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Case 22-1426, Document 77, 06/29/2023, 3536038, Page5 of 258
SA-3
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 204-3 Filed 04/16/21 Page 3 of 348

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Department of Justice (Department) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)
investigated allegations that in 2007-2008, prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Southern District of Florida (USAO) improperly resolved a federal investigation into the criminal
conduct of Jeffrey Epstein by negotiating and executing a federal non-prosecution agreement
(NPA). The NPA was intended to end a federal investigation into allegations that Epstein engaged
in illegal sexual activity with girls. OPR also investigated whether USAO prosecutors committed
professional misconduct by failing to consult with victims of Epstein's crimes before the NPA was
signed or by misleading victims regarding the status of the federal investigation after the signing.

I. OVERVIEW OF FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Palm Beach (Florida) Police Department (PBPD) began investigating Jeffrey Epstein
in 2005, after the parents of a 14-year-old girl complained that Epstein had paid her for a massage.
Epstein was a multi-millionaire financier with residences in Palm Beach, New York City, and
other United States and foreign locations. The investigation led to the discovery that Epstein used
personal assistants to recruit girls to provide massages to him, and in many instances, those
massages led to sexual activity. After the PBPD brought the case to the State Attorney's Office, a
Palm Beach County grand jury indicted Epstein, on July 19, 2006, for felony solicitation of
prostitution in violation of Florida Statute § 796.07. However, because the PBPD Chief and the
Lead Detective were dissatisfied with the State Attorney's handling of the case and believed that
the state grand jury's charge did not address the totality of Epstein's conduct, they referred the
matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in West Palm Beach for a possible federal
investigation.

The FBI brought the matter to an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA), who opened a file with
her supervisor's approval and with the knowledge of then U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta.
She worked with two FBI case agents to develop a federal case against Epstein and, in the course
of the investigation, they discovered additional victims. In May 2007, the AUSA submitted to her
supervisors a draft 60-count indictment outlining charges against Epstein. She also provided a
lengthy memorandum summarizing the evidence she had assembled in support of the charges and
addressing the legal issues related to the proposed charges.

For several weeks following submission of the prosecution memorandum and proposed
indictment, the AUSA's supervisors reviewed the case to determine how to proceed. At a
July 31, 2007 meeting with Epstein's attorneys, the USAO offered to end its investigation if
Epstein pled guilty to state charges, agreed to serve a minimum of two years' incarceration,
registered as a sexual offender, and agreed to a mechanism through which victims could obtain
monetary damages. The USAO subsequently engaged in additional meetings and communications
with Epstein's team of attorneys, ultimately negotiating the terms of a state-based resolution of the
federal investigation, which culminated in the signing of the NPA on September 24, 2007. The

1
As used in this Report, including in quoted documents and statements, the word "girls" refers to females who
were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged conduct. Under Florida law, a minor is a person under the age
of 18.
DOJ-OGR-00021177