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---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- BardCollege
- HigherEducation
- LeonBotstein
- JeffreyEpstein
- GratitudeAmerica
- SmolnyCollege
- WilmerHale
alias:
- Bard
- St. Stephen's College
summary: "Liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, founded in 1860, whose president Leon Botstein cultivated Jeffrey Epstein as a donor after his conviction and retired in 2026 after a WilmerHale review."
start: 1860
location: "Annandale-on-Hudson, New York"
relations:
- type: investigated
with: "[[WilmerHale]]"
reverse: true
role: "review of President Botstein's relationship with Epstein, retained by the board of trustees"
start: 2026-02
end: 2026-04-30
fn: 4
- type: founded
with: "[[John Bard]]"
reverse: true
role: "co-founder of St. Stephen's College, with Margaret Johnston Bard"
start: 1860
fn: 1
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
Bard College is a private liberal arts college in [[Annandale-on-Hudson, New York|Annandale-on-Hudson]], [[New York]], founded in 1860 as St. Stephen's College. [[Leon Botstein]], its president from 1975 until June 30, 2026, built it into a network of affiliated institutes, early colleges and programs. From 2011, three years after [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s Florida guilty plea, Botstein pursued Epstein as a donor; Epstein gave the college money and laptops, visited the campus by helicopter, and in 2016 his charity [[Gratitude America]] paid Botstein 150,000 dollars. A review by [[WilmerHale]] for the trustees found in April 2026 that Botstein had "minimized and was not fully accurate in describing his relationship with Epstein," and his retirement was announced the next day.[^1][^2][^3][^4]
### History
St. Stephen's College was established by John Bard and Margaret Johnston Bard "in association with leaders of the Episcopal Church in [[New York City]]," on part of their riverside estate, Annandale, and for its first sixty years prepared young men for the seminary. The college states that both founders' inherited wealth was "implicated in slavery": John Bard's grandfather Samuel Bard owned slaves, his father William Bard was the first president of the [[New York Life Insurance Company]], "which insured enslaved people as property," and Margaret Bard's fortune derived from her father's firm Boorman and Johnston, which traded in goods "produced by enslaved labor." In 1928 St. Stephen's became an undergraduate school of [[Columbia University]]; it took the name Bard in 1934 and ended the Columbia association when it admitted women in 1944. From the mid-1930s the college served as a refuge for émigré scholars and artists, among them [[Hannah Arendt]] and her husband [[Heinrich Blücher]], and in 1956 it took in 325 Hungarian student refugees.[^1]
Botstein became Bard's fourteenth president in 1975. The Bard Center, established in 1978, runs a Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series and the Bard Music Festival, which began in 1990. Bard acquired Simon's Rock, an early college in [[Massachusetts]], in 1979, and opened the first Bard High School Early College in [[Manhattan]] in 2001, followed by campuses in Queens, Newark, [[New Orleans]], Cleveland, Baltimore, Washington and elsewhere. The Bard Prison Initiative brings degree programs into New York State prisons.[^1]
### Epstein as Donor
According to reporting cited by Representative [[Jamie Raskin]] in 2026, Epstein gave Bard 125,000 dollars in several donations in 2011 and 2012 and dozens of laptops for its high school program in 2015, and his foundation's website listed Bard High School Early College among its grant recipients; Botstein had said Epstein's only gifts were a 75,000 dollar gift and 66 laptops. Raskin also wrote that Botstein "apparently knew that a 2014 donation to the college by apparent co-conspirator [[Leon Black]] was made at Mr. Epstein's behest"; Black has denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.[^4]
On December 18, 2012 the president's office arranged Botstein's trip to "Jeffrey's island" in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] by boat, and was told that his passport copy had been forwarded to "Leon Black's office."[^5] On December 15, 2014 a correspondent sent Epstein's accountant [[Richard Kahn]] a contact card, "President Leon Botstein.vcf," under the subject "Leon Botstein/Bard."[^6] On July 25, 2016 the president's executive assistant arranged an Epstein visit to the campus on July 27 for a matinee opera and an early dinner; Bard's head of security wrote, "We are excited and honored to welcome back Mr. Epstein," and said the helicopter landing would be coordinated with Epstein's pilot, [[Larry Visoski]], and the local fire company. Botstein replied "Excellent."[^7]
In 2016 Gratitude America, Ltd., whose operating account was at [[Deutsche Bank]] Trust Company Americas, paid Botstein personally in quarterly checks of 37,500 dollars; one dated August 1, 2016 bore the memo "Leon Botstein, Bard College, 30 Campus Road, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY 12504 - 3rd Quarterly Payment of 4." Deutsche Bank later produced the check images to federal prosecutors in New York. Bard said in May 2023 that the 150,000 dollars was compensation for a one-year term on the foundation's advisory board "as an expert in music" and that Botstein gave it all to the college that year as part of a one million dollar gift.[^8][^9]
In January 2017 the daughter of [[Woody Allen]] and [[Soon-Yi Previn]] wrote to Botstein that Bard was her first choice; he replied that he would pass her sentiments "on to the admissions committee," and Previn forwarded the exchange to Epstein. Allen's household then wrote to Epstein: "I can't thank you enough for getting [her] into Bard ... Thank you for coming through for us." Bard denied that Epstein had any role in the admission.[^4][^10] On March 26, 2018 Epstein wrote to the president's address asking that a Russian woman be put in touch with an adviser about Smolny, and forwarded the reply with the note "he is the president of smolny."[^11]
### The WilmerHale Review
After the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s releases under the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act]], the trustees retained WilmerHale in February 2026 to review Botstein's communications and financial dealings with Epstein. The summary delivered to the trustees on April 30, 2026 recorded 25 visits by Botstein to Epstein's Manhattan townhouse between 2012 and 2019 and a two-day visit to the island, and reported that Epstein twice visited Bard and attended recitals and concerts "accompanied by multiple women who have since been identified as victims of Epstein."[^4] It found that Botstein had disagreed with a senior faculty member who objected to the relationship, having "relied on his view that a person convicted of crimes involving sex with a minor, 'an ordinary sex offender', in his words, could be presumed to be rehabilitated," and quoted him: "I would take money from Satan if it permitted me to do God's work." It concluded that he "did not do anything illegal" but "made decisions in the course of that relationship that reflect on his leadership of Bard."[^3]
On May 1, 2026 the executive committee of the board thanked Botstein "for his five decades of service," said that "concerns raised in recent months have been serious and deeply felt," announced that "Funds associated with Jeffrey Epstein will be directed to organizations that support survivors of sexual harm," and committed the college to "strengthening its policies on donor vetting, fundraising, and conflicts of interest." Bard's media relations office separately called Botstein "a transformative leader with the vision and unwavering commitment that has shaped Bard into the world-class educational institution it is today." He remained on the faculty.[^2][^3]
On June 17, 2026 Raskin, ranking Democrat on the [[House Judiciary Committee]], wrote to the board's chair, [[James Cox Chambers]], that the review was "too narrowly tailored" and that its summary did not mention Smolny, and asked Bard to make Botstein available for a transcribed interview and to produce records on Epstein, Kahn, [[Darren Indyke]], Black, [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] and Gratitude America.[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Bard College, "History." https://www.bard.edu/about/history/
[^2]: Executive Committee, Bard College Board of Trustees, "Message from the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees," May 1, 2026. https://www.bard.edu/news/message-from-the-executive-committee-of-the-board-of-trustees-2026-05-01
[^3]: "Bard College's president to retire after scrutiny of relationship with Jeffrey Epstein." *Associated Press,* via *NPR,* May 2, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/05/02/nx-s1-5808942/bard-college-president-leon-botstein-retire-jeffrey-epstein
[^4]: 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, quoting the WilmerHale memorandum to the Bard trustees of April 30, 2026. 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
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00399132, DataSet 9, email chain between the office of Leon Botstein and Jeffrey Epstein's office, "Jeffrey Epstein," December 18, 2012. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00399132.pdf
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02087019, DataSet 10, email to Richard Kahn, "Re: Leon Botstein/Bard," December 15, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02087019.pdf
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02047292, DataSet 10, email chain "Re: Jeffrey Epstein visit to Bard," July 25, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02047292.pdf
[^8]: 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
[^9]: 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
[^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00710494, DataSet 9, email from Soon-Yi Previn to Jeffrey Epstein forwarding a reply from Leon Botstein, January 10, 2017; EFTA01208496, DataSet 9, extracted iMessage log, January 12, 2017. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00710494.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01208496.pdf
[^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02491562, DataSet 11, email from Jeffrey Epstein forwarding a March 26, 2018 exchange with the Bard president's office, 2018. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02491562.pdf

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---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- DPWorld
- Dubai
- UnitedArabEmirates
- Ports
- CFIUS
- SultanAhmedBinSulayem
- JeffreyEpstein
alias:
- Dubai Ports World
- DP World Limited
- Dubai Ports
summary: "Dubai government-owned ports operator formed in 2005, whose 2006 bid for six U.S. port operations provoked a CFIUS fight and whose chairman was replaced in 2026 over Epstein correspondence."
start: 2005-11
location: "Dubai, United Arab Emirates"
relations:
- type: owned
with: "[[Dubai World]]"
reverse: true
role: "parent through Port and Free Zone World; full ownership after 2020 delisting"
start: 2020
fn: 5
- type: head_of
with: "[[Essa Kazim]]"
reverse: true
role: "chairman"
start: 2026-02-13
fn: 3
- type: head_of
with: "[[Yuvraj Narayan]]"
reverse: true
role: "group chief executive"
start: 2026-02-13
fn: 3
- type: funded
with: "[[British International Investment]]"
reverse: true
role: "co-investor with La Caisse in Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and National Industries Park, 2.5 billion dollars"
start: 2022
fn: 2
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
DP World is a ports and logistics company controlled by the government of [[Dubai]] in the [[United Arab Emirates]]. It was created in November 2005 by integrating the Dubai Ports Authority and Dubai Ports International and operates the [[Jebel Ali]] port and terminals on several continents. Its 2006 purchase of the British operator P&O, which would have given it terminal operations in six major U.S. ports, was approved by the [[Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States]] and then met sustained congressional opposition that led to a rewriting of the foreign-investment review law. Until February 13, 2026 its chairman and chief executive was [[Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem]], whose correspondence with [[Jeffrey Epstein]] was released by the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] in 2026; he was replaced three days after his name was read on the floor of the [[United States House of Representatives|House]].[^1][^2][^3]
### The 2006 Ports Controversy
DP World's bid for the London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) was announced in November 2005, and the formal CFIUS review began in December. The [[George W. Bush]] [[White House]] stated in a fact sheet of February 22, 2006 that "Twelve Federal agencies and the government's counterterrorism experts closely and carefully reviewed the transaction," that the [[Department of Homeland Security]] had "reached an agreement with DP World to mitigate security concerns," and that DP World had "signed a letter of assurances making commitments to meet and maintain security standards for the port terminals that they will own and operate in the [[United States]]." It described the UAE as "a solid partner in the War on Terror" that had "worked with us to stop terrorist financing and money laundering," noted that Dubai was "the first Middle Eastern entity" to join the [[Container Security Initiative]] and the [[Department of Energy]]'s Megaports Initiative, and said that "The United States government has a strong working relationship with DP World." President Bush said on February 21: "If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward."[^4]
The proposed acquisition of "major operations in six major U.S. ports" came under "intense scrutiny" in Congress. Members of Congress argued that the 1992 Byrd amendment required a full 45-day investigation of any acquirer "controlled by or acting on behalf of a foreign government"; CFIUS representatives told the [[Senate Armed Services Committee]] on February 23, 2006 that they had conceded DP World was government-controlled but had concluded during the 30-day review that the transaction "could not affect the national security." The reaction led the administration to change its review practice in late 2006 and Congress to pass the [[Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007]].[^1]
### Ownership and the 2020 Delisting
A minority of DP World's shares traded on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange until 2020. On February 17, 2020 the company announced that it would delist and return to full state ownership. Port and Free Zone World, a wholly owned subsidiary of the government investment company [[Dubai World]], already owned 80.45 percent and agreed to buy the remaining 19.55 percent for about 2.7 billion dollars, or 16.75 dollars a share. As part of the transaction DP World's parent was to pay Dubai World 5.15 billion dollars "to assist it in repaying its outstanding obligations to banks," so that DP World could operate "without any restrictions from Dubai World's creditors," and DP World was to borrow a further 8.1 billion dollars. Bin Sulayem said that "returning to private ownership will free DP World from the demands of the public market for short term returns." DP World had by then expanded into [[East Africa]], where the Emirati government had begun building military bases.[^5]
### Epstein
A DP World email chain of January 25 and 26, 2012, in which the company's chief operating officer, [[Anil Wats]], asked bin Sulayem which guests he wished to invite to his induction into the International Maritime Hall of Fame of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and [[New Jersey]] at the [[Grand Hyatt New York]] on May 9, 2012, reached Epstein under a note reading: "Dear Jeffrey Will you be able to attend and can you suggest me names of others I can invite to sit at my table."[^6]
On November 29, 2016 Epstein's assistant [[Lesley Groff]], the office of [[Joi Ito]] at the [[MIT Media Lab]] and two employees of DP World "with the Chairman's office" arranged a visit by bin Sulayem, set up by Epstein, to the Media Lab and then to [[Martin Nowak]]'s [[Program for Evolutionary Dynamics]] at [[Harvard University]]. Ito wrote that he was "locking in a bunch of meetings for Sultan at the Media Lab from 9:30AM-11AM."[^7]
After Epstein's July 2019 arrest, [[JPMorgan Chase]]'s internal review known as Project Jeep reported that Epstein "appears to have a close relationship with Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem who is a senior UAE official involved in ownership of the Dubai Ports."[^8] Epstein arranged for bin Sulayem's name to appear as ultimate beneficial owner on contractual paperwork for the purchase of [[Great St. James]] through Great St. Jim LLC; reporting indicated that bin Sulayem had declined the request and that no signature of his appeared on the documents.[^9]
### The 2026 Removal
On February 10, 2026 Representative [[Ro Khanna]] read bin Sulayem's name on the House floor among six men he said the department had redacted "for no apparent reason." A department spokesperson said bin Sulayem appeared more than 4,700 times in the files.[^10] The released correspondence included an exchange in which Epstein wrote to bin Sulayem's email address, "I loved the torture video."[^2] In the same week [[British International Investment]], the British government's development investor, and the Canadian pension fund [[La Caisse]], which had invested 2.5 billion dollars in 2022 in Jebel Ali Port, the Jebel Ali Free Zone and the National Industries Park, paused new investment with DP World. On February 13, 2026 the Dubai Media Office announced, without naming bin Sulayem, that [[Essa Kazim]], governor of the [[Dubai International Financial Centre]], had been appointed chairman and [[Yuvraj Narayan]], the former chief financial officer, group chief executive; British International Investment said the same day that it would resume investing. DP World did not respond to the Associated Press's requests for comment. Bin Sulayem has not been accused of a crime.[^2][^3]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Jackson, James K. *The Exon-Florio National Security Test for Foreign Investment.* Congressional Research Service, RL33312, March 29, 2013, pp. 1, 7-9, 11-12 and n. 24. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33312.html
[^2]: "Dubai-based DP World replaces chief named in Epstein files." *Al Jazeera,* February 13, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/13/logistics-giant-dp-world-replaces-chief-named-in-epstein-files
[^3]: "Businessman named in Jeffrey Epstein files replaced as chairman of major logistics company." *Associated Press,* via *NBC News,* February 13, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/sultan-ahmed-bin-sulayem-jeffrey-epstein-rcna258902
[^4]: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. "Fact Sheet: The CFIUS Process And The DP World Transaction." February 22, 2006. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060222-11.html
[^5]: "Port operator DP World to delist from Dubai stock exchange." *Associated Press,* via *The Seattle Times,* February 17, 2020. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/port-operator-dp-world-to-delist-from-dubai-stock-exchange/
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02033989, DataSet 10, forwarded DP World email chain, "Confirmation of Sultan Ahmed Sulayem for Hall of Fame, May 9," January 25-26, 2012. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02033989.pdf
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00439714, DataSet 9, email chain, "Re: Jeffrey Epstein," among Lesley Groff, Joichi Ito, Yuko Barnaby, and DP World staff, November 29, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00439714.pdf
[^8]: 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 (S.D.N.Y.), letter motion of Motley Rice to Judge Jed S. Rakoff seeking leave to reopen depositions, June 7, 2023, p. 3. 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
[^9]: "Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem: Powerful Dubai tycoon replaced after DOJ reveals sexually explicit emails with Epstein." *CNN Business,* February 13, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/business/epstein-files-bin-sulayem-friendship-intl ; "Jeffrey Epstein used name of wealthy Dubai businessman to acquire second island in Caribbean, report finds." *Fox News,* 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/us/jeffrey-epstein-used-name-of-wealthy-dubai-businessman-to-acquire-second-island-in-caribbean-report-finds
[^10]: "Rep. Khanna names 6 men he says were redacted from Epstein files for 'no apparent reason'; DOJ says some had no Epstein ties," *CBS News,* February 10, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/massie-khanna-epstein-files-6-men/

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---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- JeffreyEpstein
- FloridaScienceFoundation
- WorkRelease
- PalmBeach
- Foundation
alias:
- Florida Science Foundation
- FL Science Foundation
- The Florida Science Foundation
summary: "Entity created by Jeffrey Epstein in late 2007 and housed at his lawyer's West Palm Beach office, where he spent his 2008 to 2009 work release under paid sheriff's deputies."
start: 2007-11
location: "West Palm Beach, Florida"
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[Jeffrey Epstein]]"
reverse: true
role: "president"
start: 2007-11
fn: 1
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
The Florida Science Foundation was an entity headed by [[Jeffrey Epstein]] and located at the [[West Palm Beach, Florida|West Palm Beach]] office of his defense lawyer [[Jack Goldberger]], which served as Epstein's place of employment under the work release program of the [[Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office]] during his 2008 to 2009 state sentence. From October 2008 Epstein left the county Stockade for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week, "purportedly working at the 'Florida Science Foundation,' an entity Epstein had recently incorporated," in the words of the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s [[Office of Professional Responsibility]]. The foundation paid the sheriff's office 128,136 dollars for off-duty deputies whose assignment, in their own overtime reports, was to "Provide security for Jeffrey Epstein."[^1][^2][^3]
### Origins and Epstein's Account
At his state plea hearing on June 30, 2008, under the [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement]], Epstein told the court that he was "President" of the Florida Science Foundation, that it had been in existence for 15 years, and that he worked there "every day." The next day Assistant U.S. Attorney [[Ann Marie Villafana|A. Marie Villafaña]] told a sheriff's office official that Epstein had told the court he had worked "every day" for a "couple of years" at the foundation, but that the entity "did not even exist until November 2007," and that the address Epstein gave the court for it was the office of Goldberger.[^1]
### Work Release
The sheriff's office placed Epstein in its work release program on October 10, 2008, without notice to the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida]], which had asked to be told of any application. On December 11, 2008 Villafaña wrote to the office's Corrections Division that the telephone number listed for the foundation on Epstein's application was the number of Goldberger's law firm. She wrote that the person named in the work release file as Epstein's "supervisor" at the foundation, its vice president and so subordinate to Epstein as its president, had submitted sworn filings to the [[Internal Revenue Service]] stating that Epstein worked one hour a week for no compensation, while telling the sheriff's office that his duties required him to work 12 hours a day, six days a week; the same supervisor had promised to report any breach of the work schedule but lived and worked in the New York area. The sheriff's office did not answer her letter. On December 3 she had written to her supervisors that since the start of the case Goldberger and State Attorney [[Barry Krischer]] "have been scheming to get Epstein out on work release."[^4]
### The Deputies
The sheriff's Extra Duty Permits System carried the foundation's detail as Permit No. 7804, "Florida Science Foundation," with posts titled "FL Science Foundation - Plain Clothed Position." Overtime reports for July 1 to 14, 2009 describe the deputies' work as "Provide security for Jeffrey Epstein," including logging visitors and escorting him from the office to his house at [[358 El Brillo Way]] at midday and back. Villafaña had written in December 2008 that Epstein was paying "between $3000 and $4100 per week" for the deputies' "protection," despite work release rules barring the sheriff's office and its members from "any business transactions with inmates." Records obtained by the West Palm Beach station WPTV show that the foundation paid the sheriff's office 128,136 dollars during Epstein's incarceration. He was released to home confinement on July 22, 2009.[^2][^3][^4]
In May 2021 the [[Florida Department of Law Enforcement]] reported that it "appears that Epstein received differential treatment" in the sheriff's custody, but found no criminal conduct by the office's members with respect to "Epstein's work release or the permit detail," according to the sheriff's office's account of the findings.[^5]
### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02847284, Prior DOJ Disclosures, report, Office of Professional Responsibility, "Investigation into the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida's Resolution of Its 2006-2008 Federal Criminal Investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and Its Interactions with Victims during the Investigation," November 2020, Executive Summary p. iii, and p. 114 and n. 181 (EFTA02847288, EFTA02847423). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Prior%20DOJ%20Disclosures/Memos.%20&%20Correspondence/EFTA02847284.pdf
[^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01308629, DataSet 10, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Extra Duty Permits System overtime report forms, Permit No. 7804, "Florida Science Foundation," July 1 to 14, 2009, faxed July 21, 2009. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01308629.pdf
[^3]: "Jeffrey Epstein paid Palm Beach Sheriff's Office $128,000 during incarceration for prostitution charges," *WPTV,* 2019. https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/new-jeffrey-epstein-paid-palm-beach-sheriffs-office-128-000-during-incarceration-for-prostitution
[^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02847284 (see note 1), pp. 114 to 117 (EFTA02847423 to EFTA02847426).
[^5]: Sabrina Lolo, "FDLE clears PBSO, prosecutors in connection to Epstein's work release privileges," *CBS12,* May 10, 2021. https://cbs12.com/news/local/fdle-clears-pbso-prosecutors-in-connection-to-epsteins-work-release-privileges

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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/International Assets Group.md
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@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ Epstein met Steven Hoffenberg in London in the 1980s. Hoffenberg said the two we
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]
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

6
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/JPMorgan Chase.md
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@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ A May 2003 due-diligence report stated that "Jeffrey Epstein, through the tradin
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]
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]
@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ The Virgin Islands' forensic accountant found that Epstein withdrew more than 7
### 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]
Two suits proceeded against JPMorgan in the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|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 [[U.S. Virgin Islands|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.[^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]
@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ Dimon was deposed on May 26, 2023 at the bank's Madison Avenue offices. He testi
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]
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 [[DP World|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]

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@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ Southern Trust Company was a [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] corporation controlled by [
### Formation and the Economic Development Commission Benefits
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]
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.[^2][^5]

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@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ Money raised from new investors was used to pay returns and redemptions to earli
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]
Hoffenberg was indicted in the Northern District of Illinois on April 19, 1994 and in the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|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]

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@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
---
category: "Private Organization"
tags:
- Organization
- WexnerFoundation
- LeslieWexner
- JeffreyEpstein
- EhudBarak
- Philanthropy
- JewishLeadership
- Israel
alias:
- The Wexner Foundation
- Wexner Heritage Foundation
- Leslie H. Wexner Foundation
summary: "Ohio private foundation of the Wexner family, formed in 1973, on whose board Jeffrey Epstein sat from 1992 to 2007 and which paid Ehud Barak 2.3 million dollars between 2004 and 2006."
start: 1973
location: "New Albany, Ohio"
relations:
- type: founded
with: "[[Leslie Wexner]]"
reverse: true
role: "founder, trustee since 1973, president 1973 to 1985"
start: 1973
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[Larry Moses]]"
reverse: true
role: "president"
start: 1998
end: 2011
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[Elka Abrahamson]]"
reverse: true
role: "president"
start: 2011
fn: 1
- type: funded
with: "[[Interlochen Center for the Arts]]"
role: "185,000 dollar organization gift recorded to the fund 'Epstein Lodge'"
start: 1994-07-25
fn: 10
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
---
The Wexner Foundation is an [[Ohio]] private charitable foundation formed in 1973 by the family of the retailer [[Leslie Wexner]] to develop Jewish communal leadership in [[North America]] and public-sector leadership in [[Israel]]. [[Jeffrey Epstein]], Wexner's money manager, was a trustee from December 15, 1992 until September 4, 2007, and was president of the Wexner family office, N.A. Property, Inc., which kept the foundation's books. Between 2004 and 2006 the foundation paid the former Israeli prime minister [[Ehud Barak]] 2.3 million dollars for two commissioned studies, a contract that Epstein's lawyer [[Darren Indyke]] wrote in 2005 he had negotiated. A February 2020 review commissioned by the foundation found no evidence that Epstein used it to commit any crime; the review does not mention Barak.[^1][^2][^3]
### Formation and Programs
The foundation's own review dates its formation to 1973, with Leslie Wexner as president until 1985; its later public history gives 1984. Wexner formed a separate Leslie H. Wexner Foundation on July 16, 1985, which merged into the Wexner Foundation in 1993, and founded the Wexner Heritage Foundation in 1985 with Rabbi [[Herbert A. Friedman]]; the Heritage Foundation merged into the Wexner Foundation in 2005. Rabbi Maurice Corson was president from 1985 to 1998, [[Larry Moses]] from 1998 to 2011 and Rabbi [[Elka Abrahamson]] from 2011. The foundation's offices are at 8000 Walton Parkway, [[New Albany, Ohio|New Albany]], Ohio.[^1][^4]
Its programs include the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, active since 1988, and the Wexner-Israel Fellowship, established in 1989 "to enable up to ten outstanding Israeli government officials each year" to study for a master's degree at [[Harvard University]]'s [[Harvard Kennedy School|John F. Kennedy School of Government]], "to provide Israel's next generation of leaders with advanced public management training"; the Wexner Heritage Program for Jewish lay leaders; and, from 2014, Wexner Senior Leaders for senior officials in the Israeli public sector. According to its 990-PF filings the foundation spent more than 321 million dollars from 1991 to 2018, about 90 percent of its funding coming from the Wexner family.[^1]
### Epstein as Trustee
*[[Vanity Fair]]* reported in 2003 that in 1992 Epstein persuaded Wexner to put him on the board in place of Wexner's ailing mother, [[Bella Wexner]], who recovered and demanded reinstatement; Epstein said the matter was settled by splitting the foundation in two. A source close to Wexner told the magazine that Wexner had given Epstein "the power of fiduciary over all of his private trusts and foundations."[^5]
The foundation's corporate records show Epstein elected a trustee on December 15, 1992. He signed the annual grants from the foundation to the Wexner Heritage Foundation from 1993 to 2004, signed board actions appointing officers and trustees, and signed the joint action approving the 1993 merger of the Leslie H. Wexner Foundation into it. He was named on the foundation's 990-PF filings as the person in whose care its books were kept, as president of N.A. Property, the family office whose accounting department handled the foundation's payroll, ledger, banking and tax filings, and was a co-trustee of the foundation's retirement plan. The 2001 filing recorded a contribution of 9,588,560 dollars from "Arts Interests Trust c/o Jeffrey Epstein," a charitable remainder trust created by Wexner on July 30, 1991 with Epstein as trustee. Epstein resigned from the board, from N.A. Property and "from all Wexner-related roles" in September 2007.[^1]
Epstein's lawyer Darren Indyke was listed as secretary of the foundation in SEC filings from 1998 to 2001 and on its tax forms through 2006, according to *[[The Daily Beast]]*.[^6]
### The Barak Payments
The foundation paid Barak 2.3 million dollars between 2004 and 2006, when he held no public office, for two studies. He completed a 267-page study on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; for the second, on leadership, the foundation "received an abstract, but did not receive a full paper," and said in 2019 that its management at the time "decided that the work done and material received was enough to end the project and justify the payment."[^2][^7] After the 2019 Israeli election campaign raised the payments, Attorney General [[Avichai Mandelblit]] declined to investigate, and the [[Supreme Court of Israel|High Court of Justice]] rejected a [[Likud]] petition in 2020 after the foundation told the court that Epstein was not involved in the decision to make the payments.[^3]
Among the documents released by the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] on January 30, 2026 was a December 2005 chain in which Barak's wife, [[Nili Priel]], asked Moses about a payment due "according to the contract." The family office's Peg Ugland asked Indyke, "Are you or Jeffrey handling the terms of the contract?" Indyke wrote to Epstein: "I was involved in the negotiation and execution of the document, but have not been involved in overseeing performance," and asked, "Please advise what you want Peg to tell Larry Moses." Epstein replied on December 8, 2005: "Get a copy of what he sent." In a 2026 statement the foundation said Barak was "paid in full over the years 2004-06" and that the payments "were properly reported in the foundation's 990s." On March 1, 2026 a Likud member of the [[Knesset]], Avihai Boaron, and the organization LAVI filed a criminal complaint asking the [[Israel Police]] to investigate Barak and the foundation, alleging that the emails "completely contradict the report that the Wexner Foundation submitted to the High Court."[^3]
### The 2020 Review
The foundation commissioned Charles J. Kegler and Loriann E. Fuhrer of the Columbus law firm [[Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter]] to review Epstein's involvement. Their report, dated February 24, 2020, examined the foundation's records and 990-PF filings for 1991 to 2018, more than 3,600 pages of documents on related entities, and interviews with Leslie and [[Abigail Wexner]], all four presidents, trustees and the treasurer; the foundation's email archive did not reach back to Epstein's tenure. It found that Epstein "was absent from the organizational life" of the foundation, in Moses's words, "played no meaningful role in the Foundation's budget, finances or accounting," made no contribution to it, and had no contact with it after his resignation, and concluded: "we found no evidence that Epstein ever used his ties to the Foundation to commit any assault or sexual misconduct, or to otherwise perpetrate any crime." The report does not mention Barak, the 2004 to 2006 payments, or Indyke.[^1]
The review addressed the 46 million dollars that media reports had described as transferred by Epstein to "a foundation related to the Wexners." It stated that "Epstein did not transfer any assets to the Wexner Foundation." On January 1, 2008 Epstein's C.O.U.Q. Foundation transferred 12,377,844 dollars, and [[Financial Trust Company]] 201,939 shares of Apple stock worth 34,280,154 dollars, to the YLK Charitable Fund, formed by Abigail Wexner on December 20, 2007. The reviewers found that C.O.U.Q.'s endowment had been funded almost entirely by transfers of Wexner family money, more than 11 million dollars from the Wexner Children's Trust in 2001 and 10 million from the Leslie H. Wexner Charitable Fund in 2003, which the Wexners said they "never knew about or authorized." YLK dissolved on December 27, 2010 and passed about 35 million dollars to the Wexner Family Charitable Fund.[^1] Wexner wrote to the foundation's community in August 2019 that Epstein "had misappropriated vast sums of money" from his family and that the payments "represented a portion of the returned monies. All of that money, every dollar of it, was originally Wexner family money."[^8][^9]
### The Interlochen Gift
The review examined contributions to the foundation, not grants made by it. A donor record of the [[Interlochen Center for the Arts]] in [[Michigan]], printed on February 12, 2020 and found in the [[Epstein Files|Epstein files]], lists "Wexner Foundation $185000.00 Single Donation 07/25/1994," recorded as an organization gift with the Wexner Foundation as donor, credited to the fund "Epstein Lodge ($185.000.00)" and attached to the constituent record of "Mr. Jeffrey Epstein."[^10]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Kegler, Charles J., and Loriann E. Fuhrer. *Independent Review of Jeffrey Epstein's Involvement and Interactions with The Wexner Foundation.* Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter Co., LPA, February 24, 2020, pp. 1-18. https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Wexner-Foundation-Report-Following-Independent-Review4.pdf
[^2]: *The Times of Israel,* on the Wexner Foundation's statement that its 2.3 million dollars to Barak paid for two reports, one unfinished. https://www.timesofisrael.com/wexner-foundation-2-3-million-to-barak-was-for-2-reports-1-wasnt-finished/
[^3]: Lefkovits, Etgar. "Complaint seeks police probe into Ehud Barak and Wexner Foundation." *JNS,* March 17, 2026. https://www.jns.org/complaint-seeks-police-probe-into-barak-and-wexner-foundation/
[^4]: "Our Story," *The Wexner Foundation.* https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/our-story/
[^5]: Vicky Ward, "The Talented Mr. Epstein," *Vanity Fair,* March 2003, as republished by the author. https://vickyward.com/article/the-talented-mr-epstein/
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00163119, DataSet 9, press printout: Kate Briquelet and William Bredderman, "Jeffrey Epstein's Right-Hand Mystery Men: The Lawyer and the Accountant," *The Daily Beast,* August 30, 2020. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00163119.pdf
[^7]: "Ehud Barak Received $2.3 Million for Two Studies, One Was Not Completed, Wexner Foundation Says." *Haaretz,* 2019. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-ehud-barak-received-2-3-million-for-two-studies-one-was-not-completed-wexner-foun-1.8983735
[^8]: Leslie Wexner, "Letter from Les," *The Wexner Foundation,* August 2019. https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/letter-from-les/
[^9]: "Victoria's Secret owner says disgraced financier Epstein stole $46M from him," *CBC,* 2019. https://amp.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.5240145
[^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01265496, DataSet 10, Interlochen Center for the Arts donor database printouts for constituent "Mr. Jeffrey Epstein," printed February 12, 2020, at EFTA01265692 (duplicate EFTA00102702, DataSet 9). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01265496.pdf