Epstein's Emails Reveal Money Laundering Probe in Sex Case

[douglas9]

Federal prosecutors expanded their probe into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes in 2007 to include potential charges of money laundering, an effort that included an outreach to one of his most important clients, according to documents and emails from Epstein’s personal Yahoo account.

The lead prosecutor requested that a grand jury issue subpoenas for “every financial transaction conducted by Epstein and his six businesses” dating to 2003, the emails show. Prosecutors also subpoenaed major banks for records about Epstein’s accounts and financial activity, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified to discuss a sensitive investigation.

Marie Villafaña, who was an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the time, even contacted Epstein’s longtime wealth-management client, Les Wexner, the billionaire businessman behind the brands Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, about the investigation, according to the documents and emails.

Epstein grew furious when he learned that prosecutors had broadened their investigation’s scope, the emails show. His high-powered team of lawyers, including Gerald Lefcourt, Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, former Bush administration official Jay Lefkowitz and former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, argued that Villafaña was pursuing baseless claims to pressure their client into a plea deal. They launched an aggressive campaign to discredit her attempts to follow the money and pressured her higher-ups to remove her and others from the case—or scuttle the case entirely.

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-jeffrey-epstein-emails-money-laundering-charges/