When the central target of their investigation took his own life in jail, federal investigators sought to widen their aperture into who else might have helped Jeffrey Epstein commit his crimes, according to documents included in the Department of Justice’s release Friday.
The late sex offender and wealthy financier’s far-reaching web of influence, and his roster of employees, helped make possible both his lavish lifestyle and — allegedly — his sex trafficking scheme. Following Epstein’s jail cell suicide in August 2019, prosecutors redoubled their efforts to identify those who were privy to, and enabling of, his abuse – and who they could potentially charge.
Four months after Epstein’s death, federal prosecutors laid out the evidence and allegations they had gathered in a confidential “prosecution memorandum” sent to the then top-prosecutor in New York, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman – to analyze “the extent to which certain of Epstein’s associates and employees may or may not be criminally liable for their conduct during their employment with Epstein.”
“Epstein created a vast network of underage victims — as young as 14 — in locations including New York and Palm Beach,” the December 2019 memo states.
Documents that were included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed, Jan. 2, 2026.
Jon Elswick/AP
“In creating and maintaining a network of minor victims whom he abused, Epstein 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 Epstein, both in New York and in Florida,” the memo said.
Prosecution memos are typically prepared in advance of charging decisions in federal cases to allow attorneys to assess internally the strengths and vulnerabilities of criminal cases.
As investigators interviewed dozens of Epstein’s alleged victims as well as his associates and former employees, several names kept popping up, including Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein’s former executive assistant Lesley Groff, who allegedly helped schedule massage appointments for women and minor girls, according to multiple people interviewed in the investigation.
Prosecutors were evaluating whether the legal tools and evidence were sufficient to charge any associates, including Maxwell and Groff, they wrote in the memo. That legal analysis is almost entirely redacted.
Maxwell would ultimately be arrested in July 2020 for her role in the sexual exploitation scheme — the only person to have been charged other than Epstein. She was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years. Groff has denied all wrongdoing.
An attorney for Groff previously told ABC News that Groff “never knowingly booked travel for anyone under the age of 18, and had no knowledge of the alleged illegal activity whatsoever. Ms. Groff, a parent herself, is incredibly shocked and deeply upset about the alleged wrongdoings of Mr. Epstein.”
The 86-page memo lays out details of interviews with more than two dozen alleged victims as well as potential subjects of the criminal investigation and their lawyers. The names of all those alleging abuse are redacted in the document.
Lawyers for Maxwell told prosecutors in an October 2019 meeting that Maxwell denied ever hiring minors for massages and denied ever engaging in sex acts with minors. Her attorneys also “explained their views of why the individuals making those claims [against Maxwell] were not credible,” the document says.
Another Epstein associate, modeling agent Jean Luc Brunel, indicated he was unwilling to meet with prosecutors and would invoke the Fifth Amendment if subpoenaed, according to the memo. Brunel was later charged in France with sex crimes against minors. He died by suicide in his Paris prison cell in February 2022.
Other unredacted names in the prosecution memo belong to some at the highest echelons of finance, fashion, and Hollywood power – with whom Epstein was known to rub elbows even after becoming a convicted sex offender.
The memo also details allegations made by an alleged Epstein victim of wrongdoing by two prominent associates of Epstein — Wall Street billionaire Leon Black, and Jes Staley, Epstein’s former private banker at JP Morgan.
An attorney for Black said in a statement to ABC News the claims were a pack of lies.
“There is absolutely no truth to any of the allegations against Mr. Black,” the attorney said.
A lawyer who has previously represented Staley in cases involving Epstein did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Staley has previously stated that he “deeply regrets” his relationship with Epstein.
DOJ officials have contended that many of the allegations against prominent figures were not corroborated or were not considered credible — and none of those men have been charged with crimes connected to Epstein.
“Look, we said in July and it remains as true today as in July, if we had information — meaning the Department of Justice — about men who abused women, we would prosecute them,” Blanche told reporters Friday.
“There is this built-in assumption that somehow there is a hidden tranche of information of men that we know about that we are covering up or that we’re choosing not to prosecute. That is not the case,” Blanche said. “I do not know whether there are men out there who abused these women, and if we learn about information and evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will. But I do not think that the public or you all are going to uncover men within the Epstein files.”
