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Ghislaine Maxwell, Associate of Jeffrey Epstein, Is Arrested Ghislaine Maxwell, Associate of Jeffrey Epstein, Is Arrested
(about 5 hours later)
Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested Thursday and charged with playing a key role in his alleged sex-trafficking operation. The girl was 14 years old when she met the financier Jeffrey Epstein and his companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, in the 1990s. They tried to become her friend, taking her shopping and to the movies. Ms. Maxwell asked about her family and school.
In an indictment, Ms. Maxwell was accused of helping Mr. Epstein “recruit, groom and ultimately abuse” multiple girls, including one as young as 14. Then, Ms. Maxwell began undressing in front of the girl and recruiting her to participate in sexualized massages of Mr. Epstein, prosecutors said. The pattern continued for years, as Ms. Maxwell fed Mr. Epstein’s dark desires and participated in some of the abuse herself, according to a newly unsealed indictment.
The arrest came nearly a year after Mr. Epstein was charged in a federal indictment with sexually exploiting and abusing dozens of underage girls at his mansion in Manhattan, his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and other locations. Ms. Maxwell, the daughter of a publishing magnate and once a fixture on New York’s social scene, was arrested on Thursday in New Hampshire, where the authorities said she had been hiding. She was charged with luring multiple underage girls into Mr. Epstein’s orbit.
Mr. Epstein hanged himself in August in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where he had been jailed pending trial on the federal sex-trafficking charges. After his death, federal prosecutors said they would continue to investigate his associates. The arrest of Ms. Maxwell, Mr. Epstein’s former girlfriend and longtime associate, was the latest twist in a legal saga that has been a source of international intrigue and conspiracy theories. The case has drawn in prominent academics, politicians, business leaders and even British royalty.
“This case against Ghislaine Maxwell is the prequel to the earlier case that we brought against Jeffrey Epstein,” Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference on Thursday. Ms. Maxwell’s arrest came almost exactly one year after Mr. Epstein was charged in a federal indictment with sexually exploiting and abusing dozens of girls and women at his mansion in Manhattan, his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and other locations.
William F. Sweeney Jr., the head of the F.B.I. office in New York, said at the news conference that Ms. Maxwell was arrested in Bradford, N.H. The authorities had been “discreetly keeping tabs” on Ms. Maxwell’s whereabouts and recently learned that she had moved to a “gorgeous mansion” in the state, he said. A month after his arrest, in August 2019, Mr. Epstein hanged himself in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where he had been jailed pending trial on sex trafficking charges. After his death, federal prosecutors said they would continue to investigate his associates.
Ms. Maxwell, a longtime confidante and companion of Mr. Epstein’s, had for years been accused of helping to procure and groom young girls for the financier, including instructing them on how to pleasure Mr. Epstein sexually. For the past year, Ms. Maxwell, now 58, had been hiding out in various locations in New England, prosecutors wrote in a memo on Thursday. She switched her email address and registered a new phone number under the name “G Max.” She ordered packages using a different person’s name for the shipping label.
“They were like partners in a business,” Mr. Epstein’s house manager, Janusz Banasiak, said in a deposition. Most recently, Ms. Maxwell was living on a 156-acre property in Bradford, N.H., where she was arrested, prosecutors said. The property was acquired in an all-cash purchase in December, and prosecutors said the buyer’s identity had been shielded by a limited liability corporation.
The daughter of the British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, Ms. Maxwell also helped manage Mr. Epstein’s properties and introduced him to the celebrities and business executives who would form his social circle. The authorities had been tracking Ms. Maxwell’s movements and had recently learned about her relocation to the New Hampshire home, an F.B.I. official said.
As part of the investigation into Mr. Epstein’s associates, federal authorities had sought the cooperation of Prince Andrew of Britain, a longtime friend of both Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein. The indictment charged Ms. Maxwell with six counts, including transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. She also faces perjury charges for statements she made during a deposition in 2016 about her role in Mr. Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking operation.
“Maxwell enticed minor girls, got them to trust her, then delivered them into the trap that she and Epstein had set for them,” Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference on Thursday.
Lawrence A. Vogelman, a lawyer for Ms. Maxwell, declined to comment. She has previously denied wrongdoing in civil lawsuits.
The indictment lists three minor victims who prosecutors say were recruited by Ms. Maxwell from 1994 to 1997, without identifying them by name. Federal laws allow the government to prosecute sex offenses committed against minors at any point in the victim’s lifetime.
Ms. Maxwell appeared Thursday afternoon in federal court in New Hampshire, where a magistrate judge ordered her detained and sent to New York, pending further proceedings there.
In a memo arguing that Ms. Maxwell should be jailed until trial, prosecutors said she posed an extreme flight risk, partly because of her financial resources. Investigators said they had identified more than 15 bank accounts linked to Ms. Maxwell, whose total balance at times was more than $20 million.
Prosecutors described her total financial picture as “opaque and indeterminate.” Between 2007 and 2011, more than $20 million was transferred from accounts associated with Mr. Epstein to accounts associated with Ms. Maxwell, prosecutors said.
For years, Mr. Epstein had been dogged by lawsuits, news articles and even a state criminal case in Florida accusing him of preying on girls and women. But he had avoided any lasting repercussions until his arrest last year by federal authorities, who launched a wide-ranging inquiry into his associates.
As part of the investigation, federal authorities had sought the cooperation of Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II. He had been a longtime friend of both Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein.
In an unusual move, prosecutors had announced publicly that the prince refused to help with their investigation. Last month, the prince’s lawyers said he had agreed to provide New York prosecutors with a written statement, but would not sit for an interview.In an unusual move, prosecutors had announced publicly that the prince refused to help with their investigation. Last month, the prince’s lawyers said he had agreed to provide New York prosecutors with a written statement, but would not sit for an interview.
On Thursday, Ms. Strauss said federal prosecutors would still like to speak with Prince Andrew. The investigation is ongoing, and officials urged others who might have been victims to contact the authorities.On Thursday, Ms. Strauss said federal prosecutors would still like to speak with Prince Andrew. The investigation is ongoing, and officials urged others who might have been victims to contact the authorities.
“The example set by the women involved in this investigation has been a powerful one,” Mr. Sweeney, the F.B.I. official, said. “They persevered against the rich and the connected, and they did so without a badge, a gun or a subpoena, and they stood together.” “The example set by the women involved in this investigation has been a powerful one,” said William F. Sweeney Jr., head of the F.B.I. office in New York. “They persevered against the rich and the connected, and they did so without a badge, a gun or a subpoena, and they stood together.”
Civil lawsuits have accused Ms. Maxwell, now 58, of managing a network of recruiters on whom Mr. Epstein relied to entice young and often financially strapped girls and women into his scheme, promising he would help them with their education and careers. Mr. Epstein, who grew up with modest means in Brooklyn and built a life of luxury, socialized with powerful executives and politicians, including President Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
“She orchestrated the whole thing for Jeffrey,” one of Mr. Epstein’s accusers, Sarah Ransome, who sued him in 2017, told The New York Times in an interview. A video from 1992 that was released last year showed Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein watching and commenting on women together at an event at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s club in Palm Beach, Fla. Mr. Trump told reporters last year that he had not spoken to Mr. Epstein in 15 years.
The federal indictment charged Ms. Maxwell with six counts, including enticing minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity and perjury. Mr. Clinton has taken trips on Mr. Epstein’s private jet and visited his home in New York, but the two had not spoken in a decade, a spokesman said last year.
The indictment described three instances between 1994 and 1997 of Ms. Maxwell befriending girls, taking them shopping and to the movies. After establishing a rapport with the girls, Ms. Maxwell would “normalize sexual abuse” by undressing in front of them or talking about sexual topics, the indictment said. Last year’s indictment against Mr. Epstein was brought under Geoffrey S. Berman, then the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. President Trump fired Mr. Berman less than two weeks ago, which led to Mr. Berman’s top deputy, Ms. Strauss, taking over the investigation.
“Maxwell enticed minor girls, got them to trust her, then delivered them into the trap that she and Epstein had set for them,” Ms. Strauss said. Ms. Strauss said that the timing of the charges had nothing to do with Mr. Berman’s firing.
When Mr. Epstein offered to pay for travel and educational opportunities for some of the girls, Ms. Maxwell encouraged them to accept his assistance, according to the indictment. Lawsuits have long accused Ms. Maxwell of managing a network of recruiters to entice young and often financially strapped girls and women into Mr. Epstein’s scheme, promising he would help them with their education and careers.
“As a result, victims were made to feel indebted and believed that Maxwell and Epstein were trying to help them,” the indictment said. After Ms. Maxwell befriended girls and established a rapport with them, she would “normalize sexual abuse” by undressing in front of them or talking about sexual topics, the indictment said.
Mr. Epstein would then abuse the girls in various residences and other locations in New York, New Mexico, Florida and London, according to the indictment. When Mr. Epstein offered to pay for travel and educational opportunities for some of the girls, Ms. Maxwell encouraged them to accept his assistance, prosecutors said.
Mr. Epstein would then abuse the girls in his residences and other locations in New York, New Mexico, Florida and London, according to the indictment.
Ms. Maxwell would also sometimes be present when Mr. Epstein sexually abused girls, which “helped put the victims at ease because an adult woman was present,” according to the indictment.Ms. Maxwell would also sometimes be present when Mr. Epstein sexually abused girls, which “helped put the victims at ease because an adult woman was present,” according to the indictment.
In one instance in 1996, the indictment said, Ms. Maxwell gave an underage girl an unsolicited massage in New Mexico while the girl was topless.In one instance in 1996, the indictment said, Ms. Maxwell gave an underage girl an unsolicited massage in New Mexico while the girl was topless.
Prosecutors also accused Ms. Maxwell of lying under oath during a 2016 deposition in a lawsuit about her role in Mr. Epstein’s operation. When Ms. Maxwell was asked whether Mr. Epstein had a scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages, she responded: “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the indictment said. The victim, identified as Minor Victim-2, is Annie Farmer, according to a person familiar with her. The allegations from New Mexico match a claim made by Ms. Farmer in an account given last year to The New York Times and in a lawsuit she filed against Mr. Epstein’s estate.
Jeffrey Pagliuca, who has been a lawyer for Ms. Maxwell, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In March, Ms. Maxwell sued Mr. Epstein’s estate, saying that he had promised to pay her legal fees for any claims from women who say she helped him recruit them to give him massages when they were teenagers. Investigators said they corroborated victim accounts with flight records, diary entries, business records and other contemporaneous documents.
Last year, federal prosecutors accused Mr. Epstein of paying girls and women to give him massages while they were nude or topless, in encounters that typically included sex acts. That activity, however, was said to have occurred between 2002 and 2005. It was unclear why Ms. Maxwell was charged with actions that prosecutors said occurred earlier. Prosecutors also accused Ms. Maxwell of lying under oath during a 2016 deposition in a lawsuit. When Ms. Maxwell was asked whether Mr. Epstein had a scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages, she responded: “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the indictment said.
Ms. Maxwell was born in France and grew up in a mansion in Buckinghamshire, England, where she rubbed shoulders with aristocrats and royals. She attended Oxford and moved to New York in 1991, around the time when her father bought The Daily News. Last year, federal prosecutors accused Mr. Epstein of paying girls and women to give him massages while they were nude or topless, in encounters that typically included sex acts. That activity was said to have occurred between 2002 and 2005.
But her father died that year after falling off a boat in the midst of mounting debt. Ms. Maxwell moved into a modest apartment on the Upper East Side. Earlier this year, Ms. Maxwell sued Mr. Epstein’s $600 million estate, saying that he had promised to pay her legal fees for any claims from women who accused her of recruiting them for sexual massages. The estate has set up a restitution fund for victims, and at least 70 women have expressed interest.
After Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein began dating, she began spending a lot of time at his mansion in Florida, entertaining prominent visitors from around the world. Ms. Maxwell was described as charming, entertaining and funny — in contrast to Mr. Epstein. Ms. Maxwell was born in France and grew up in a mansion in Buckinghamshire, England, where she socialized with aristocrats and royals. She attended Oxford and moved to New York in 1991, around the time that her father, the British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, bought The Daily News.
In 2000, Ms. Maxwell moved into a townhouse less than 10 blocks from Mr. Epstein’s mansion that was purchased by an anonymous limited liability company represented by Mr. Epstein’s longtime lawyer. Her father died that year after tumbling off a boat in the midst of mounting debt. Ms. Maxwell then moved into a modest apartment on the Upper East Side.
In a Vanity Fair article a few years later, Mr. Epstein described Ms. Maxwell as his “best friend.” He said that she was not on his payroll, though the story noted that she seemed to organize much of his life. After Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein started dating, she began spending time at his estate in Florida, entertaining prominent visitors from around the world.
In 2000, Ms. Maxwell moved into a townhouse less than 10 blocks from Mr. Epstein’s mansion that was purchased by an anonymous LLC represented by Mr. Epstein’s longtime lawyer.
In a Vanity Fair article a few years later, Mr. Epstein described Ms. Maxwell as his “best friend.” Ms. Maxwell helped manage Mr. Epstein’s properties and introduced him to the celebrities and business executives who would form his social circle.
Questions about the nature of their close relationship, however, emerged over the years.Questions about the nature of their close relationship, however, emerged over the years.
Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to state charges of soliciting prostitution, and a 2009 lawsuit against Mr. Epstein claimed that he and Ms. Maxwell sexually abused one woman when she was 16. Ms. Maxwell has denied the claims. Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to state charges of soliciting prostitution, and a 2009 lawsuit against Mr. Epstein claimed that he and Ms. Maxwell sexually abused one woman, Virginia Giuffre, when she was 16. Ms. Maxwell has denied the claims.
For years Ms. Maxwell’s social standing had appeared unscathed. In 2013, she stood with Lloyd C. Blankfein, then the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, at an event supporting marriage equality and was pictured alongside Michael R. Bloomberg, then the mayor of New York, at a book party. Despite the connection with Mr. Epstein, Ms. Maxwell’s social standing had appeared unscathed for years. In 2013, she stood with Lloyd C. Blankfein, then the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, at an event supporting marriage equality and was pictured alongside Michael R. Bloomberg, then the mayor of New York, at a book party.
But after Virginia Giuffre, who had accused Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell in the 2009 lawsuit of abusing her as a teenager, filed a defamation suit against Ms. Maxwell in 2015, she disappeared from the party circuit and was rarely spotted in public. But Ms. Giuffre filed a defamation suit against her in 2015, and Ms. Maxwell disappeared from the New York party circuit.
Matthew Goldstein contributed reporting. After Mr. Epstein’s arrest, she stopped appearing in public entirely.
Matthew Goldstein and James B. Stewart contributed reporting. Kitty Bennett contributed research.