Jeffrey Epstein favored to run in powerful circles.
The trove of emails and paperwork launched by the Justice Department in January present Epstein maintained connections to a large swath of well-known individuals — from Elon Musk and Bill Gates to Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
But Epstein’s personal inner circle — in contrast to his social and skilled ones — was stored small and comparatively nameless, whereas they facilitated his day-to-day operations as a mysteriously rich financier.
Epstein’s lawyer, accountant, assistant, pilot, modeling scout, and ex-girlfriend all labored collectively behind-the-scenes to handle his schedule and appointments, his companies, properties and compounds throughout the globe, and, after all, his cash.
Members of Epstein’s inner circle have constantly denied any wrongdoing, and say they have been unaware of Epstein’s intercourse trafficking and abuse. Many have remained silent concerning their work for Epstein.
But the hundreds of thousands of newly-released documents from the Justice Department reveal contemporary insights into Epstein’s relationships with his closest confidantes, and how they helped him preserve his place amongst the higher echelons of society even after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor and needed to register as a intercourse offender in 2008.
The paperwork additionally reveal how they helped with the day-to-day logistics of Epstein’s life.
Some withdrew money for Epstein — usually tens of 1000’s of {dollars} at a time — arrange shell corporations for him, paid tuition for younger girls he favored, purchased items and made journey preparations for company who stayed at his numerous properties. In not less than one case, a member of his inner circle put in hidden cameras at an Epstein property.
Others routinely scheduled massages for Epstein – and it was throughout these massages that Epstein would sexually groom and abuse younger women and girls, in response to victims.
Together, the names of these in Epstein’s inner circle seem 1000’s of instances throughout the newly launched information. Though they haven’t had the identical degree of scrutiny that extra well-known individuals who seem in the information have obtained, that will begin to change. Over the coming months, a number of of them are scheduled to testify in entrance of the House Oversight Committee.
Richard Kahn, Epstein’s longtime accountant, and Darren Indyke, his private lawyer, each of whom are co-executors of Epstein’s property, are slated to testify on March 11 and March 19. Lesley Groff, Epstein’s government assistant, was requested by the committee to seem on June 9.
A diagram produced by the US authorities recognized some members of Epstein’s inner circle. In the finish, federal prosecutors charged solely one among them as a co-conspirator: Ghislaine Maxwell, his ex-girlfriend and confederate who is presently serving a 20-year sentence for federal intercourse trafficking crimes.
Many in Epstein’s inner circle labored carefully with him for years till he was arrested in July 2019. In return, some have been remembered in his will to the tune of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} — although that cash has but to be distributed as a result of the will has not gone into impact but.
As co-executors of Epstein’s property, Kahn and Indyke have arrange a victims’ compensation fund, which says it distributed approximately $125 million to eligible candidates earlier than winding down in 2021.
Recently, the two agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit from Epstein victims that alleged the pair have been “facilitators” in Epstein’s intercourse trafficking operation, allegations they strongly deny. The settlement, which nonetheless wants sign-off from a choose, would pay up to $35 million to victims and Kahn and Indyke wouldn’t admit to any wrongdoing, in response to their lawyer.
Here’s a take a look at Epstein’s inner circle.
Groff first started working for Epstein in 2001, according to a 2010 payroll document, managing his schedule, reserving his journey and private appointments and interacting with high-profile people as the go-between.
Epstein praised Groff as a vital worker. When she grew to become pregnant in 2004, he purchased her a Mercedes-Benz E320 to make her commuting simpler and agreed to pay for a full-time nanny in order that she might hold working for him, according to a New York Times story .
“There is no way that I could lose Lesley to motherhood,” Epstein informed The Times in 2005.
An lawyer for Groff didn’t reply to NCS’s request for remark.
Multiple victims who spoke to the FBI additionally recognized Groff as the individual they’d name first to achieve Epstein and schedule a therapeutic massage for him. Many girls have mentioned that Epstein perpetuated his sexual abuse whereas receiving these massages.
In one 2019 FBI interview of a victim, who mentioned she was 14 when she first met Epstein, recognized Groff as the individual she known as to schedule the massages for herself and different women.
Groff “never discussed about what was really going on with the massages but remembered LESLIE [sic] asking her, ‘Was this her first time’,” in response to the FBI memo of the interview.
FBI memos like these, referred to as 302s, memorialize interviews from witnesses, however they don’t sometimes comprise details about whether or not the FBI took steps to corroborate the info. It’s unclear whether or not the allegations have been verified or investigated.
A 2021 FBI memo of a sufferer interview additionally mentions Groff. The lady informed investigators that she would often ask Groff for cash, which Epstein must approve, and she “would mention different girls’ names to” Groff.
The lady “felt it was pretty obvious LESLEY knew what was going on,” according to the memo. She additionally informed the FBI that when she was 17 or 18, she known as Groff to inform her that she wanted to talk to Epstein instantly as a result of she wanted $400 for an abortion. According to the memo, the lady mentioned Groff linked her to Epstein “on the phone right away.” Epstein gave the lady $1,000 in an envelope, the memo mentioned.
Email correspondences in the Epstein information additionally reveal that Epstein relied on Groff to guide home and worldwide journey for him and scores of ladies. In one September 2015 exchange with Epstein, an unidentified lady requested him for monetary assist and to “forgive me my mistakes.” In back-and-forth emails, he informed her to “start by writing dow= all your sins and then we can discuss.”
The lady then emailed Epstein to ask if Groff might guide her a ticket again to Rome as a result of she couldn’t afford it. Epstein then forwarded the total correspondence to Groff, together with the messages the place the lady listed “sins,” akin to consuming, not saying thanks and “posting pictures on Ins=agram when you told me not to.”
Epstein instructed Groff to guide the ticket for the lady.
The controversial non-prosecution settlement Epstein struck with federal prosecutors in Florida in 2008 included a clause to not bring any charges towards “any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to…Lesley Groff.” The different names listed are redacted.
In a lawsuit filed in 2021 that was later dropped, an nameless alleged sufferer, “Jane Doe,” claimed that Groff participated in Epstein’s trafficking of ladies. Both Doe and Groff agreed to dismiss the lawsuit after Maxwell was discovered responsible.
Two different victims filed a civil go well with towards Groff, however the litigation was dropped after they obtained cash from Epstein’s property as a part of a compensation fund.
Groff’s lawyers announced in late 2021 that she wouldn’t be charged by regulation enforcement and that she had “never witnessed anything improper or illegal” and stays “heartbroken” for all of the victims.
Indyke was first launched to Epstein when he joined a small boutique regulation agency contemporary out of faculty in the Nineteen Eighties, according to CBS News. He graduated from Cornell Law School in 1991. Indyke started working completely for Epstein full-time in 1996, according to a payroll document.
According to the paperwork reviewed by NCS, Indyke operated as a lawyer and private consultant for Epstein and his numerous enterprise enterprises for practically 25 years, even throughout Epstein’s incarceration.
As a lawyer, Indyke was chargeable for the authorized paperwork to ascertain dozens of corporations and ventures for Epstein.
In one e-mail from March 2019, Indyke wrote to Epstein regarding paperwork to create a brand new funding firm known as “Truth Robot LLC,” and Epstein directed an affiliate to “start looking for investments.”
Epstein wrote to Indyke: “Can’t have my name” on it.
Indyke replied, “Will =elete and have Rich sign as ‘Treasurer’ of Southern =inancial, LLC,” referring to Richard Kahn, Epstein’s longtime accountant.
Acting as Epstein’s lawyer, Indyke additionally withdrew 1000’s of {dollars} in money from numerous accounts at a time on his behalf, typically drawing scrutiny from banks.
In July 2016, an email thread between three Deutsche Bank staff revealed considerations after Indyke withdrew $11,500 in money for Epstein over two days with no prior written request.
“There was no email from the client or RM saying they’d like 11.5k out of the two accounts on that specific date in advance?” one banker wrote. RM probably refers to the relationship supervisor for that account.
“No, sir,” one other banker replied. “Darren or the RM never sends an email. He just walks into the branch.”
Indyke’s withdrawal exercise continued to boost such alarm that in July 2017 one other banker really helpful limiting Indyke’s capability to money checks by means of Teller Operations and that Deutsche Bank ought to “consider whether we should exit the relationship.”
The civil lawsuit, which the events just lately agreed to settle, alleged that Indyke helped Epstein construction money withdrawals to keep away from triggering suspicions at banks, and that the money was used to pay Epstein’s’ victims – an allegation Indyke denied in a court filing.
Indyke’s lawyer, Daniel Weiner, informed NCS that following Epstein’s 2008 incarceration, Epstein “did not have ready access to credit cards and instead required cash to pay for a wide variety of items” together with “maintenance, repairs and daily household needs” and “meals, gifts, gratuities and fuel for his private aircraft.”
Indyke has denied any wrongdoing and any data of Epstein’s intercourse trafficking enterprise. Weiner informed NCS: “Not a single woman has ever accused Mr. Indyke of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she reported to him any allegation of Mr. Epstein’s abuse.”
As Epstein’s lawyer, Indyke was included in 1000’s of attorney-client communications with Epstein, in response to a doc known as a “privilege log” offered by the property. According to the property’s descriptions of the emails, Indyke was concerned in advising Epstein on a myriad of civil litigation and prison circumstances.
Despite Indyke’s shut working relationship with Epstein up till his boss’s arrest in July 2019, he was by no means questioned by federal regulation enforcement authorities about his work for Epstein whereas Epstein and Maxwell have been being investigated, in response to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
An lawyer for Indyke mentioned “the release of the Epstein files also confirms that the Department of Justice was well aware of Mr. Indyke and did not consider him to be among Mr. Epstein’s co-conspirators.”
Indyke was such a detailed confidant to Epstein that upon his loss of life, a replica of Epstein’s trust exhibits he deliberate to depart Indyke $50 million. That is a quantity matched solely by Epstein’s girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, who was as a result of obtain $50 million as properly.
Epstein additionally named Indyke as a co-executor of his property, placing him in control of Epstein’s property and entry to potential proof. Indyke and Kahn arrange a restitution fund that has paid approximately $125 million to the victims, according to the administrator of the fund.
Since Epstein’s loss of life, Indyke has stored a comparatively low profile as victims have filed civil lawsuits towards him and the property. Indyke worked at the Parlatore Law Group in 2025 – a regulation agency run by a former private lawyer for President Trump – however seems to have left the agency at the finish of final yr. He now works as a luxury real estate agent in Florida.
Attorneys for Indyke and Kahn informed NCS their purchasers have been cooperating with the House Oversight Committee for a number of months.
“They willingly complied with that subpoena, producing thousands of pages of documents, photographs and other materials. Mr. Indyke fully intends to continue his cooperation with the Committee, and looks forward to setting the record straight as to his lack of involvement in Mr. Epstein’s misconduct,” mentioned Weiner.
Indyke is scheduled to testify in entrance of the House Oversight Committee on March 19 after being subpoenaed.
Kahn first started working for Epstein as his in-house accountant in 2005, however his position rapidly expanded into the de facto keeper of the keys to Epstein’s sprawling wealth. Kahn coordinated wire transfers, signed checks, dealt with taxes, and distributed cash on Epstein’s behalf, in response to the paperwork launched by the Justice Department.
While Indyke withdrew massive sums of money for Epstein, Kahn seemed to be approved to dole out cash to Epstein’s associates, associates and causes. Epstein often directed Kahn to ship monetary assist and items to his associates on his behalf, together with a $10,000 Bloomingdale’s gift card, $3,500 to a model for her faculty tuition, and lump sums up to $5,000 for unspecified functions.
“Jeffrey told me to organize with you regarding payment for my summer courses,” a mannequin wrote to Kahn in 2017.
Kahn additionally distributed cash to educational establishments, together with a $25,000 donation to the Stockholm School of Economics and a $10,000 donation to Harvard Kennedy School in 2012. And Epstein included Kahn on an e-mail during which he mentioned he would donate $100,000 to Harvard University in 2011, to which Kahn requested if he ought to coordinate with a professor for “specifics.”
The DOJ paperwork present that Kahn and Epstein ceaselessly communicated about numerous purchases for a bunch he and Epstein would discuss with as “the girls.” It’s unclear whether or not “the girls” have been at all times comprised of the identical individuals and who they have been.
Kahn oversaw the buy of tickets to the US Open, lottery tickets and Amex present playing cards, all of which have been for “the girls.” Kahn additionally organized smaller bills, together with maid service for “the girl’s apartments” and their cable TV subscriptions.
It is unclear what Kahn meant by the women’ flats, however Epstein owned apartments at a property in New York’s Upper East Side neighborhood. Victims reported staying there. Epstein additionally lent out apartments to visiting acquaintances, associates and friends.
These monetary relationships spanned greater than a decade for some people.
Epstein requested Kahn to wire a lady named “Nadia” $10,000 in 2011.
In March 2017, Epstein instructed Kahn to send another $45,000 to Nadia for her accrued medical bills. Nadia notes in her e-mail request to Epstein that she had mentioned these payments “with Darren.”
In one other alternate, Kahn confirmed the wire cost of $10,000 to “the girl from Romania.” It’s unclear who the lady was.
An lawyer for Kahn, Dan Ruzumna, informed NCS in an announcement: “Epstein’s books and records gave Mr. Kahn no indication that Epstein was paying for sex or that any woman was being sexually abused or trafficked.”
“Mr. Kahn never witnessed any of Epstein’s abuse, nor did any victim (or anyone else) ever report her abuse by Epstein to him. No victim has ever made any allegation to the contrary,” he added.
In 2018, when Epstein asked about the manner in which Kahn sent money to pay for an Airbnb, Kahn replied: “i signed up to send from my PayPal account so your name was =ot involved.”
In addition to directing funds for alleged victims, Kahn sent luxurious items to high-profile purchasers and associates, together with a Hermes bag to former Obama White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler. He additionally managed renovations for Epstein’s properties and different massive initiatives.
After Epstein died in 2019, Epstein’s will confirmed he deliberate to provide Kahn $25 million. Like Indyke, Kahn was never questioned by federal law enforcement authorities about his work for Epstein whereas Epstein and Maxwell have been being investigated. Kahn’s lawyer mentioned “the recent release of the Epstein files confirms the DOJ never considered Mr. Kahn to be one of Epstein’s co-conspirators.”
Kahn is about to testify earlier than the House Oversight Committee on March 11.
A French modeling scout, Brunel first met Epstein’s then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell someday in the early-Nineties, according to Maxwell. It’s unclear how Brunel and Epstein first met, however round this time, Brunel began an American outpost of the modeling company, Karin Models.
Around 2005, Epstein gave Brunel approximately $1 million to start out his personal modeling company, MC2 Modeling, in Miami and appeared to financially assist the firm for years.
Interviews with former Epstein staff staff recommend that Brunel launched Epstein to women and was a significant conduit to securing work visas for the fashions, who usually hailed from Eastern European international locations.
Brunel and Epstein exchanged lots of of emails, usually messaging to “call” each other again. A message pad from September 2005 obtained by regulation enforcement exhibits that Brunel left a message for Epstein saying he discovered him a “2×8 years old” Russian language trainer, “not blonde.”
Across the emails, Brunel and Epstein would ship each other photos of young women, and arrange logistics for photo shoots with models.
In one e-mail from 2010, a redacted e-mail consumer requested Epstein what he considered her shifting to the MC2 modeling company. “there is no better person than jean luc,” replied Epstein.
While Epstein was serving his jail sentence in 2009, he despatched photos of girls to Brunel. Brunel in flip visited Epstein throughout his 13-month jail keep dozens of instances.
The modeling company was a cash pit; an accounting firm estimated the company misplaced $49 million between 2006-2015.
By January 2015, Brunel and Epstein’s relationship had begun to fray. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a distinguished survivor, alleged that Epstein compelled her to have intercourse with Brunel in court docket paperwork and in media outlets, inflicting Brunel to put in writing that he couldn’t work anymore.
Brunel later sued Epstein in 2015 in Florida state court contending that the allegations sunk his company, however the case was dismissed.
Documents first reported by the Wall Street Journal present that in 2016, Brunel was quietly negotiating with attorneys for Epstein victims to testify towards Epstein. Notes from a federal prosecutor present Brunel was keen to “cooperate” in alternate for immunity.
But the deal fell by means of — Brunel by no means did.
While Epstein initially planned to give Brunel as a lot as $5 million in his will and to forgive any money owed, by the time Epstein died in August 2019, Brunel was left out of the trust solely.
Brunel confronted allegations of sexual violence as early as the 1980s. Dutch mannequin Thysia Huisman accused Brunel of drugging and raping her in Paris in 1991, when she was 18.
Brunel was arrested in December 2020 at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on “counts of rape and sexual assault, rape and sexual assault on a minor under 15, rape and sexual assault on a minor over 15, sexual harassment, criminal associations and human trafficking to the detriment of minor victims for the purposes of sexual exploitation,” according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Brunel died in 2022 in a Paris prison whereas awaiting trial on costs of rape and sexual assault of adults and minors. A health worker ruled his death a suicide.
Visoski spent practically three many years working for Epstein as his pilot, logging lots of of flights transporting Epstein and his company, together with presidents, royalty, billionaires and individuals recognized solely as “Female” in flight logs. Many of the journeys have been between Epstein’s personal Caribbean island, his New Mexico ranch and his New York City townhouse.
But Visoski wore a number of hats for Epstein, and the two appeared to kind a private bond over the years.
An FBI memo from a 2006 interview with Visoski said that, “In addition to Visoski’s flight duties, he provided Epstein with advice on home entertainment centers and vehicles. Visoski installed a home theater system in Epstein’s Palm Beach residence and his ranch in New Mexico.”
Epstein additionally directed Visoski to buy hidden video cameras, apparently to be arrange in his residence in Palm Beach, according to a recently released 2014 email.
“Lets get three motion detected hidden cameras, that record,” Epstein wrote to Visoski.
The function of the cameras was not clear.
“Its amazing how small they are,” Visoski replied, including that they might report for 64 hours. “I’m installing them into Kleenex boxes now. I’ll bring them by later today.”
Epstein, in flip, rewarded Visoski with private favors and items, the DOJ paperwork present. Epstein deliberate to provide Visoski $10 million, according to his will – the identical quantity he deliberate to depart for his brother, Mark, and for his ex-girlfriend, Maxwell.
Newly launched bank statements present checks from Epstein made payable to Syracuse University between 2009 and 2012 for Visoski’s daughter’s tuition. In one email from Visoski to Epstein, he requested for a “personal loan” of $21,000 to cowl his daughter’s tuition, including that he was proud to report that she made the dean’s listing.
Visoski’s daughter additionally had her marriage ceremony at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch, according to an FBI internal memo included in the DOJ tranche of information.
Visoski informed FBI investigators in 2006 and once more in his testimony at Maxwell’s trial in 2021 that he “never saw any sexual activity” on the flights and the girls didn’t look like youthful than 20. In his 2006 interview with the FBI, Visoski mentioned that he “never observed any inappropriate behavior or anything of a sexual nature by Epstein,” according to the FBI memo.
“As a practical joke, Epstein asked Visoski to purchase a box of condoms to place on Donald Trump’s seat after he found out Trump’s girlfriend was pregnant,” the 2006 memo said.
David Rogers, Epstein’s different longtime pilot, informed the FBI in 2020 that somebody from Epstein’s “circle” suggested him to cease placing down passenger names in the flight logs after 2007, when Epstein was first being investigated in Florida, according to a memo of the interview.
Some of the logs simply listing “female” or “male” as the passengers.
Visoski and an lawyer for him didn’t reply to NCS’s requests for remark.
A former British socialite and the daughter of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine Maxwell first started relationship Epstein someday after her father died in November 1991. In the Nineties and 2000s – between her on-and-off-again romantic relationship with Epstein – she additionally labored for him by managing his properties and employees.
Maxwell grew to become instrumental in recruiting victims for Epstein, according to victim testimonies. Maxwell scouted potential victims to provide Epstein “massages” – together with Virginia Roberts Giuffre – and tried to befriend victims by asking them about their private lives or inviting them to the films or on procuring journeys.
She additionally spoke to them about sexual matters, commented on their bodies, and typically joined in on the sexualized massages and actively participated in the sexual abuse of minors, in response to sufferer testimonies.
And she inspired victims to just accept Epstein’s monetary help and to recruit further women into their circle, in response to prosecutors.
After Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008, Maxwell distanced herself publicly from Epstein, however the two continued to correspond, in response to the paperwork, and strategized on how to answer media inquiries.
Maxwell denied all of the allegations made towards her in the 2010s – and was even taken to court by Giuffre for a defamation case in 2015. They settled out of court docket 4 years later.
After Epstein died in jail, a replica of his will exhibits he deliberate to provide $10 million to Maxwell.
Nearly a yr after Epstein was charged with intercourse trafficking crimes in 2019, Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 as an accomplice to Epstein on costs of enticement and conspiracy to entice minors to journey to have interaction in unlawful intercourse acts, transportation and conspiracy to move minors with intent to have interaction in prison sexual exercise and two counts of perjury.
During Maxwell’s trial, one sufferer mentioned in a statement she believed Maxwell was a “psychopath.”
“Her abuse of me and many other children and young women is evidence of her disregard for and violation of the rights of others,” the sufferer’s assertion learn.
In December 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of 5 federal costs – together with intercourse trafficking of a minor – and was later sentenced to serve 20 years in federal prison.
In July 2025, Maxwell was interviewed in a proffer session with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Across her two-day interview with Blanche, Maxwell mentioned she by no means witnessed something untoward in Donald Trump’s friendship with Epstein and by no means heard of any allegations during which he acted inappropriately.
Every week later, she was transferred to a lower-security federal prison camp in Texas, an unusual transfer for a convicted intercourse offender that raised questions on why she was moved.
In February, Maxwell testified before Congress just about however invoked her Fifth Amendment proper to not incriminate herself. A lawyer for Maxwell said she might clear Donald Trump and Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing regarding Epstein in alternate for clemency from the president.
An lawyer for Maxwell didn’t reply to a request for remark.