Jeffrey Epstein, the investor who faced federal charges of molesting teenage girls, has died, according to multiple news reports.
Epstein committed suicide in his Lower Manhattan jail cell, ABC News reported, citing three law enforcement officials.
A gurney carrying a man who looked like Epstein was wheeled out of the Manhattan Correctional Center at about 7:30am, the New York Post reported. The ambulance went to New York Downtown Hospital.
Photo: AP
Epstein had previously been moved to a suicide-watch unit after being found unconscious in his cell with marks on his neck on July 23, a week after a bail request had been rejected.
Epstein, a self-described “collector” of rich and powerful people, had links to prominent political and business figures. That circle, including former US president Bill Clinton and billionaire Leslie Wexner, all distanced themselves from the financier after his arrest in July.
US prosecutors said that Epstein used his wealth and power to sexually abuse dozens of girls for years at his homes, paying them hundreds of dollars in cash for each encounter and hundreds more if they brought in more girls.
The alleged crimes occurred at Epstein’s residences in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, from 2002 to 2005, involving minors as young as 14. The US accused Epstein of “creating a vast network of victims.”
The girls were initially recruited to give Epstein massages, which became increasingly sexual in nature, prosecutors said.
At least three of Epstein’s employees were involved in recruiting and scheduling minors for sexual encounters with him, as well as other unspecified “associates,” authorities said.
Epstein pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking in minors and conspiracy and said he fully complied with the law for more than 14 years.
Epstein leveraged his connections with Wall Street to secure a steady flow of commissions and engagements that supported a lifestyle that included properties in New Mexico, Paris and the US Virgin Islands, where he bought two private islands.
Epstein based much of his empire in the Virgin Islands, including Financial Trust Co, which he started in New York in 1981, claiming it only catered to billionaires.
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