Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Edward Epstein (January 20, 1953 – August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. He began his career as a math teacher at the Dalton School, before entering the banking and finance sector. Over several decades, he made much of his fortune providing tax and estate services to billionaires, and cultivated an elite social circle of prominent individuals. In 2008, he was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution, and was indicted in 2019 for sex trafficking minors in the 2000s. He died in custody awaiting his trial; his death was ruled a suicide.

In 2005, police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein after a parent reported that he had paid her 14-year-old step-daughter to strip and massage him. Investigators identified 36 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 with similar accounts of sexual abuse. Prosecutors held concerns about taking him to trial, citing victim reluctance to testify and witness credibility. This influenced a now-controversial plea deal negotiation, under which Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of procuring a minor for prostitution, and soliciting a prostitute. He was registered as a sex offender, and served 13 months in jail with work release.