED.[^7][^8]
Epstein used the suite for meetings with a circle he called "the boys" and for dinner parties organized by Nowak's assistants, including Lawrence Summers's sixtieth-birthday celebration. The lab administrator arranged food and his companions' building access. Photographs from a 2012 lunch at Nowak's office, posted on an Epstein foundation website, showed Epstein with [[Leon Black]], George Church, the Broad Institute director [[Eric Lander]], the Harvard Kennedy School professor and presidential adviser [[David Gergen]], the MIT physicist [[Seth Lloyd]], the cognitive scientist [[Howard Gardner]], the placebo researcher [[Ted Kaptchuk]] and the former Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean [[Henry Rosovsky]]. Lander said Nowak "didn't mention who'd be attending"; Kaptchuk said "the meeting was weird" and that he ended contact once told of Epstein's record; Gardner said he had no memory of it. Church's online calendar recorded a further 2014 meeting with Epstein at the institute.[^9][^10]
### The Donors After the Ban
President [[Drew Faust]] decided no later than November 2008 that Harvard would accept no further gifts from Epstein, but recorded the decision nowhere and did not formally notify Nowak. PED had used Epstein's unrestricted gift to pay its rent, which conventional research grants could not cover, and the money was spent by about 2007. Between 2010 and 2014 Nowak and others sought to reopen the question; in December 2013 the mathematics chair Benedict Gross and the divisional dean [[Jeremy Bloxham]] asked Dean [[Michael D. Smith]] to petition the Gift Policy Committee, writing that "Epstein has served his time for his crime, and that his wealth has been obtained legally." Smith declined. Gross told Nowak in March 2014 that there was "a temporary hold on contributions from Jeffrey Epstein, although I hope it will be lifted by summer," and in December 2014 Nowak asked Gross "confidentially" whether there was "an update concerning Jeffrey being an acceptable donor for Harvard?"[^11]
In the same period donors whom Epstein introduced paid PED's rent. Nowak acknowledged that he had no prior relationship with any of them:[^12]
| Date | Amount | Donor |
|---|---|---|
| September 10, 2010 | 500,000 dollars | [[Falconwood Foundation]] |
| November 22, 2011 | 2,000,000 dollars | Leon and [[Debra Black]] |
| December 29, 2014 | 4,000,000 dollars | Leon and Debra Black |
| October 30, 2015 | 1,000,000 dollars | [[Black Family Foundation]] |
Epstein's accountant and staff acted as intermediaries, and at Nowak's direction ensured that the Black gift letters earmarked the money for Nowak's research and expressly permitted its use for rent at One Brattle Square. In May 2014 Nowak wrote to Epstein: "our current lease ends on 30 June 2015 . . . it would be good to get something this summer. We could then extend our lease until 2017." Harvard development staff thanked Epstein's accountant in December 2014 ("please let Mr. Epstein know that we are so grateful for him for trying to expedite this gift") and in February 2017 asked Nowak to "reach out to [the Blacks or Epstein] again soon." Epstein had been one of seven trustees of the Black Family Foundation from its creation in 1997; Black's representative told Harvard's investigators that Epstein resigned in July 2007 "at the family's request," that "none of the funds were provided by Mr. Epstein," and that "no attempt was made to conceal the source of these gifts." A Falconwood representative likewise said its gift was its own money. Over 2012 to 2017, the years of the Black gifts to PED, Black paid Epstein about 158 million dollars for tax and estate advice.[^12][^13]
### The Templeton Letter
In 2014 PED applied to the [[John Templeton Foundation]], on whose Board of Advisors Nowak sat, for a 3 million dollar grant. Templeton offered half and required proof that matching funds were secured. PED held Black money that could have served, but Nowak sought a letter from Epstein. Epstein wrote to his accountant and Nowak, "im not sure if [an Epstein foundation] should sign instead," and separately emailed a Templeton executive vice president, "martin wants to send a letter showing funds but using my name, i thought you might have a view"; the executive replied, "Sure, just send me a draft if you like." The letter that followed, from Epstein's Virgin Islands foundation [[Enhanced Education]], stated that "[i]n 2003 Enhanced Education established a gift to the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics." Enhanced Education had never funded PED and Epstein's 2003 money was long spent. Templeton granted 1.5 million dollars in 2015. In 2018 the administrator instructed a researcher filling in the close-out form to write, "We used a gift from Enhanced Education to Harvard University fund 347150 for the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics." Harvard's review found that Nowak and the administrator "provided false information to the Templeton Foundation," and that Templeton "has no record of this statement in its files."[^14]
### The Website and the Publicist
In mid-2013 Epstein's publicist, "in charge of Jeffrey's media/pr," wrote to one of Nowak's assistants: "Jeffrey is trying to boost his foundation's websites and a link on Harvard's network would be very helpful." With Nowak's approval PED linked to two Epstein foundation sites, one of which, jeffreyepstein.org, stated that Epstein's foundation "established the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University with a $35 million gift to the university." Press releases from the [[Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation]] between 2012 and 2014 gave the figure as 30 million dollars; a Harvard source told *[[BuzzFeed News]]* the figure "does not reflect the actual gift." The publicist also asked Nowak to review an article she had written about Epstein, which ran on the website of *[[National Review]]*, repeated the 35 million dollar figure, and was later removed.[^15][^16][^17]
In 2014, while Nowak was seeking money to keep the lease, the publicist asked for a full page because "it would be very helpful in terms of Google results if his name were attached to a Harvard.edu url." PED posted a page with Epstein's photograph, a biography and links under a tab labeled "Friends," on which "Jeffrey Epstein" was the only entry. The administrator told investigators she and Nowak had planned to remove the links quietly once the publicist had confirmed them; PED took the page down once and restored it after the publicist complained. In March 2014 an anti-trafficking organization wrote to Faust objecting to "almost daily press releases" from "a pedophile [who] feels entitled to identify himself as a 'Harvard philanthropist.'" PED removed the page after sexual-assault survivor advocates contacted it and the president's office in October 2014. In a separate 2012 exchange, a person whose name is redacted in the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] release told Epstein that press releases about Nowak's work and Epstein's funding had been placed with major outlets as part of an effort to displace "the bad stuff" from the first page of search results; Epstein replied that "ther[e] should be an article a day or every two days."[^15][^18][^19]
In May 2019, after the *[[Miami Herald]]* series and before Epstein's arrest, Nowak wrote to Epstein's assistant asking that all references to the lab be removed from Epstein's website: "The sooner the better please . . . Things are getting very strange here."[^20]
### Review and Closure
Harvard President [[Lawrence Bacow]] ordered a review in September 2019. The report, by General Counsel [[Diane Lopez]] with [[Martin Murphy]] of [[Foley Hoag]], released May 1, 2020, referred Nowak and the administrator for possible discipline over Epstein's access, the website and the Templeton representations. On March 26, 2021, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean [[Claudine Gay]] sanctioned Nowak and announced that PED would close and that his research would move to the mathematics department. The report mentioned Summers once; in February 2026, after further Justice Department releases, Summers resigned from Harvard and Nowak was placed on leave a second time.[^1][^20][^21]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Lopez, Diane E., Ara B. Gershengorn, and Martin F. Murphy. *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University.* Harvard University Office of the General Counsel and Foley Hoag LLP, May 2020, pp. 3-5, 9-10, 21, on the 6.5 million dollar founding gift, the One Brattle Square lease, the unrecorded 30 million dollar pledge, and the 2006 decision to keep the gift. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208 ; mirror: https://archive.org/download/epstein-docs_20240108/1.%20Harvard%20Epstein%20Report.pdf
[^2]: "Gay Levies Sanctions Against Prof. Nowak for Contacts With Jeffrey Epstein," *The Harvard Crimson,* March 26, 2021, on the sanctions and the closure of the program. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/3/26/gay-sanctions-nowak-epstein/
[^3]: Lopez, Gershengorn and Murphy, *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University,* May 2020, pp. 13, 18-19, 21, quoting the original PED website text and describing the Harvard Kennedy School sublease. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208
[^4]: Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, homepage, archived March 24, 2021, Wayback Machine, on the program's description, research topics, stated goals, and the gene-drive paper with Church and Esvelt. http://web.archive.org/web/20210324190408/https://ped.fas.harvard.edu/
[^5]: Harvard University course listing, Mathematics 153, "Mathematical Biology: Evolutionary Dynamics," 2004, naming Nowak and PED instructors; Nowak, Martin A. *Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life.* Harvard University Press, 2006.
[^6]: "Harvard To Keep Epstein Gift After Charges," *The Harvard Crimson,* September 13, 2006, as quoted in the Harvard report at p. 9. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/9/13/harvard-to-keep-epstein-gift-after/
[^7]: Lopez, Gershengorn and Murphy, *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University,* May 2020, pp. 17-21 and n. 14, on the visit table, Office 610, the proximity cards and passcode, the 2017 card-reader system, the unassigned access cards sent by Federal Express, and Joscha Bach's office access from 2014 to 2019. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208
[^8]: Goodwin Procter LLP. *Report Concerning Jeffrey Epstein's Interactions with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.* January 10, 2020, p. 10, on the Media Lab's hiring of Bach "in large part because Epstein subsidized the cost." https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf
[^9]: Fernandes, Deirdre, and Tricia L. Nadolny. "Introductions to women. Free flights. Business deals. Jeffrey Epstein's ties to Harvard run deeper than previously known." *The Boston Globe,* February 25, 2026, on "the boys," the dinner parties at Nowak's lab including Summers's sixtieth birthday, and the lab administrator's role in arranging key-card access. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/25/metro/jeffrey-epstein-harvard-spotlight-report/
[^10]: Aldhous, Peter. "Jeffrey Epstein's Links To Scientists Are Even More Extensive Than We Thought," *BuzzFeed News,* August 27, 2019, on the 2012 photographs from an archived Epstein foundation website, the statements of Lander, Kaptchuk and Gardner, and Church's 2014 calendar entries first reported by NBC News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-science-donations-apologies-statements
[^11]: Lopez, Gershengorn and Murphy, *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University,* May 2020, pp. 10-13, on Faust's decision, the December 10, 2013 development-office memorandum, Smith's refusal, and Gross's and Nowak's 2014 exchanges. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208
[^12]: Lopez, Gershengorn and Murphy, *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University,* May 2020, pp. 13-15 and nn. 9, 15, on the table of Epstein-facilitated gifts, the gift-letter language on rent, the statement of Black's representative, the Falconwood confirmation, and Nowak's May 2014 email about the lease. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208
[^13]: "Billionaire Leon Black made a $158 million payment to Jeffrey Epstein. Senators want to know why," *CNN Business,* July 25, 2023, on the payments between 2012 and 2017. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/business/leon-black-jeffrey-epstein-senate-investigation
[^14]: Lopez, Gershengorn and Murphy, *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University,* May 2020, pp. 15-17 and n. 12, on the Templeton application, Epstein's emails, the Enhanced Education letter, the 2018 close-out form, and the finding of false statements. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208
[^15]: Lopez, Gershengorn and Murphy, *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University,* May 2020, pp. 20-23 and n. 16, on the publicist's requests, the jeffreyepstein.org "$35 million" claim, the "Friends" page, the March 2014 letter to Faust, and the October 2014 removal. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208
[^16]: Aldhous, Peter. "Jeffrey Epstein Called Himself A 'Science Philanthropist' And Donated Millions To These Researchers," *BuzzFeed News,* July 11, 2019, updated July 13, 2019, on the 30 million dollar press-release claim and the Harvard source's statement. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-science-donations
[^17]: "Jeffrey Epstein Pitched a Narrative. These Sites Published It," *The New York Times,* July 21, 2019, on the placement of Epstein-commissioned articles and the removal of the *National Review* piece. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/business/media/jeffrey-epstein-media.html
[^18]: "Friends," Program for Evolutionary Dynamics website, captured May 19, 2014, Wayback Machine, listing under "Friends of PED" the single name "Jeffrey Epstein." http://web.archive.org/web/20140519032243/http://www.ped.fas.harvard.edu:80/people/friends/
[^19]: Owermohle, Sarah, and Austin Culpepper. "How Epstein enlisted Harvard scientists to burnish his reputation, and try to make a profit," *CNN,* February 19, 2026, on the 2012 press-release campaign emails in the Justice Department release. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/19/politics/harvard-epstein-donations-influence-exclusive
[^20]: Fernandes and Nadolny, *The Boston Globe,* February 25, 2026, on Nowak's May 2019 email, the single mention of Summers in the 2020 report, Summers's resignation and Nowak's second leave. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/25/metro/jeffrey-epstein-harvard-spotlight-report/
[^21]: Lopez, Gershengorn and Murphy, *Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University,* May 2020, pp. 1, 26-27, on the review's commissioning and the referrals of Nowak and the Chief Administrative Officer. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208

91
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Southern Trust Company.md
View file

@ -8,34 +8,97 @@ tags:
- TaxFraud
- GovernmentCapture
- ShellCompany
- LeonBlack
alias:
- Southern Trust Company, Inc.
- Southern Trust Co.
- Financial Informatics, Inc.
- Southern Trust
summary: "Southern Trust Company was Jeffrey Epstein's U.S. Virgin Islands entity that obtained large territorial tax benefits by claiming to run a DNA-database and data-mining business the Virgin Islands later alleged it never actually conducted."
location: "St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands"
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-09-25
relations:
- type: owned
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
start: 2011-11-18
end: 2019-08-10
role: "sole shareholder"
fn: 1
- type: funded
with: "[[Leon Black]]"
reverse: true
start: 2013-02-15
end: 2017-04
role: "payments under a 2013 service agreement and later ad hoc fees"
fn: 12
- type: funded
with: "[[Carbyne]]"
role: "limited partner in SUM (E.B.) Limited Partnership; 2.4 million dollars toward warrant exercise"
start: 2019-03
fn: 9
---
Southern Trust Company was a [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] corporation controlled by [[Jeffrey Epstein]], formed around 2012 and 2013 as the successor to his earlier territorial entity [[Financial Trust Company]]. It applied to the [[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]] in October 2012 for benefits under the [[Economic Development Commission]] program and received a ten-year incentive package, on the representation that it would build a DNA-database and data-mining, or "informatics," business. A January 2020 civil enforcement complaint by the territory's [[Denise George|Attorney General]] alleged that the company conducted no such business and existed to fund Epstein's criminal activity and properties, and the 2022 settlement with his estate required repayment of roughly 80 million dollars in the benefits it had obtained.[^1][^2]
Southern Trust Company was a [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] corporation controlled by [[Jeffrey Epstein]], incorporated on November 18, 2011 as Financial Informatics, Inc. and used from 2013 as the successor to his earlier territorial entity [[Financial Trust Company]]; it reported assets of about 391 million dollars in 2015.[^1] It applied to the [[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]] in October 2012 for benefits under the [[Economic Development Commission]] program and received a ten-year incentive package, on the representation that it would build a DNA-database and data-mining, or "informatics," business. A January 2020 civil enforcement complaint by the territory's [[Denise George|Attorney General]] alleged that the company conducted no such business and existed to fund Epstein's criminal activity and properties, and the 2022 settlement with his estate required repayment of roughly 80 million dollars in the benefits it had obtained.[^2][^3]
### Formation and the Economic Development Commission Benefits
Epstein's territorial operation began with Financial Trust Company, which he relocated to the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1996 and used as the principal company managing his wealth and client investments. Southern Trust Company followed roughly a decade and a half later. The company applied to the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority in October 2012 and received a package running from February 1, 2013 through January 31, 2023 that included a 90 percent exemption from income taxes and 100 percent exemptions from gross-receipts, excise, and withholding taxes.[^1][^3]
Epstein's territorial operation began with Financial Trust Company, incorporated in St. Thomas on November 6, 1998 (a 2018 investor complaint gave the year as 1996), which received territorial tax exemptions from 1999 and was the principal company managing his wealth and client investments. Southern Trust Company, incorporated in November 2011, followed after Epstein registered as a sex offender in the Virgin Islands; the territory alleged that most of his Virgin Islands companies were created in 2011 and 2012.[^1][^4] The company applied to the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority in October 2012 and received a package running from February 1, 2013 through January 31, 2023 that included a 90 percent exemption from income taxes and 100 percent exemptions from gross-receipts, excise, and withholding taxes.[^2][^5] At a public hearing of the Economic Development Commission on November 15, 2012, Epstein and his lawyer [[Erika Kellerhals]] testified under oath that the company would provide "cutting edge consulting services" in "biomedical and financial informatics."[^1] The certificate itself is dated January 24, 2014 and signed by the commission's chairman, [[Albert Bryan]], then also Governor [[John de Jongh]]'s Commissioner of Labor, and by Epstein as president. That day [[Cecile de Jongh]] asked Epstein to match 15,000 dollars she had raised for the governor's State of the Territory reception, and an hour later emailed Epstein's accountant [[Richard Kahn]]: "Hi Rich, Can you please prepare a check for $15,000 made payable to Governor's Special Events Fund." Bryan had also signed the 2012 amendment to Financial Trust Company's certificate, and was elected governor in 2018.[^4][^6]
To qualify, Southern Trust represented that it would operate a consulting service mining DNA and financial data for a global clientele, a database that, according to the application, would let pharmaceutical companies and physicians use Epstein's mathematical models to test drug protocols. The Economic Development Commission program conditions large tax reductions on a beneficiary maintaining a qualifying business and meeting employment and investment requirements in the territory. The Virgin Islands later alleged that the company never built or operated the represented informatics business.[^1][^3]
To qualify, Southern Trust represented that it would operate a consulting service mining DNA and financial data for a global clientele, a database that, according to the application, would let pharmaceutical companies and physicians use Epstein's mathematical models to test drug protocols. The Economic Development Commission program conditions large tax reductions on a beneficiary maintaining a qualifying business and meeting employment and investment requirements in the territory. The Virgin Islands later alleged that the company never built or operated the represented informatics business.[^2][^5]
The complaint and JPMorgan's later filings alleged that Southern Trust instead functioned as a conduit, processing payments to foreign women, covering credit cards, aircraft, and other instrumentalities, and compensating personnel within Epstein's network of entities. The same filings alleged that Epstein associates, including the office manager [[Cecile de Jongh]], wife of then-governor [[John de Jongh]], were employed by the company and worked to keep it in compliance so the benefits continued.[^1][^4]
The complaint and JPMorgan's later filings alleged that Southern Trust instead functioned as a conduit, processing payments to foreign women, covering credit cards, aircraft, and other instrumentalities, and compensating personnel within Epstein's network of entities. The same filings alleged that Epstein associates, including the office manager Cecile de Jongh, wife of then-governor John de Jongh, were employed by the company and worked to keep it in compliance so the benefits continued.[^2][^7]
### The Application Fee
The application fee was paid from [[JPMorgan Chase]]. On September 21, 2012 Epstein's bookkeeper [[Harry Beller]] faxed the bank a memorandum directing it to wire 5,000 dollars from Epstein's account through Pacific Coast Banker's Bank to Merchants Commercial Bank in St. Thomas, for further credit to Kellerhals Ferguson LLP, the firm of Erika Kellerhals; Epstein's September 2012 JPMorgan statement records the debit to "Kellerhals Ferguson Llp" with the reference "Southern Trust Company Application Fee."[^8]
### The Carbyne Warrants
In 2019 Southern Trust was a limited partner in SUM (E.B.) Limited Partnership, an Israeli partnership that had invested in Carbyne Ltd., formerly Reporty Ltd., the emergency-response company known as [[Carbyne]], whose chairman was the former Israeli prime minister [[Ehud Barak]]. On February 28, 2019 the partnership's [[Tel Aviv]] lawyer, Tomer Toor, wrote to Darren Indyke and to NJF Capital, the renamed Montilla International Corporation of [[Nicole Junkermann]], that SUM held warrants to buy 61,251 Preferred A shares of Carbyne for 3.5 million dollars, which would raise its stake "from about 13% to about 26.33%, on a fully diluted basis." The limited partners' shares of the exercise price were set at 66.67 percent, or 2.4 million dollars, for "Southern Trust Inc." and 33.33 percent, or 1.2 million dollars, for Montilla, to be wired to the general partner, Ergo (E.B. 2014) Ltd., at [[Bank Leumi]]. On March 7, 2019 Toor confirmed that Southern Trust Company, Inc. had signed the Additional Investment Agreement and transferred its 2.4 million dollar share.[^9]
On March 11, 2019 Toor wrote that the bank was making "requests ... to provide further information and explanation for its own anti money laundry regulations," including a "List of the controlling person(s) of each limited partner, name and his/her citizenship" and a recommendation letter from each partner's transferring bank. Epstein forwarded the request to Barak, who answered the same day: "That's the Israeli banks paranoia after they paid the penalties they've paid to the US authorities for past mistakes. According to our experience it was never leaked out of the banks. Just kept with them as an insurance policy. We have to follow on it. On a minimal but satisfying base."[^10] On March 12 Indyke asked Epstein, "Not sure how to respond. I thought we did not want your name associated with this Investment?" and noted that the transferring bank was "DB," [[Deutsche Bank]]. After Epstein answered "ok," Indyke wrote on March 14: "Am I correct that by your 'ok' you mean that I may confirm that you are the controlling person of the STC?" Epstein replied: "Yes."[^9] The next day Richard Kahn forwarded Epstein Carbyne's 2017 audited statements, its 2018 draft statements and a three-year projection, which Toor had sent "subject to the Partnership's and your consent not to further disclose it to any third party."[^11]
### Staff, Clients and Income
According to the territory's Second Amended Complaint, Southern Trust employed 13 people other than Epstein between 2013 and 2019: 11 in administrative or support roles (six personal, administrative or executive assistants, receptionists or a driver, one office manager, one clerk, and three in accounting or payroll, only one of them a certified public accountant) and a single network administrator, with a second added in 2019. The network administrator, reported as a Virgin Islands resident, held a Florida driver's license with a Miami address and "appears, in fact, to have served as Epstein's driver and picked up luggage and cargo from Epstein's private planes." An executive assistant lived in a building at 301 East 66th Street in Manhattan whose units Epstein's address book listed as "Apt. for models." A person Kahn had described to a bank as an interior designer and as a dentist was on the payroll in 2019. The company told the commission it employed only Virgin Islands residents.[^1]
"Southern Trust company does not appear to have had any clients and performed no visible informatics services. According to financial records, it held no investments for others," the territory alleged. It nonetheless reported net income of 50.3 million dollars in 2013, 67.5 million dollars in 2014, 52.8 million dollars in 2015, 4.8 million dollars in 2016 and 17.1 million dollars in 2017, and revenues of about 184 million dollars over those five years, and "the main source of funds for the Epstein Enterprise came from Southern Trust." Kahn, as treasurer, ran its accounting and tax reporting; [[Darren Indyke]] was signatory on its primary account and authorized most of the wires out of it to Epstein's other entities and personal accounts. For 2013 through 2017 the company received tax exemptions of 73.6 million dollars and, after electing S-corporation status that passed its income to Epstein as sole shareholder, Epstein's own income-tax exemption came to 71.3 million dollars; including gross-receipts taxes, the territory estimated he avoided 80,576,236 dollars. The complaint concluded that the company "existed to secure tax benefits for Epstein, to employ individuals associated with the Epstein Enterprise, and to provide a source of income to support his criminal activities and properties in the Virgin Islands."[^1]
### The Single Source
The complaint stated that "virtually all of Southern Trust Company's income came from a single source (including related entities)," which "paid $158 million to Defendant Southern Trust Company from 2013 to 2017, which constitutes 85% of the total revenues reported," and that the funds "appear to have not been used to pay for informatics or datamining services." The complaint does not name the source.[^1]
The review of [[Leon Black]]'s dealings with Epstein that the law firm [[Dechert]] prepared for [[Apollo Global Management]] in January 2021 found that Black signed a written service agreement with "Southern Trust Company, Inc., an Epstein affiliate" on February 13, 2013, paying 15 million dollars on February 15, 2013 and 8.5 million dollars on October 15, 2013 into Southern Trust for work on a 2006 grantor retained annuity trust. Black's payments to Epstein then totaled 50 million dollars in 2013, 70 million dollars in 2014 and 30 million dollars in 2015, nothing in 2016, and a final 8 million dollars in April 2017, 158 million dollars in all; Epstein had told Black the payments would be tax deductible. Southern Trust's reported net income for the same years was 50.3, 67.5, 52.8, 4.8 and 17.1 million dollars. In early 2017 Black also lent Epstein 22.5 million dollars and 8 million dollars through BV70 LLC to Plan D LLC, an Epstein company later named as a defendant in the territory's suit; Epstein repaid part in 2018. Dechert reported no evidence that Black paid Epstein for anything other than "legitimate advice" and found that the value Epstein's advice conferred on Black was more than 1 billion dollars. The same review found that Financial Trust Company bought 263,257 Apollo shares in the firm's 2011 initial public offering, which appear to have been transferred in 2013 to Southern Financial LLC, an Epstein company registered in the Virgin Islands on February 25, 2013, and held through at least September 2019. Black paid the territory 62.5 million dollars in January 2023 to resolve potential Epstein-related claims, without any admission of liability, in a settlement countersigned by Acting Attorney General [[Carol Thomas-Jacobs]], whom Bryan had appointed after removing George at the end of December 2022.[^1][^12][^13][^14]
### Disclosure and Nondisclosure
When the Attorney General amended her complaint in February 2020, the Virgin Islands Daily News reported that the estate could be ordered to repay more than 144 million dollars in tax exemptions; the settlement later fixed the Southern Trust figure at about 80 million dollars. The Economic Development Authority's assistant chief executive, [[Wayne Biggs Jr.]], said the commission evaluated Epstein's application "on its merits," that he could not speculate whether privacy or tax incentives drew Epstein to the territory, and that Epstein "was in the program before he was convicted of any sex crimes under Financial Trust. And he changed from Financial Trust to Southern Trust." Authority officials declined to disclose the annual tax breaks of any of the commission's 72 beneficiary companies. Epstein owned half of [[American Yacht Harbor]] in Red Hook, where Southern Trust kept its office, and the marina was still receiving commission benefits in 2020.[^4]
### The Fraud Allegation and the Settlement
The January 2020 complaint, brought in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands as Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein under the territory's Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, alleged that Southern Trust fraudulently obtained its tax benefits by misrepresenting its business to the Economic Development Authority. The Attorney General amended the action to add the estate co-executors [[Darren Indyke]] and [[Richard Kahn]], Southern Trust Company, and other Epstein-created entities as co-defendants.[^2][^5]
The January 2020 complaint, brought in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands as [[Government of the United States Virgin Islands]] v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein under the territory's Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, alleged that Southern Trust fraudulently obtained its tax benefits by misrepresenting its business to the Economic Development Authority. The Attorney General amended the action to add the estate co-executors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, Southern Trust Company, and other Epstein-created entities as co-defendants. The territory alleged that the two men "were deeply involved in the financial activities of the Epstein-owned entities, including those of Defendant Southern Trust Company," and that they served on its board with Epstein; both have denied knowing of Epstein's crimes.[^1][^3][^15]
On December 1, 2022 the territory announced a settlement with the Epstein estate for more than 105 million dollars in cash, plus half the proceeds of the sale of [[Little St. James]] and a payment of 450,000 dollars for environmental remediation at [[Great St. James]]. The settlement required the estate to return more than 80 million dollars in tax benefits that the territory said Southern Trust had obtained fraudulently to fund Epstein's criminal activity. The Attorney General Denise George stated that the settlement restored the faith of the people of the Virgin Islands that its laws would be enforced against those who break them.[^2][^6]
On December 1, 2022 the territory announced a settlement with the Epstein estate for more than 105 million dollars in cash, plus half the proceeds of the sale of [[Little St. James]] and a payment of 450,000 dollars for environmental remediation at [[Great St. James]]. The settlement required the estate to return more than 80 million dollars in tax benefits that the territory said Southern Trust had obtained fraudulently to fund Epstein's criminal activity. The Attorney General Denise George stated that the settlement restored the faith of the people of the Virgin Islands that its laws would be enforced against those who break them.[^3][^16]
The entity figured again in the territory's separate December 2022 suit against [[JPMorgan Chase]], which alleged that the bank serviced the Epstein network of companies, including Southern Trust and Financial Trust, while ignoring evidence of trafficking. That case settled in September 2023 for 75 million dollars to the Virgin Islands, and the bank separately paid 290 million dollars to Epstein's victims. The tax benefits at issue were scheduled to expire on January 31, 2023, the same period in which the territory's enforcement actions concluded.[^4][^6]
The entity figured again in the territory's separate December 2022 suit against JPMorgan Chase, which alleged that the bank serviced the Epstein network of companies, including Southern Trust and Financial Trust, while ignoring evidence of trafficking. That case settled in September 2023 for 75 million dollars to the Virgin Islands, and the bank separately paid 290 million dollars to Epstein's victims. The tax benefits at issue were scheduled to expire on January 31, 2023, the same period in which the territory's enforcement actions concluded.[^7][^16]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "U.S.V.I. Sues JPMorgan Chase for Facilitating Epstein Trafficking." *Tax Notes* (reproducing the complaint), December 2022; Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904 (S.D.N.Y. 2022).
[^2]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate of Jeffrey Epstein and Co-Defendants for Over $105 Million." *Government of the 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/
[^3]: "JPMorgan: EDA had 'little to no diligence' over Epstein tax benefits." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* 2023. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/jpmorgan-eda-had-little-to-no-diligence-over-epstein-tax-benefits/article_1fe46263-1561-5ec7-b5c7-c395bdc91665.html
[^4]: "JPMorgan alleges wife of U.S. Virgin Islands' ex-governor aided Jeffrey Epstein's criminal activity." *NBC News,* May 24, 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jpmorgan-alleges-ex-virgin-islands-first-lady-aided-jeffrey-epstein-rcna86365
[^5]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct., filed January 15, 2020), brought under the Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 14 V.I.C. sections 600 to 614.
[^6]: "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 ; "Epstein Estate to Pay U.S. Virgin Islands Over $105 Million." *Rolling Stone,* November 30, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/jeffrey-epstein-estate-virgin-islands-settlement-1234639327/
[^1]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Darren K. Indyke et al., No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint (filed November 30, 2022), paragraphs 76, 137 to 141, 157 to 176; reproduced as ECF No. 1-1 in Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y., filed December 27, 2022), ECF pp. 17, 29 to 30, 33 to 37. https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/001-01.pdf
[^2]: "U.S.V.I. Sues JPMorgan Chase for Facilitating Epstein Trafficking." *Tax Notes* (reproducing the complaint), December 2022; Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904 (S.D.N.Y. 2022).
[^3]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate of Jeffrey Epstein and Co-Defendants for Over $105 Million." *Government of the 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/
[^4]: Suzanne Carlson, "Epstein estate could be ordered to repay more than $144 million in tax breaks," *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 13, 2020, reproduced as Exhibit 36, ECF No. 158-36 (filed May 23, 2023), in No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/epstein-estate-could-be-ordered-to-repay-more-than-144-million-in-tax-breaks/article_b84d9710-14af-5e69-a890-bcf8265cf8f9.html
[^5]: "JPMorgan: EDA had 'little to no diligence' over Epstein tax benefits." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* 2023. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/jpmorgan-eda-had-little-to-no-diligence-over-epstein-tax-benefits/article_1fe46263-1561-5ec7-b5c7-c395bdc91665.html
[^6]: "V.I. Officials Enabled Epstein to Act With Impunity, JPMorgan Alleges in Latest Salvo," *St. Thomas Source,* June 16, 2023, on the January 24, 2014 certificate and same-day emails. https://web.archive.org/web/20240721172424/https://stthomassource.com/content/2023/06/16/v-i-officials-enabled-epstein-to-act-with-impunity-jpmorgan-alleges-in-latest-salvo/
[^7]: "JPMorgan alleges wife of U.S. Virgin Islands' ex-governor aided Jeffrey Epstein's criminal activity." *NBC News,* May 24, 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jpmorgan-alleges-ex-virgin-islands-first-lady-aided-jeffrey-epstein-rcna86365
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01580553, DataSet 10, memorandum from Harry Beller to JPMorgan wire desk, September 21, 2012 (JPM-SDNY-00059908); EFTA01483636, DataSet 10, JPMorgan statement for Jeffrey E. Epstein, September 1-28, 2012 (JPM-SDNY-00004812). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01580553.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01483636.pdf
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02634615, DataSet 11, email chain "Carbyne warrants" among Tomer Toor, NJF Capital, Darren Indyke and Jeffrey Epstein, February 28 to March 14, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02634615.pdf
[^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02632339, DataSet 11, email from Ehud Barak to Jeffrey Epstein, "Re: Carbyne warrants," March 11, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02632339.pdf
[^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01035810, DataSet 9, email from Richard Kahn to Jeffrey Epstein, "Fwd: Carbyne," March 15, 2019; EFTA02636176, DataSet 11, email from Jeffrey Epstein to Richard Kahn, "Re: CARBYNE," March 27, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01035810.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02636176.pdf
[^12]: Dechert LLP, Memorandum to the Apollo Conflicts Committee, "Investigation of Epstein/Black Relationship and Any Relationship Between Epstein and Apollo Global Management, Inc.," January 22, 2021, pp. 3 to 5, 16 to 17 and note 11, filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Apollo Global Management, Inc., Form 8-K (January 25, 2021). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex991.htm
[^13]: "Billionaire Leon Black paid $62.5m to exit US Virgin Islands investigation over links to Jeffrey Epstein," *AOL / Agence France-Presse,* 2023, https://www.aol.com/billionaire-leon-black-paid-62-002414707.html ; "USVI Attorney General Denise N. George fired," *Virgin Islands News Online,* January 2023, https://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/usvi-attorney-general-denise-n-george-fired/
[^14]: Settlement Agreement and Release between the Government of the United States Virgin Islands and Leon Black, executed January 20, 2023 (as published by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance). https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/usvi_black_settlement_agreement_-_executedpdf.pdf
[^15]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct., filed January 15, 2020), brought under the Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 14 V.I.C. sections 600 to 614.
[^16]: "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 ; "Epstein Estate to Pay U.S. Virgin Islands Over $105 Million." *Rolling Stone,* November 30, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/jeffrey-epstein-estate-virgin-islands-settlement-1234639327/

85
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Towers Financial Corporation.md
View file

@ -1,39 +1,90 @@
---
category: "Private Organization"
tags: [Organization, TowersFinancial, StevenHoffenberg, JeffreyEpstein, PonziScheme, SEC, Fraud, Finance]
alias: ["Towers Financial", "TFC"]
summary: "Manhattan debt-collection and securities firm run by Steven Hoffenberg that collapsed in 1993 and was prosecuted as a roughly 475 million dollar Ponzi scheme, with Jeffrey Epstein documented as a consultant."
tags:
- Organization
- TowersFinancial
- StevenHoffenberg
- JeffreyEpstein
- PonziScheme
- SEC
- Fraud
- Finance
alias:
- Towers Financial
- Towers Financial Corp.
- TFC
summary: "Manhattan debt-collection firm run by Steven Hoffenberg that collapsed in 1993 as a Ponzi scheme with 475 million dollars in investor losses, and that employed Jeffrey Epstein as a consultant."
location: New York, New York
created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-09-25
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[Steven Hoffenberg]]"
reverse: true
start: 1975
end: 1993-04
role: "chief executive officer"
fn: 1
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
start: 1987
role: "consultant at 25,000 dollars a month"
fn: 4
- type: owned
with: "[[United Diversified Corporation]]"
start: 1987
role: "controlling interest"
fn: 1
- type: investigated
with: "[[Securities and Exchange Commission]]"
reverse: true
start: 1993-02
fn: 2
---
Towers Financial Corporation was a debt-collection and securities firm based in Manhattan and controlled by [[Steven Hoffenberg]]. Between roughly 1988 and 1993 it sold promissory notes and bonds to thousands of investors while operating as a Ponzi scheme, and it collapsed in 1993 following action by the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]]. [[Jeffrey Epstein]] worked at the firm as a consultant during this period.
Towers Financial Corporation was a debt-collection and securities firm based in Manhattan and controlled by [[Steven Hoffenberg]], its chief executive from 1975 to April 1993. Between 1988 and 1993 it sold promissory notes and bonds to thousands of investors while operating as a Ponzi scheme, and it collapsed in 1993 following action by the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]]. The Bankruptcy Court fixed the valid claims of its noteholders and bondholders at 475,157,340 dollars. [[Jeffrey Epstein]] worked at the firm as a consultant from 1987, was never charged, and was later accused by Hoffenberg and by Towers investors of having helped design the fraud and of using its proceeds to start his own companies.[^1][^2]
### Business Model
Towers Financial grew out of a debt-collection enterprise Steven Hoffenberg started in New York in the 1970s, reportedly from a small initial investment, that bought delinquent accounts at steep discounts and pursued the full balances.[^4] The firm presented itself as a debt-collection company that purchased portfolios of distressed receivables, paying a small fraction of face value for debts that sellers regarded as largely uncollectible.[^1] The receivables included money owed to hospitals, banks and telephone companies, and the company described an expanding base of healthcare and commercial debt that, it claimed, drove annual revenues toward one billion dollars by 1993.[^1]
Towers Financial grew out of a debt-collection enterprise Steven Hoffenberg started in New York in the 1970s, reportedly from a small initial investment, that bought delinquent accounts at steep discounts and pursued the full balances.[^3] The firm presented itself as a debt-collection company that purchased portfolios of distressed receivables, paying a small fraction of face value for debts that sellers regarded as largely uncollectible; Vanity Fair described it as "a collection agency that was supposed to buy debts that people owed to hospitals, banks, and phone companies."[^4] According to Hoffenberg's 2018 affidavit, its subsidiaries included Towers Credit Corporation, which bought and collected commercial receivables, Towers Collection Services, Inc., which collected past-due accounts for third parties on contingency, and Towers Healthcare Receivables Funding Corporations I through V, which issued bonds and factored healthcare receivables.[^1]
To finance these operations the company raised capital from investors by issuing unsecured promissory notes and other securities, marketing them as backed by the receivables portfolios.[^2] In practice, prosecutors and regulators later found, the represented collateral and returns were not supported by the firm's actual collections.[^2]
To finance these operations the company raised capital from investors by issuing unsecured promissory notes and other securities, marketing them as backed by the receivables portfolios.[^5] In practice, prosecutors and regulators later found, the represented collateral and returns were not supported by the firm's actual collections.[^5] The SEC alleged that offering documents "significantly overstated Towers' revenues from its collection business" and "misleadingly described the promissory notes as insured and fully collateralized," and that "bogus documents and testimony were being provided to the Commission at a time when the promissory notes were being sold."[^2] The Towers investors' 2018 complaint put the notes sold under six private placement memoranda from January 1988 to March 1992 at about 272 million dollars and the bonds sold under five memoranda from July 1990 to May 1992 at about 210 million dollars.[^1] Terrence Corrigan, a lawyer for the investors' recovery committee, likened the operation to the film "The Sting": executives courted investors in a wood-paneled boardroom before touring them through the operating floor below, where staff were told by telephone to look busy. "It was a pure Ponzi scheme right from the inception," he said.[^6]
Towers also acquired two Illinois insurance companies, United Fire Insurance Co. and Associated Life Insurance Co., in 1987, which served as additional funding sources for the firm and for attempted corporate takeovers.[^3] The [[Illinois Department of Insurance]], then directed by [[James Schacht]], later moved the insurers into liquidation and brought a 1991 civil suit alleging their accounts had been drained, naming Jeffrey Epstein in connection with checks drawn on the United Fire and United Diversified accounts.[^3]
In 1987 Towers acquired a controlling interest in [[United Diversified Corporation]], which operated through two failing Illinois insurance companies, United Fire Insurance Co. and Associated Life Insurance Co.; the insurers served as additional funding sources for the firm and for attempted corporate takeovers.[^1][^6] Regulatory approval was obtained on a promise to put 3 million dollars of new capital into United Fire. Hoffenberg, in grand jury testimony in Illinois in 1993 and in his 2018 affidavit, attributed that representation and the plan behind it to Epstein.[^1][^4] The [[Illinois Department of Insurance]], then directed by [[James Schacht]], later moved the insurers into liquidation and brought a 1991 civil suit alleging their accounts had been drained, naming Jeffrey Epstein in connection with checks drawn on the United Fire and United Diversified accounts.[^6]
### The Ponzi Scheme
Money raised from new investors was used to pay returns and redemptions to earlier investors rather than generated by legitimate debt collection, the defining structure of a Ponzi scheme.[^1] Steven Hoffenberg diverted proceeds to personal expenditures and to attempted corporate acquisitions, and the firm's reported revenues and asset values were inflated.[^2] The fraud drew in thousands of noteholders and bondholders, who later pursued recovery through litigation that named the firm's accountants and other professionals as defendants.[^1]
Money raised from new investors was used to pay returns and redemptions to earlier investors rather than generated by legitimate debt collection, the defining structure of a Ponzi scheme; the SEC alleged the proceeds "had been squandered on Towers' bloated operating expenses and perpetuating the fraudulent scheme."[^2] Steven Hoffenberg diverted proceeds to personal expenditures and to attempted corporate acquisitions, including, according to Vanity Fair, a mansion on Long Island, homes on Sutton Place and in Florida, and a fleet of cars and planes, and the firm's reported revenues and asset values were inflated.[^4][^5] The fraud drew in thousands of noteholders and bondholders, who brought about 100 lawsuits against Hoffenberg and Towers beginning as early as 1989.[^7]
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Towers Financial in February 1993, and in March 1993 the company filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.[^2] A receivership was established to recover assets for defrauded investors, and the matter became one of the largest financial frauds in the United States before that of [[Bernard Madoff]].[^1] Hoffenberg pleaded guilty in April 1995 to five criminal charges of defrauding investors of roughly 462 to 475 million dollars and was sentenced in 1997 by Judge [[Robert W. Sweet]] to 20 years in prison, a one million dollar fine and roughly 463 million dollars in restitution; he settled a related SEC civil suit for 60 million dollars and was released in 2013 after about 18 years.[^2]
### Enforcement and Prosecution
The attempted corporate takeovers drove much of the cash drain. In 1988 Hoffenberg used Towers and the captive Illinois insurers to mount unsuccessful bids for [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] and [[Emery Air Freight]], deploying Jeffrey Epstein as a financial adviser on the financing.[^3] The Pan Am effort collapsed amid the airline's broader decline following the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, and the failed raids left the insurers depleted and accelerated regulatory scrutiny of Towers.[^3]
The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Towers, Hoffenberg, the chief operating officer [[Mitchell Brater]] and [[Arthur J. Ferro]] in February 1993 (SEC v. Towers Financial Corporation, 93 Civ. 0744 (WK), S.D.N.Y., before Judge [[Whitman Knapp]]), and in March 1993 the company filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (In re Towers Financial Corporation, No. 93-B41558). The Commission later sued Marvin E. Basson and Charles H. Chugerman in 1994, obtained a consent judgment against Hoffenberg, and in September 1996 charged [[Michael Rosoff]], Towers's chief legal officer since 1980, with participating in the fraudulent note sales. The SEC regional director whose office brought the charges, Richard Walker, declined to discuss the case in 2019.[^1][^2][^5][^6] Corrigan turned his committee's investigation over to the SEC, whose charges did not involve Epstein.[^6] The matter became one of the largest financial frauds in the [[United States]] before that of [[Bernard Madoff]].[^6]
Hoffenberg was indicted in the Northern District of Illinois on April 19, 1994 and in the Southern District of New York on April 20, 1994; the Illinois case was transferred to New York in April 1995. He pleaded guilty on April 20, 1995 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and tax evasion (United States v. Hoffenberg, 94 Cr. 213 (RWS) and 95 Cr. 321 (RWS)). Judge [[Robert W. Sweet]] issued his sentencing opinion on March 4, 1997 and entered judgment on March 7, 1997: 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a one million dollar fine and restitution of 475,157,340 dollars, the figure the Bankruptcy Court had fixed in April 1996 as the valid claims of the noteholders and bondholders, which with interest the investors put at about one billion dollars by 2018. Brater and Rosoff received prison sentences of seven to nine years. Hoffenberg was released from federal custody on October 11, 2013.[^1][^5][^6][^8] The 1993 prosecution was led by Daniel Nardello, who went into private practice soon afterward.[^6]
The attempted corporate takeovers drove much of the cash drain. Beginning in November 1987 Hoffenberg used Towers and the captive Illinois insurers to mount unsuccessful bids for [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] and, in 1988, [[Emery Air Freight]], deploying Jeffrey Epstein as a financial adviser on the financing; a 1987 Towers press release said Towers would use 3 million dollars from United Diversified toward the Pan Am bid.[^4][^6] The Pan Am effort collapsed amid the airline's broader decline following the December 1988 bombing of [[Pan Am Flight 103]] over Lockerbie, and the failed raids left the insurers depleted and accelerated regulatory scrutiny of Towers.[^6] The Illinois Department of Insurance liquidated the insurers and sued Hoffenberg in 1991; he settled. The regulators' lawyer, Barry Gross, said of Epstein: "He was very elusive... It was hard to really track him down. There were a substantial number of checks for significant dollars that were paid to him, I remember... we presumed that he was involved with the Pan Am and Emery run that Hoffenberg made, but we never got a chance to depose him."[^4]
### Epstein's Role
Jeffrey Epstein was hired as a consultant around 1987, with reporting citing compensation of about 25,000 dollars per month and a 1988 two million dollar non-repayable loan, and the firm gave him offices at the [[Villard Houses]] in Manhattan.[^3] At the time Epstein operated his own consulting firm, [[International Assets Group]], from his New York apartment after leaving [[Bear Stearns]], and a Towers attorney confirmed his work at the firm and recalled drafting a consulting agreement.[^3] A company press release listed Epstein as "chairman of the board of directors of Intercontinental Asset Group" in the Pan Am financing, and court filings referenced checks payable to "Jeff Epstein" or "Jeff Epstein & Co." totaling about 215,000 dollars drawn on the insurance-company accounts.[^3]
Jeffrey Epstein was hired as a consultant around 1987, with reporting citing compensation of about 25,000 dollars per month and a 1988 two million dollar non-repayable loan, and the firm gave him offices at the [[Villard Houses]] in Manhattan.[^4][^6] Towers's financial statements for 1988 showed a separate 400,000 dollar loan to Epstein in the year he invested 1.6 million dollars in [[Riddell Sports]]; Epstein disputed the accuracy of the Towers reports.[^4] At the time Epstein operated his own consulting firm, [[International Assets Group]], from his New York apartment after leaving [[Bear Stearns]], and a Towers attorney confirmed his work at the firm and recalled drafting a consulting agreement.[^6] A 1987 company press release listed Epstein as "chairman of the board of directors of Intercontinental Asset Group" in the Pan Am financing, and the 1991 Illinois suit listed among improper disbursements "a series of checks payable to Jeff Epstein or [[J. Epstein & Co.|Jeff Epstein & Co.]] totaling $215,000" drawn on the insurance-company accounts.[^6]
The extent of Epstein's involvement in the fraud is disputed. Steven Hoffenberg later claimed Epstein was a co-architect of the scheme and his "partner in what we did raising the billion dollars," and [[Terrence Corrigan]], a lawyer for an investor-recovery committee, said Epstein appeared on organizational charts as potentially the second or third most senior figure at the firm.[^3] The 1991 Illinois Department of Insurance suit alleged Epstein manipulated Emery stock through multiple brokerage accounts he controlled and traded without a broker's license.[^3] Epstein left Towers before its collapse, was never charged in connection with the fraud, and investigators said no concrete evidence directly tied him to the criminal conspiracy.[^3]
The extent of Epstein's involvement in the fraud is disputed. Hoffenberg told an Illinois grand jury in 1993 that Epstein devised the idea of financing the Pan Am and Emery bids through the insurers, that he, Brater and Epstein arranged to use 3 million dollars of the insurers' bonds as collateral to buy the stock while reporting them as safely invested, and that "Epstein was the person in charge of the transactions." United Fire's former chief financial officer, Daniel Payton, recalled asking Epstein about the missing bonds: "He said, 'Oh, yeah, they still exist.' But we found out later that he had sold those assets." Its former treasurer, Richard Allen, recalled Epstein saying "We'll get them back"; "They never came back." In a 1989 deposition Epstein said he executed "all" of Hoffenberg's instructions to buy and sell the stock, which he called "making the orders." Epstein denied any dealings with the insurance companies and said he was merely asked how the bids could be accomplished, and Vanity Fair noted that much of Hoffenberg's testimony in his criminal case "has proven to be false."[^4] Steven Hoffenberg later called Epstein his "partner in what we did raising the billion dollars," and [[Terrence Corrigan]] said Epstein appeared on organizational charts as potentially the second or third most senior figure at the firm and that "I don't think there was anyone who worked for the company who didn't understand it was a fraud the whole time, from the secretary up to Hoffenberg." The bankruptcy trustee, Alan Cohen, four defense lawyers for Towers executives, and Hoffenberg's criminal defense lawyer [[Ira Sorkin]] told CBS News they did not recall Epstein.[^6] The 1991 Illinois Department of Insurance suit alleged Epstein manipulated Emery stock through multiple brokerage accounts he controlled and traded without a broker's license.[^6] Epstein left Towers before its collapse and was never charged in connection with the fraud; Corrigan said that by the time investigators arrived, "Epstein was either gone or on his way out."[^6]
David Lewis, who represented Brater, said in 2003 that "from the government's discovery in the main sentencing against Hoffenberg it would seem the government was perhaps a bit lazy. They went for what they knew they could get ... and that was the fraudulent promissory notes... What they couldn't get, they didn't bother with."[^4] Hoffenberg swore in 2018 that "during the course of my criminal trial, Prosecutors offered me a reduced sentence in exchange for information about Epstein's role," and that he refused. His lawyer [[Gary Baise]] told CBS News that Sweet had asked him, "Why did he not give up Epstein?"; Epstein's lawyers wrote in 2016 that at a December 2013 conference "Judge Sweet stated he was unaware of Epstein."[^1][^6][^7]
### Suits Against Epstein
After his release Hoffenberg pursued Epstein and Epstein's companies in court on behalf of the Towers victims. A June 11, 2015 verified petition in his criminal case named Epstein as an unindicted co-conspirator. On May 27, 2016 he sued Epstein and [[Financial Trust Company]] as self-described "constructive trustee of the Noteholders and Bondholders of Towers Financial Corporation"; after Epstein's counsel at [[Troutman Sanders]] announced a motion to dismiss for lack of standing, limitations, in pari delicto and failure to state a claim, Hoffenberg withdrew the suit with prejudice, and Judge [[Richard J. Sullivan]] dismissed it on July 5, 2016. On August 20, 2018 two Towers noteholders, Marvin Gerber and Kalma Koenig, filed a class action against Epstein and Financial Trust alleging that Epstein "raised over five hundred million dollars" for the scheme and used its proceeds "to start and grow" Financial Trust; it was terminated on October 5, 2018 after Epstein's lawyers moved to dismiss and threatened sanctions, the plaintiffs preserving the right to refile.[^1][^7][^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Litigation Release: SEC v. Towers Financial Corporation, et al.," *U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,* summarizing the scheme and receivership. https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/litreleases/lr15053.txt
[^2]: "Jeffrey Epstein's mentor, who once ran a Ponzi scheme, was found dead," *NPR,* 2022, summarizing the Towers collapse, SEC action and sentencing. https://www.npr.org/2022/08/26/1119746511/jeffrey-epstein-mentor-steven-hoffenberg-dead
[^3]: "Jeffrey Epstein worked at Towers Financial with Steven Hoffenberg, who committed Ponzi scheme crimes," *CBS News,* 2019. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-worked-at-towers-financial-with-stephen-hoffenberg-who-committed-ponzi-scheme-crimes/
[^4]: "Steven Hoffenberg: Who is the former Epstein associate and New York Post owner?," *Yahoo News,* 2019, on the 1970s debt-collection origins and the firm's early model. https://www.yahoo.com/news/steven-hoffenberg-former-epstein-associate-230443969.html
[^1]: Marvin Gerber and Kalma Koenig v. The Financial Trust Company, XYZ Corp., ABC, Inc., and Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO (S.D.N.Y.), Complaint, ECF No. 7 (filed August 21, 2018), paragraphs 15 to 58 and footnotes 4 to 7 (citing United States v. Hoffenberg, 94 Cr. 213 (RWS), 95 Cr. 321 (RWS), 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2394 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 4, 1997), and In re Towers Financial Corporation, No. 93-B41558 (PBA) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.)), with Exhibit B, Affidavit of Steven J. Hoffenberg sworn August 17, 2018, ECF No. 7-2. https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Gerber-v-The-Financial-Trust-Co-complaint.pdf
[^2]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 15053, SEC v. Michael Rosoff, 96 Civ. 7064 (WK) (S.D.N.Y.), September 17, 1996, cross-referencing Litigation Release No. 13514 (SEC v. Towers Financial Corporation, Steven Hoffenberg, Mitchell Brater, and Arthur J. Ferro, 93 Civ. 0744 (WK) (S.D.N.Y.), February 1993), Litigation Release No. 13550 (amended complaint), Litigation Release Nos. 14240 and 14246 (SEC v. Marvin E. Basson; SEC v. Charles H. Chugerman, 94 Civ. 6866 (WK)), Litigation Release No. 14317 (consent judgment against Hoffenberg) and News Release No. 94-09. Releases 13514 and 13550 are not posted on the SEC website. https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/litreleases/lr15053.txt
[^3]: "Steven Hoffenberg: Who is the former Epstein associate and New York Post owner?," *Yahoo News,* 2019, on the 1970s debt-collection origins and the firm's early model. https://www.yahoo.com/news/steven-hoffenberg-former-epstein-associate-230443969.html
[^4]: Vicky Ward, "The Talented Mr. Epstein," *Vanity Fair,* March 2003, as republished by the author, on Towers's business, Hoffenberg's 1993 Illinois grand jury testimony, the Payton, Allen, Gross and Lewis accounts, Epstein's 1989 deposition and denials, the 25,000 dollar monthly fee and Villard House offices, and the 1988 Riddell investment and Towers loan. https://vickyward.com/article/the-talented-mr-epstein/
[^5]: Associated Press, "Jeffrey Epstein's mentor, who once ran a Ponzi scheme, was found dead. He was 77," *NPR,* August 26, 2022, summarizing the Towers collapse, SEC action and sentencing. https://www.npr.org/2022/08/26/1119746511/jeffrey-epstein-mentor-steven-hoffenberg-dead
[^6]: Brian Pascus, "Jeffrey Epstein worked at Towers Financial with Steven Hoffenberg, who committed Ponzi scheme crimes," *CBS News,* August 13, 2019. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-worked-at-towers-financial-with-stephen-hoffenberg-who-committed-ponzi-scheme-crimes/
[^7]: Letter of Bennet J. Moskowitz, Troutman Sanders LLP, counsel for Jeffrey E. Epstein and The Financial Trust Company, to Hon. Richard J. Sullivan, June 28, 2016, Hoffenberg v. Epstein, No. 1:16-cv-03989-RJS (S.D.N.Y.), including footnote 4 citing 94-cr-213, ECF No. 150; filed as Exhibit G, ECF No. 16-7, in No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO. Order of Judge Richard J. Sullivan dismissing Hoffenberg v. Epstein with prejudice, July 5, 2016, filed as Exhibit I, ECF No. 16-9. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593.16.7.pdf ; https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593.16.9.pdf
[^8]: Transcript of conference, United States v. Steven Hoffenberg, 94 Cr. 213 (RWS) (S.D.N.Y.), December 5, 2013, before Judge Robert W. Sweet (judgment entered March 7, 1997; release October 11, 2013), filed as Exhibit L, ECF No. 16-12, in No. 1:18-cv-07580-JPO. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593/gov.uscourts.nysd.499593.16.12.pdf
[^9]: Gerber v. The Financial Trust Company, No. 1:18-cv-07580 (S.D.N.Y.), docket (filed August 20, 2018; terminated October 5, 2018; Judge J. Paul Oetken), https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7698990/gerber-v-the-financial-trust-company/ ; Joseph N. DiStefano, "Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's old boss says he knows where the mystery millions came from," *Philadelphia Inquirer,* July 11, 2019, https://www.inquirer.com/business/jeffrey-epstein-hoffenberg-trump-clinton-20190711.html