The Vault: The Epstein Files

Six Jeffrey Epstein survivors, identified as Jane Does 1 through 6, filed a putative class-action lawsuit accusing the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands and several current and former territorial officials of helping create a safe haven for Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. The complaint alleged that Epstein brought women and girls to the Virgin Islands, where they were sexually abused and trafficked, while officials and political figures allegedly facilitated, ignored or benefited from the arrangement. The defendants included the USVI government, former First Lady Cecile de Jongh, former governors John de Jongh and Kenneth Mapp, former At...

Jeffrey Epstein was enabled by a wide network of powerful people across politics, academia, philanthropy, law, business and high society, but the most consequential relationships were arguably the ones that gave him access to money, legitimacy and the financial machinery necessary to sustain his operation. Wealthy patrons, bankers, money managers and executives did more than decorate Epstein’s social circle; they helped place him inside institutions where enormous sums of money could move with little public scrutiny. His relationship with Leslie Wexner gave him extraordinary financial authority and social credibility, while his connections to figures such as Leon Black, Glenn Du...

Adam Perry Lang was Jeffrey Epstein’s full-time private chef from roughly 1998 to 2002, a period that placed him inside Epstein’s operation at some of its most important properties and during years when Epstein was already abusing young women and girls. According to Lang’s own FBI interview, he cooked at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, Palm Beach home, Little St. James and Zorro Ranch, traveled on Epstein’s plane and sometimes prepared food at Ghislaine Maxwell’s residence. He said he mostly reported to Maxwell and Lesley Groff and was essentially on call around the clock, preparing meals and plane snacks accor...

The lead-up to the closure of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan was shaped by years of mounting crises that long predated Jeffrey Epstein’s death but were dramatically amplified afterward. MCC had become infamous for chronic staffing shortages, crumbling infrastructure, frequent lockdowns, and extended power outages that left inmates in freezing cells without light, heat, or reliable access to counsel. Judges, defense attorneys, and federal prosecutors repeatedly complained that conditions at MCC interfered with constitutional rights and basic human safety. After Epstein’s death exposed systemic failures—nonfunctioning cameras, falsified guard logs, and gross supervisory breakdowns—scrutiny intensified. Internal Bureau o...

The fourth amended complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida by more than 30 Jeffrey Epstein survivors against the United States, accuses the FBI and DOJ of decades of negligence that allegedly allowed Epstein’s abuse and trafficking operation to continue. The plaintiffs argue that federal authorities repeatedly received credible warnings about Epstein but failed to follow mandatory investigative rules. The complaint highlights Maria Farmer’s 1996 report to the FBI alleging sexual abuse, trafficking and possession of child sexual abuse material, as well as a 2005 report involving Audra Christiansen, and says no meaningful action followed either tip. It also alleges that...

Day four of Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing, held July 9, centered on some of the prosecution’s most consequential evidence yet, including a recorded interview with Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. In the interview, Twiggs described Robinson’s behavior after Charlie Kirk was killed and authenticated text exchanges in which Robinson allegedly admitted responsibility for the shooting, discussed the rifle and expressed concern that investigators would find his DNA on it. Twiggs also said Robinson later confirmed the confession in person and expressed regret about what he had done. Prosecutors additionally introduced Robinson’s handwritten note to Twiggs...

The fourth amended complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida by more than 30 Jeffrey Epstein survivors against the United States, accuses the FBI and DOJ of decades of negligence that allegedly allowed Epstein’s abuse and trafficking operation to continue. The plaintiffs argue that federal authorities repeatedly received credible warnings about Epstein but failed to follow mandatory investigative rules. The complaint highlights Maria Farmer’s 1996 report to the FBI alleging sexual abuse, trafficking and possession of child sexual abuse material, as well as a 2005 report involving Audra Christiansen, and says no meaningful action followed either tip. It also alleges that...

The fourth amended complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida by more than 30 Jeffrey Epstein survivors against the United States, accuses the FBI and DOJ of decades of negligence that allegedly allowed Epstein’s abuse and trafficking operation to continue. The plaintiffs argue that federal authorities repeatedly received credible warnings about Epstein but failed to follow mandatory investigative rules. The complaint highlights Maria Farmer’s 1996 report to the FBI alleging sexual abuse, trafficking and possession of child sexual abuse material, as well as a 2005 report involving Audra Christiansen, and says no meaningful action followed either tip. It also alleges that...

Teala Davies filed a lawsuit against the Jeffrey Epstein estate alleging that Epstein began sexually abusing her in 2002 when she was just 17 years old. The suit claims Epstein trafficked her to multiple locations—including New York, Florida, New Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and France—where she was repeatedly raped and abused over a period of years. Davies also alleged that Epstein used his private jet to transport her for these acts and that the abuse left her with lasting psychological damage. Her lawsuit seeks damages for sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and related harms directly tied to E...

Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico has remained one of the most mysterious parts of his broader operation because so much of what happened there was concealed behind isolation, private security, controlled access and a sparse public record. The property sat on thousands of acres outside Santa Fe and functioned as one of Epstein’s most secluded residences, a place where he could host guests, move staff and bring young women far from the visibility that surrounded his homes in Palm Beach, Manhattan or Paris. Survivors later said abuse occurred there, while former employees and investigative records confirmed a st...

Bill Barr said publicly that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, but he also described the failures at the Metropolitan Correctional Center as extraordinary and unacceptable. Immediately after Epstein’s death on August 10, 2019, Barr said he was “appalled” and that the death raised “serious questions that must be answered.” Two days later, he said he was angry about the jail’s failure to properly secure Epstein and pointed to “serious irregularities” inside the facility, while announcing investigations by both the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general. Barr’s position was that the institutional breakdown surrounding Epstein’s death was real and serious, but...

Leon Black used his appearance before the House Oversight Committee to defend his long-running relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and explain the extraordinary $158 million he paid him between 2013 and 2017. Black maintained that the money purchased legitimate tax, estate-planning and family-office services that allegedly saved him between $1 billion and $2 billion. He said Epstein deceived him about the deductibility of his fees, exaggerated his influence and repeatedly demanded more money, eventually causing Black to end their relationship in 2018. Black denied knowing about Epstein’s trafficking operation, abusing any woman, having sex with anyone underage, paying Epstein for access to women or being blackmailed by...

In April 1981, Jeffrey Epstein testified before the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of an inquiry involving trading in St. Joe Minerals securities. Epstein described himself as a limited partner and account executive at Bear Stearns who assisted the sales force with commodities and financial-futures recommendations. The questioning focused heavily on his recent departure from the firm, his handling of client accounts and an incident in which he had loaned money to a close friend who used it in connection with a brokerage account. Epstein acknowledged making the loan but insisted it had not been concealed and said he had...

As Jeffrey Epstein faced prosecution in Florida, multiple people from his personal, professional and social circles submitted letters to prosecutors or the court urging leniency and portraying him as someone whose charitable work, intelligence, generosity and relationships should weigh against a harsh punishment. The letters were part of a broader effort by Epstein’s legal team to humanize him and frame the case around his positive attributes rather than the scale of the allegations against him. Supporters emphasized his philanthropy, financial assistance to friends and institutions, and personal loyalty, while asking authorities to consider alternatives to a severe sentence. The ca...

Karyna Shuliak, a 37-year-old Belarus-born dentist, emerged from newly released investigative records as Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime girlfriend and one of the potential principal beneficiaries of his remaining fortune. Shuliak met Epstein in 2011, when she was 21 and living in New York on a temporary student visa, and remained close to him for nearly eight years. Epstein financed her education, helped her pursue a dental career and provided extensive financial support to her and her family. The records also indicated that he helped arrange her marriage to one of his female assistants after she encountered immigration problems, a marriage congressional Democrats la...

Karyna Shuliak, a 37-year-old Belarus-born dentist, emerged from newly released investigative records as Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime girlfriend and one of the potential principal beneficiaries of his remaining fortune. Shuliak met Epstein in 2011, when she was 21 and living in New York on a temporary student visa, and remained close to him for nearly eight years. Epstein financed her education, helped her pursue a dental career and provided extensive financial support to her and her family. The records also indicated that he helped arrange her marriage to one of his female assistants after she encountered immigration problems, a marriage congressional Democrats la...

Day four of Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing, held July 9, centered on some of the prosecution’s most consequential evidence yet, including a recorded interview with Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. In the interview, Twiggs described Robinson’s behavior after Charlie Kirk was killed and authenticated text exchanges in which Robinson allegedly admitted responsibility for the shooting, discussed the rifle and expressed concern that investigators would find his DNA on it. Twiggs also said Robinson later confirmed the confession in person and expressed regret about what he had done. Prosecutors additionally introduced Robinson’s handwritten note to Twiggs...

Day four of Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing, held July 9, centered on some of the prosecution’s most consequential evidence yet, including a recorded interview with Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. In the interview, Twiggs described Robinson’s behavior after Charlie Kirk was killed and authenticated text exchanges in which Robinson allegedly admitted responsibility for the shooting, discussed the rifle and expressed concern that investigators would find his DNA on it. Twiggs also said Robinson later confirmed the confession in person and expressed regret about what he had done. Prosecutors additionally introduced Robinson’s handwritten note to Twiggs...

The fourth amended complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida by more than 30 Jeffrey Epstein survivors against the United States, accuses the FBI and DOJ of decades of negligence that allegedly allowed Epstein’s abuse and trafficking operation to continue. The plaintiffs argue that federal authorities repeatedly received credible warnings about Epstein but failed to follow mandatory investigative rules. The complaint highlights Maria Farmer’s 1996 report to the FBI alleging sexual abuse, trafficking and possession of child sexual abuse material, as well as a 2005 report involving Audra Christiansen, and says no meaningful action followed either tip. It also alleges that...

The fourth amended complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida by more than 30 Jeffrey Epstein survivors against the United States, accuses the FBI and DOJ of decades of negligence that allegedly allowed Epstein’s abuse and trafficking operation to continue. The plaintiffs argue that federal authorities repeatedly received credible warnings about Epstein but failed to follow mandatory investigative rules. The complaint highlights Maria Farmer’s 1996 report to the FBI alleging sexual abuse, trafficking and possession of child sexual abuse material, as well as a 2005 report involving Audra Christiansen, and says no meaningful action followed either tip. It also alleges that...

The co-executors of Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, asked the Virgin Islands probate court to expedite approval of a voluntary compensation program for Epstein’s sexual-abuse survivors, arguing that continued delay would unnecessarily prolong the claims process and leave victims waiting for resolution. The proposed Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program was designed to create an independent, confidential alternative to prolonged litigation, using experienced claims administrators who had worked on large-scale compensation systems including the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, clergy-abuse claims and the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Participation would be voluntary, survivors could present their claims directly to the pr...

Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico has remained one of the most mysterious parts of his broader operation because so much of what happened there was concealed behind isolation, private security, controlled access and a sparse public record. The property sat on thousands of acres outside Santa Fe and functioned as one of Epstein’s most secluded residences, a place where he could host guests, move staff and bring young women far from the visibility that surrounded his homes in Palm Beach, Manhattan or Paris. Survivors later said abuse occurred there, while former employees and investigative records confirmed a st...

Brice Gordon and his wife, Karen Gordon, were the longtime caretakers and property managers of Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, where they handled the day-to-day operation of the sprawling estate. Brice Gordon told the FBI in 2007 that he had been working at the ranch for roughly four years and that the property typically employed five or six full-time workers along with seasonal staff. The Gordons oversaw employees, contractors, vehicles, maintenance and construction, while also coordinating Epstein’s arrivals and stays at the property. Epstein generally visited the ranch for several weeks at a time, often with little adva...

The U.S. Virgin Islands brought a sweeping civil case against Jeffrey Epstein’s estate and related entities under the territory’s Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, arguing that Epstein had used a network of companies, properties and financial arrangements in the Virgin Islands to facilitate and conceal years of sex trafficking and abuse. The lawsuit alleged that Epstein’s operation was not simply personal misconduct carried out in isolation, but a structured enterprise supported by corporations, employees, financial channels and logistical systems that helped recruit, transport and exploit girls and young women. The territory sought substantial monetary penalties, forfei...

Rinaldo Rizzo, who worked for Glenn and Eva Andersson-Dubin, gave sworn testimony describing a deeply disturbing encounter with a 15-year-old Swedish girl who had been brought to the Dubins’ home by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in late 2004 or early 2005. Rizzo said the girl appeared visibly traumatized, shaking and close to tears, and eventually told him and his wife that she had been on Epstein’s private island with Maxwell and Sarah Kellen. According to Rizzo, the girl said she had been pressured to have sex, refused, and then had her phone and passport taken away. She also allegedly said she...

Federal prosecutors built the case against Ghislaine Maxwell by combining survivor testimony with documentary evidence, travel records, household records and testimony from people who had seen how Jeffrey Epstein’s operation worked. The government’s central theory was that Maxwell was not merely present around Epstein, but actively helped recruit, groom and normalize the abuse of underage girls by gaining their trust, introducing them to Epstein and making his conduct appear acceptable. At trial, prosecutors relied heavily on the accounts of women who described Maxwell’s role in the grooming process, but they did not leave the case resting solely on mem...

Mother Jones filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons after the BOP stonewalled basic questions surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell’s abrupt and unusually opaque transfer following her conviction. The magazine sought records explaining why Maxwell was moved, who authorized it, what security assessments were conducted, and whether any deviations from standard BOP transfer protocols occurred. Instead of transparency, the BOP responded with heavy redactions, delays, and categorical refusals, even though Maxwell is one of the most high-profile federal inmates in modern history and her custody directly implicates public confidence in the system after Jeffrey Epstein’s death. Mother Jones argu...

Al Seckel was an American collector, author and self-described expert on visual illusions who became known for books, lectures and appearances centered on optical perception and cognitive tricks. He also moved in wealthy and academic circles, cultivated relationships with prominent scientists and intellectuals, and later drew scrutiny over allegations that he had exaggerated parts of his background and left behind financial disputes and unhappy business associates. His name surfaced in Jeffrey Epstein’s broader social orbit as well, including through science and intellectual-network connections that overlapped with people Epstein courted and funded. Seckel’s public imag...

Day three of Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing focused largely on what happened after Robinson turned himself in following the killing of Charlie Kirk. Utah State Bureau of Investigation agent Brian Davis testified that he was sent to St. George after authorities learned that a man was preparing to surrender in connection with the shooting. Davis said Robinson arrived at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with his parents and family friend Mike Mitchell, was formally arrested in the early morning hours of September 12, and later had his phone, clothing, fingerprints and DNA collected pursuant to warrants and booking procedures. Davi...

In the late 1990s, Jeffrey Epstein donated money to the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, a relationship that later drew scrutiny after it was revealed he had access to a private cabin on or near the Interlochen campus. Reporting and survivor accounts indicate Epstein used the cabin while visiting the school, raising serious concerns about safeguarding and oversight, particularly given what is now known about his long-running pattern of sexual abuse of minors. At the time, Epstein was presented as a wealthy patron of the arts, and there is no evidence that Interlochen officials were publicly aware of...

Katie Phang’s lawyers asked Judge Emmet Sullivan to reject Todd Blanche’s latest attempt to postpone production of the administrative record in her lawsuit, arguing that DOJ had once again waited until the last possible moment to avoid a court-ordered deadline. The filing noted that Sullivan had already ordered Blanche to file a certified index of the administrative record by October 1 and produce the full record to Phang by October 15. Instead of complying, Blanche filed a motion after business hours on October 1 asking to suspend those deadlines while the court considered his separate motion for judgment on the pleadings. Phan...

Katie Phang’s lawyers asked Judge Emmet Sullivan to reject Todd Blanche’s latest attempt to postpone production of the administrative record in her lawsuit, arguing that DOJ had once again waited until the last possible moment to avoid a court-ordered deadline. The filing noted that Sullivan had already ordered Blanche to file a certified index of the administrative record by October 1 and produce the full record to Phang by October 15. Instead of complying, Blanche filed a motion after business hours on October 1 asking to suspend those deadlines while the court considered his separate motion for judgment on the pleadings. Phan...

Jeffrey Epstein survivor Annie Farmer has joined the campaign to remove Les Wexner’s name from buildings at Ohio State University, aligning herself with survivors of former OSU team doctor Richard Strauss, who sexually abused hundreds of students. Farmer argued that the continued presence of Wexner’s name on university facilities is especially troubling given his long relationship with Epstein and his role on Ohio State’s Board of Trustees during the years Strauss was abusing students. Farmer’s sister, Maria Farmer, has alleged that Epstein abused her at Wexner’s New Albany estate in 1996, and Annie said she has long found...

A London High Court judge ruled that the search warrants used by Thames Valley Police to raid the homes of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, were unlawful because police sought them under the wrong section of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. The warrants were executed in February 2026 after Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office tied to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, with police searching properties at Sandringham and Windsor and seizing documents, computers and other material. Justice Nicholas Hilliard said the applications contained a significant legal error because some of the material being sought potentially...

Reps. Jamie Raskin and Madeleine Dean are demanding that Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel open a federal investigation into former Bard College president Leon Botstein after congressional investigators uncovered communications they say raise serious questions about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and a young woman Epstein was allegedly trafficking in 2014. The centerpiece of the October 7 letter is an email sent from Botstein’s Bard account after Epstein arranged for the young woman, described as a foreign model and aspiring singer, to meet him for supposed educational and musical guidance. In that email, Botstein allegedly asked Epstein wh...

Juan Alessi was one of Jeffrey Epstein’s longest-serving household employees and a key firsthand witness to how Epstein’s Palm Beach operation functioned. Alessi began working full-time for Epstein in January 1991 and remained until the end of 2002, eventually becoming the house manager, majordomo, butler and driver at Epstein’s El Brillo Way mansion. He supervised other household staff and handled much of the day-to-day operation of the property, placing him in a position to observe Epstein’s routines, guests and the steady flow of young women and girls through the house. Alessi later gave detailed statements to Palm Beach police a...

The failure to bring the full weight of the justice system down on Jeffrey Epstein was never confined to one prosecutor, one office or one bad decision. Over the years, responsibility passed through local prosecutors in Palm Beach, federal prosecutors in South Florida, senior officials at the Justice Department, prosecutors in New York and investigators working alongside the FBI, yet the broader criminal structure surrounding Epstein was repeatedly left largely intact. The controversial 2007–2008 non-prosecution agreement is the most obvious example, but it was only one chapter in a much longer pattern. Opportunities existed to examine potential co-conspirators, financial facilitators, recruiters, em...

For years, the FBI and Justice Department have faced criticism for repeatedly narrowing the scope of the Epstein investigation in ways that limited exposure for the people and institutions around him. The pattern began with the 2007–2008 non-prosecution agreement in Florida, which resolved Epstein’s federal exposure without a broader public accounting of potential co-conspirators, and continued after his 2019 arrest, when the case again centered overwhelmingly on Epstein himself and later Ghislaine Maxwell. Critics have pointed to the absence of a sprawling financial, racketeering or conspiracy prosecution, the limited public explanation of investigative decisions, the withholding and redaction of records, and the...

Business Insider detailed the difficult process behind the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program, which was created after Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 death to provide an alternative to years of civil litigation against his estate. Administrator Jordana Feldman oversaw claims from roughly 225 women between June 2020 and August 2021, with about 150 deemed eligible and 136 ultimately accepting compensation. The program paid out about $125 million in total, with individual awards ranging from the low hundreds of thousands into the millions. Claimants submitted personal statements, supporting documents and, in more than 90 percent of cases, participated in interviews describing the abuse and its long-term impact. Feldman said the awards were...

Federal Judge Jed Rakoff pressed the U.S. Virgin Islands to explain more specifically why JPMorgan should not be allowed to pursue certain affirmative defenses in the territory’s lawsuit over the bank’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The USVI had asked Rakoff to strike defenses raised by JPMorgan, arguing that because the territory was acting in its sovereign capacity to enforce public rights under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the bank should not be able to rely on equitable defenses against the government. Rakoff did not rule immediately on that argument. Instead, he directed the territory to provide more deta...