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Case 1:19-cr-00490-RMB Document 11 Filed 07/12/19 Page 1 of 14
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
Southern District of New York
The Silvio J. Mollo Building
One Saint Andrew's Plaza
New York, New York 10007
July 12, 2019
VIA ECF
The Honorable Richard M. Berman
United States District Court
Southern District of New York
United States Courthouse
500 Pearl Street
New York, New York 10007
Re: United States v. Jeffrey Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 (RMB)
Dear Judge Berman:
The Government respectfully submits this letter in response to the defendant's Motion for
Pretrial Release (the “Release Motion”), dated July 11, 2019 (Dkt. 6), and in further support of its
Memorandum in Support of Detention of the “Detention Memo”), submitted to Magistrate Judge
Pitman on July 8, 2019, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein (Ex. A).
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
The defendant is a serial sexual predator who is charged with abusing underage girls for
years. A grand jury has returned an indictment alleging that he sexually exploited dozens of
minors, including girls as young as 14 years old, in New York and Florida. To this day, he is a
registered sex offender designed by New York State in the highest category of risk to reoffend,
despite unsuccessfully attempting to have that classification lowered. And any doubt that the
defendant is unrepentant and unreformed was eliminated when law enforcement agents discovered
hundreds or thousands of nude and seminude photographs of young females in his Manhattan
mansion on the night of his arrest, more than a decade after he was first convicted of a sex crime
involving a juvenile.
The defendant also faces substantial evidence of his guilt, founded on the corroborated
testimony of numerous victims, and his case presents the very real possibility that he will go to
prison for the rest of his life. The defendant has at his disposal a vast fortune, the details of which
remain largely concealed from the Court. He also has a history of obstruction and manipulation
of witnesses, including, as detailed herein, as recently as within the past year, when media reports
about his conduct reemerged. And he continues to show a shocking lack of understanding of the
gravity of the harm he has perpetrated, including through the minimization of his conduct and
casual disparagement of victims in his arguments.
Against this backdrop of significant—and rapidly-expanding—evidence, serious charges,
and the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence, the defendant proposes to be released on conditions
that are woefully inadequate. The Release Motion misconstrues and misunderstands the relevant
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Honorable Richard M. Berman
United States District Judge
July 12, 2019
Page 2
law, seeks to diminish and demean the harm caused to the many victims of the defendant's
appalling sexual abuse, and utterly fails to meet its burden of rebutting the presumption that no
condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as
required and the safety of the community. Rather than even attempting to address the grave risks
of releasing a defendant with extraordinary financial resources and a history of abusing minors,
the defendant instead proposes a bail package that amounts to little more than a barely-secured
bond masquerading as a 14-point plan. The Court should reject the defendant's application and
order him detained pending trial.
Among other things, the proposed bail package contemplates the defendant pledging as the
principal security a property that has already been identified by the Government as subject to
forfeiture upon the defendant's conviction, and which therefore is of no value as collateral. His
proposed global waiver of extradition is unenforceable, and even if enforceable would be little
comfort to victims forced to wait additional years while the defendant is located and returned to
this country. The promise to “deregister or otherwise ground” his private jet is meaningless given
his wealth and ability to easily secure other means of travel. The two co-signers he proposes only
further highlight his minimal community ties, including his lack of any family in or near the
District. Electronic monitoring would merely give the defendant less of a head start in fleeing—
and does not guard against the risk of him endangering victims in the very home where he has
continued to hoard nude images of young women and girls. And the private security force he
proposes to guard his gilded cage, a proposal already rejected by this Court in similar
circumstances, simply reinforces the obvious fact that the defendant should be housed where he
can be secured at all times: a federal correctional center.
The defendant faces a presumption of detention, Pretrial Services has recommended
detention, and victims of the defendant seek his detention. Because there are no set of conditions
short of incarceration that can reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant or reasonably
protect the community from the dangers he poses if released, the Court should order him detained.
BACKGROUND
As previously set forth, a federal grand jury in this District returned an indictment (the
“Indictment") charging the defendant with violating Title 18, United States Code Section 1519,
and conspiracy to commit the same.
As changed by the grand jury, the facts giving rise to those counts involve a years-long
scheme to sexually abuse underage girls. Specifically, the defendant enticed and recruited dozens
of minor girls to engage in sex acts with him, for which he paid the victims hundreds of dollars in
cash, in at least two different states. Victims were initially recruited to provide “massages” to the
defendant, which would be performed nude or partially nude, would become increasingly sexual
in nature, and would typically include one or more sex acts, including groping and direct or indirect
contact with victims' genitals. To perpetuate the exploitation of underage girls, the defendant
actively encouraged certain victims to recruit additional girls to be similarly sexually abused. He
paid these victim-recruiters hundreds of dollars for each additional girl they brought to him,
creating a network of underage victims to him to exploit in New York and Palm Beach.
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Honorable Richard M. Berman
United States District Judge
July 12, 2019
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The defendant, through counsel, continues to evidence a complete lack of appreciation for
the gravity of the offenses with which he is charged.¹ As an initial matter, there can be no plausible
suggestion that the allegations against the defendant involve isolated or aberrational conduct; they
involve repeated, regular acts of sexual abuse, committed over a period of many years. And
following the defendant's prior conviction, as described previously by the Government, the
defendant continued to maintain at least hundreds and possibly thousands of nude photos of young
subjects. The defendant's victims in this case, often particularly vulnerable girls, were as young
as 14 years old when he abused them. The defendant knew he was abusing minors, including
because victims told him directly they were underage. And he preyed on his victims habitually
and repeatedly—day after day, month after month, year after year.
The defense calls these disturbing alleged acts “simple prostitution.”² Mag. Tr. 12:12; see
also D. Tr. at 6:15-19 (“This is basically the Feds today . . . redoing the same conduct that was
investigated 10 years ago and calling it, instead of prostitution, calling it sex trafficking”). That
characterization is not only offensive but also utterly irrelevant given federal law does not
recognize the concept of a child prostitute-there are only trafficking victims—because a child
cannot legally consent to being exploited. Defense counsel's repeated assertion that the
Government's case is infirm because no threats or coercion are alleged-e.g., Mag. Tr. at 12
(“There was no coercion. There were no threats. There was no violence.”), 17 (“There was no
coercion. There was no intimidation. There is no deception.”); Release Motion at 2 (“There are
no allegations... that he forced, coerced, defrauded, or enslaved anybody....”)—is equally
irrelevant because the offense with which the defendant has been charged requires no such proof.
See, e.g., United States v. Alford, 653 F. App'x 272, 278 (6th Cir. 2016) (“We hold that § 1591(a)
criminalizes the sex trafficking of children (less than 18 years old) with or without any force, fraud,
or coercion, and it also criminalizes the sex trafficking of adults (18 or older), but only if done by
force, fraud, or coercion.”).
Far more important, the defense has already effectively conceded that the Government will
be able to present evidence of the actual primary elements of the charged offense-i.e., that the
defendant engaged in sex acts for money with girls he knew were underage. See Release Motion
at 2. On this record, the Government agrees with Pretrial Services that the defendant should be
detained pending trial. He poses a tremendous risk of flight and a danger to the community, and
he cannot overcome the statutory presumption in favor of detention in this case.
¹ Such arguments are unsurprising from a defendant who previously compared himself to “a person
who steals a bagel” or a tragic mythical figure. See, e.g., Amber Sutherland, Billionaire Jeffrey
Epstein: 'I'm a sex offender, not a predator, N.Y. Post (2011) (“I'm not a sexual predator I'm an
'offender,' the financier told The Post yesterday. 'It's the difference between a murderer and a
person who steals a bagel.”); Philip Weiss, The Fantasist, NY Magazine (2007) (“It's the Icarus
story, someone who flies too close to the sun.' I said, 'Did Icarus like massages?' Epstein asked.”).
² "Mag. Tr." refers to the transcript of the hearing before Magistrate Judge Pitman on July 8, 2019;
"D. Tr." refers to the transcript of the hearing before this Court on July 9, 2019.
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Honorable Richard M. Berman
United States District Judge
July 12, 2019
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ARGUMENT
The Government respectfully submits that the defendant cannot overcome the statutory
presumption in favor of detention in this case for the following reasons, among others:
I. Victims Seek Detention
Pursuant to the Crime Victims' Rights Act ("CVRA"), a crime victim has the right to be
reasonably heard at certain public proceedings in the district court, including proceedings
involving release. 18 U.S.C. § 3771(a)(4). Consistent with that requirement, the Government has
been in contact with victims and counsel identified through this investigation in connection with the
argument regarding bail.
Multiple victims and/or their counsel have asked the Government to seek detention (and to
inform the Court of their views in that respect) for multiple reasons. First, they believe that the
defendant's continued detention is necessary under the CVRA's right to be reasonably protected
from the accused. 18 U.S.C. § 3771(a)(1). They have specifically conveyed to the Government
that they would be fearful for their safety if the defendant were released. For the reasons articulated
herein, the Government believes those concerns to be well-founded.
Additionally, certain victims have asked the Government to advise the Court that they are
specifically concerned about the defendant's proposal to be released even if under conditions that
included home detention and full-time private guards. They believe it would be unfair to victims
of a wealthy defendant, like Epstein, if he were to be given greater freedoms than others would be
in similar circumstances, and that such an arrangement would be inconsistent with their rights.
They specifically asked the Government to advise the Court that they believed such an arrangement
could result in harassment and abuse by the defendant.3
II. The Defendant's Proposal Does Nothing to Mitigate His Flight Risk
Each of the relevant factors to be considered as to flight risk—the nature and circumstances
of the offense, the strength of the evidence, and the history and characteristics of the defendant—
counsel strongly in favor of detention, and the defendant's proposed package would do nothing
whatsoever to mitigate those risks.
A. Defendant Proposes No Infringement Upon His Ability to Use His Vast Wealth to Flee
It might not be immediately apparent to a reader of the Release Motion that the defendant
is extravagantly wealthy and worth, according to records relating to the defendant recently
obtained by the Government from a financial institution ("Institution-1"), more than $500 million.
3 The Government is aware of at least one additional attorney for a victim who has publicly stated
that her client supports the pretrial detention of the defendant. The Government is unaware of any
victim who has expressed support for the defendant being granted pretrial release on bail.
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Honorable Richard M. Berman
United States District Judge
July 12, 2019
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Indeed, while the defendant has still not filled out a financial affidavit, under penalty of
perjury, in connection with his application for bail, his token effort to account for his finances
makes painfully clear the need for detention. The defendant reports having an extraordinary
amount of money in both total assets and cash or cash-equivalent holdings. And while the
defendant repeatedly represts in his Release Motion that his assets are “in the United States,”
there is absolutely nothing in the defendant's minimal financial submission to verify that.
Indeed, and as discussed further below, even assuming the defendant's assets are presently
in the United States, nothing in the proposed package would prevent the defendant from
transferring liquid assets out of the country quickly and in anticipation of flight or relocation. The
defendant is an incredibly sophisticated financial actor with decades of experience in the industry
and significant ties to financial institutions and actors around the world. He could easily transfer
funds and holdings on a moment's to places where the Government would never find them so as
to ensure he could live comfortably while a fugitive.
But perhaps most important, even were the defendant to sacrifice literally all of his current
assets, there is every indication that he would immediately be able to resume making millions or
tens of millions of dollars per year outside of the United States. He already earns at least
$10,000,000 per year, according to records from Institution-1, while living in the U.S. Virgin
Islands, travelingo extensively abroad, and residing in part in Paris, France; there would be little to
stop the defendant from fleeing, transferring his unknown assets abroad, and then continuing to do
whatever it he is to earn his vast wealth from a computer terminal beyond the reach of
extradition.4
That the defendant faces up to 45 years of incarceration on the current counts with which
he is charged provides the motive for him do so and is another significant factor in assessing the
risk of flight. See United States v. Jackson, 823 F.2d 2d, 521 (2d Cir. 1987). So too is the strength of
the evidence, detailed above and in the Government's Detention Memo. Indeed, that evidence,
already robust less than a week ago when the Indictment was unsealed, is growing stronger by the
day. Just since the Indictment was unsealed, several additional women, in multiple jurisdictions,
have identified themselves to the Government as having been victimized by the defendant when
they were minors. Moreover, pursuant to judicially-authorized search warrants, the Government
has discovered and seized a significant volume of photographs of nude and seminude young
women and girls in the defendant's Manhattan residence, and is in the process of reviewing dozens
of electronic discs that contain still more such photos. And dozens of individuals have called the
Government in recent days to convey information regarding the defendant and the allegations
4 As noted in the Government's Detention Memo, the defendant is a frequent traveler and regularly
traveled to and from the United States, including approximately more than 20 flights in which he
traveled to or from a foreign country since 2018 alone. Extensive international travel of this nature
further demonstrates a significant risk of flight. See, e.g., United States v. Anderson, 384 F. Supp.
2d 32, 36 (D.D.C. 2005).
5 The Government's review of these materials, seized earlier this week, remains ongoing.
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