EFTA00029004.pdf

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 8, 2019 VIA ECF The Honorable Henry Pitman 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 Pitman: The Government respectfully submits this letter in advance of the bail hearing scheduled for July 8, 2019, in the above-captioned case. For the reasons set forth herein, the Court should order that the defendant be detained pending trial; he cannot meet his burden of overcoming the presumption that there is no combination of conditions that would reasonably assure his continued appearance in this case or protect the safety of the community were he to be released. As set forth below, the charges in this case are exceptionally serious: the defendant is alleged to be a serial sexual predator who preyed on dozens of minor girls over a period of years, and he now faces a potentially massive prison sentence predicated on substantial and multifaceted evidence of his guilt. In light of the strength of the Government's evidence and the substantial incarceratory term the defendant would face upon conviction, there is an extraordinary risk of flight, particularly given the defendant's exorbitant wealth, his ownership of and access to private planes capable of international travel, and his significant international ties. Indeed, the arrest of the defendant occurred when he arrived in the United States on his private jet after having returned from a multi-week stay abroad. Finally, and as detailed herein, the Government has real concerns—grounded in past experience with this defendant—that if allowed to remain out on bail, the defendant could attempt to pressure and intimidate witnesses and potential witnesses in this case, including victims and their families, and otherwise attempt to obstruct justice. As a result, he poses both an acute danger to the community, including some of its most vulnerable members, and a significant risk of flight. The defendant thus cannot overcome the statutory presumption that detention is appropriate in this case, and the Court should order that he be detained pending trial. EFTA00029004 Honorable Henry Pitman United States Magistrate Judge July 8, 2019 Page 2 BACKGROUND A. Overview On July 2, 2019, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned a sealed indictment (the "Indictment") charging the defendant with one count of sex trafficking of minors, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591, and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. As charged by the grand jury, the facts underlying the charges in the Indictment arise from a years-long scheme to sexually abuse underage girls. In particular, beginning in at least 2002, 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. He undertook this activity in at least two different locations, including his mansion in Manhattan, New York (the "New York Residence") and his estate in Palm Beach, Florida (the "Palm Beach Residence"). In both New York and Florida, the defendant perpetuated this abuse in similar ways. 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. The defendant paid his victims hundreds of dollars in cash for each separate encounter. Moreover, the defendant actively encouraged certain of his victims to recruit additional girls to be similarly sexually abused. He incentivized his victims to become recruiters by paying these victim-recruiters hundreds of dollars for each additional girl they brought to him. In this fashion, the defendant created a vast network of underage victims for him to exploit, in locations including New York and Palm Beach. The defendant's victims were as young as 14 years old when he abused them. Many of his victims were, for various reasons, often particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The defendant intentionally sought out—and knew that he was abusing—minors. Indeed, in some instances, his victims expressly told him they were underage before or during the period in which he abused them. In creating and maintaining a network of minor victims whom he abused, the defendant worked with others, including employees and associates who facilitated his exploitation of minors by, among other things, contacting victims and scheduling their sexual encounters with the defendant, both in New York and in Florida. B. The Defendant Jeffrey Epstein designed, financed, and perpetrated this scheme, both as its main participant and through his direction of others, including certain of his employees, to further facilitate his rampant abuse of underage girls. EFTA00029005 Honorable Henry Pitman United States Magistrate Judge July 8, 2019 Page 3 As has been widely reported, the defendant is extraordinarily wealthy, and he owns and maintains luxury properties and residences around the world, including in Manhattan, New York; Palm Beach, Florida; Stanley, New Mexico; and Paris, France. Additionally, Epstein owns a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands which, as noted above, is believed to be his primary residence in the United States. His mansion in Manhattan alone—a multi-story townhouse reported to be one of the largest single residences in all of Manhattan, which previously housed a school and which he owns through an LLC—has been valued at approximately $77 million. Entities controlled by the defendant also own at least two private jets in active service, at least one of which is capable of intercontinental travel. As described further below, the defendant possesses three active United States passports, and his international connections and travels are extensive. For example, in addition to maintaining a residence in Paris, France, as described above, in the past 18 months alone, the defendant has traveled abroad, via private jet, either into or out of the country on approximately more than 20 occasions. C. The Prior Florida Investigation In or about 2005, the defendant was investigated by local police in Palm Beach, Florida, in connection with allegations that he had committed similar sex offenses against minor girls. The investigation ultimately also involved federal authorities, namely the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida ("SDFL") and the FBI's Miami Office, and included interviews with victims based in the Palm Beach area, including some of the alleged victims relevant to Count One of the instant Indictment.' In fall 2007, the defendant entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the SDFL in connection with the conduct at issue in that investigation, which the non-prosecution agreement identified as including investigations into the defendant's abuse of minor girls in the Palm Beach area. The Southern District of New York was not a signatory to that agreement, and the defendant was never charged federally.' In June 2008, the defendant pled guilty in state court to one count of procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution, a felony, and one count of solicitation of prostitution, a felony. As a result, the defendant was designated as a sex offender with registration requirements under the national Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The non-prosecution agreement, further discussed below, was entered into at the conclusion of the SDFL investigation and did not purport to cover any victims outside