The agenda in the US has been quite chaotic in recent days. The reason for this is the investigative information released regarding Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in a federal prison in 2019 and was accused of exploiting underage girls. The photos released in connection with the investigation launched into Jeffrey Epstein, and the politicians named in the documents, indicate that the issue has a more global character. For this reason, the Epstein dossier has been at the center of world media attention in recent days. In early January, a US court released approximately a thousand pages of court documents related to the Epstein case. The American financier, known for bringing celebrities and government officials to his private island, is accused of crimes such as the sexual exploitation of minors.
Modern.az has investigated how Epstein became wealthy and how he built such a network.
Jeffrey Epstein was born on January 20, 1953, in New York, to Paula and Seymour Epstein. He lived with his family in a neighborhood called Sea Gate. Epstein, who attended Lafayette High School, began his college education at Cooper Union, but later transferred to New York University and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Although he studied there for three years, he did not graduate.
Although Jeffrey Epstein did not have a higher education, he began teaching physics and mathematics at the private Dalton School in Manhattan in 1974.
Many of Epstein's students were from the country's wealthiest families. There were allegations of inappropriate behavior towards his students, especially high school students, and claims that he attended parties where he showed excessive interest in girls. However, he was not accused of sexual abuse at that time. Epstein influenced the father of one of his students at a parent-teacher meeting, and this incident led to Epstein being referred to Alan Greenberg, the CEO of Bear Stearns. After Epstein was dismissed from his position at Dalton at the end of the 1975-76 academic year due to an evaluation of his teaching skills, he began working at Bear Stearns shortly thereafter.
Jeffrey Epstein left Bear Stearns in 1981, one year after joining the company in 1980, to establish his own firm. In 1984, he became a partner with that company. Epstein's personal finances and business practices became increasingly suspicious. Some colleagues described Epstein as a "philanthropy hunter" who raised money for the ultra-wealthy. In 1987, Epstein began working with Steven C. Hoffenberg, the executive director of Towers Financial Corporation. Here, he made unsuccessful attempts to take over the company. In 1988, he founded a consulting firm called J. Epstein & Company, and for approximately 20 years, his largest client was billionaire retail magnate Leslie H. Wexner. Epstein earned significant income by managing Wexner's assets.
In the 1990s, Jeffrey Epstein began operating on St. Thomas, an island associated with the US Virgin Islands known for its tax benefits, and purchased an island called Little St. James there. He also acquired Great St. James island in the same region. Additionally, Epstein owned a large mansion in Manhattan, and is reported to have owned properties in Palm Beach, Florida, Paris, and New Mexico.
According to allegations, hidden cameras were installed in Epstein's mansion, and the sexual exploitation acts carried out by his wealthy associates were recorded through these cameras. It is also alleged that individuals traveling on his private jet, dubbed the "Lolita Express" by residents of the Virgin Islands, were secretly filmed. This list includes many prominent names such as former US President Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, renowned lawyer and Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz, as well as Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who is accused of repeatedly engaging in sexual acts with an underage victim.
Jeffrey Epstein first faced sexual exploitation charges in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2005. The incident came to light based on a woman's report to the police, stating that her stepdaughter was being exploited by a wealthy individual. Subsequently, the FBI immediately joined the investigation. Later, more accusations emerged, and US Attorney Alexander Acosta (who later became Secretary of Labor) began preparing a criminal case.
After the number of alleged victims reached approximately 40, Epstein reached an agreement with the government in 2008. Under this agreement, he received a mere 13-month prison sentence and was allowed to work in his office six days a week. Acosta justified the leniency of this agreement by stating that intelligence agencies had recommended backing off Epstein, indicating he was a "significant person" for another federal case.
A number of civil lawsuits were filed against Epstein, and in 2023, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank AG were accused of knowingly facilitating his sexual crimes.
After the Epstein scandal came to light, a journalist determined in 2018 that more than 80 victims had been sexually exploited by Epstein or his associates. These revelations led to a renewed investigation of the sexual crime allegations.
In 2019, a second criminal case was opened against Epstein, and he was arrested on charges of creating a sexual exploitation network. However, he was released on bail a short time later. Subsequently, after being placed in a Manhattan prison, his p was found in the cell where he was held. Although Epstein was said to have committed suicide, shortly before the incident, the inmate in his cell was removed, and no one else was placed there. As a result, Epstein remained unsupervised for three hours, and it was also determined that the security cameras in front of his cell were not working. All these circumstances draw attention as suspicious points that occurred before Epstein's death.
