Mega Edition: Leon Black And Darthmouth (10/16/25)

Virginia Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, publicly praised Judge Loretta Preska’s decision to unseal hundreds of pages of Epstein-related court documents, calling it a “major step toward truth and transparency.” She said the public had a right to know the full scope of Epstein’s network, the powerful figures involved, and how so many were able to escape accountability for so long. Giuffre framed the unsealing as a victory not just for herself, but for every survivor silenced or ignored, adding that sunlight is “the best disinfectant” when it comes to systemic abuse. She also cautioned that while the move was an important breakthrough, it was only the beginning — “there’s still a lot more that needs to come out,” she said.to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Sarah Ransome, in her deposition and earlier court filings related to Jeffrey Epstein, made startling allegations implicating Alan Dershowitz in her trafficking abuse. She claimed that in 2006–2007, Epstein forced her into a threesome involving Dershowitz in Epstein’s New York residence — alleging that Epstein entered, began masturbating under his clothes, and then Dershowitz joined her and another woman (whose name was redacted), culminating in “a three-way sexual interaction.” Ransome described this as deeply traumatic, saying she “just tried to get it done as soon as possible to get out of there.”Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Jeffrey Epstein manipulated financial markets not by traditional trading fraud but through influence, opacity, and access. He embedded himself inside the financial empires of billionaires like Les Wexner and Leon Black, gaining control of vast capital reserves under the guise of “exclusive money management.” By structuring himself as a gatekeeper rather than a trader, Epstein positioned his network at the intersection of elite capital and secrecy. Through Financial Trust Company, registered in the U.S. Virgin Islands, he exploited generous tax shelters, confidentiality protections, and regulatory blind spots to quietly move and obscure assets. These offshore structures let Epstein shift funds globally, mask ownership trails, and shield beneficiaries — creating the illusion of legitimate financial sophistication while actually leveraging loopholes and relationships.Epstein’s real power lay in his ability to manipulate liquidity and market perception through shell entities and credit instruments like repos and mortgage-backed securities. His Bermuda-based vehicle Liquid Funding Ltd. — partially financed by Bear Stearns — operated in debt and derivatives markets that allowed him to obscure leverage ratios and offload risk to counterparties. He also had historical ties to Towers Financial, a company later revealed to be a massive Ponzi scheme, where Epstein reportedly advised founder Stephen Hoffenberg on structuring debt packages that misled investors. Taken together, these networks enabled Epstein to influence pricing, conceal illicit inflows, and present himself as a mysterious financial genius while effectively manipulating money flows that blurred the line between investment and laundering.to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Jean-Luc Brunel, the disgraced French modeling agent and close associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was accused in court filings of one of the most disturbing acts linked to the Epstein network — procuring a set of 12-year-old French triplets for Epstein as a “birthday gift.” According to testimony from Virginia Giuffre and other witnesses, Epstein allegedly bragged that Brunel had “bought them from their parents” in Paris by offering money and promises of modeling careers. The triplets were reportedly flown to the U.S., abused for several days, and then returned to France. While Brunel denied any involvement, the story became emblematic of how he allegedly exploited his modeling connections to funnel young girls into Epstein’s orbit under the guise of legitimate work.The accusations fit a larger pattern of abuse stretching across Brunel’s decades in the fashion industry. He was widely accused of using his agency, MC2 Model Management, which Epstein helped fund, to traffic underage girls from Europe and South America. French prosecutors arrested Brunel in December 2020 on charges of rape and trafficking minors, but before he could face trial, he was found hanged in his Paris jail cell in February 2022 — an eerily similar fate to Epstein’s. His death left many questions unanswered, including the true extent of his role in supplying girls to Epstein and whether the triplets’ story was ever properly investigated.to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Leon Black, a billionaire financier and Dartmouth alumnus, has faced growing scrutiny over his long and lucrative association with Jeffrey Epstein — scrutiny that has extended to his alma mater. Black and his wife donated $48 million to Dartmouth College, funding the Black Family Visual Arts Center, which bears their name. However, revelations that Black paid Epstein $158 million for “tax and estate planning services” between 2012 and 2017 — years after Epstein’s conviction for sex crimes — sparked outrage within the Dartmouth community. Critics argued that maintaining Black’s name on campus was incompatible with the college’s stated values. Epstein had also been listed as a trustee on Black’s family foundation, further entangling the financier’s legacy with that of the disgraced predator.The Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous feminist art collective known for holding cultural institutions accountable for gender and racial justice, publicly challenged Black over his ties to Epstein. They canceled a book deal with Phaidon Press (which is owned by Black) upon learning of his “extensive and shady dealings” with Epstein.    They also led campaigns urging MoMA to remove Black from its board, installing public posters outside the museum and rallying other artists and activists to pressure the institution to sever ties with donors linked to sexual misconduct.to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Executors of Jeffrey Epstein’s estate have claimed liquidity problems as the main reason behind delays in paying victims and settling legal obligations. In early 2021, the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program abruptly paused payments after the estate informed the fund administrator that it “did not have sufficient liquidity to fully satisfy” new compensation requests. The estate’s lawyers argued that while Epstein’s holdings were valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it was tied up in illiquid assets such as real estate, private aircraft, and art—making it difficult to generate immediate cash for payouts. Properties in New York, Florida, and the Virgin Islands remained on the market for months, with sales hindered by legal liens and ongoing investigations.Critics—including victims’ attorneys and the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General—rejected those claims as a delay tactic, accusing the executors, Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, of mismanagement and prioritizing their own legal defenses over restitution. They argued that Epstein’s estate continued to fund legal teams and operational expenses while victims waited for promised payments. The backlash led to court motions seeking to freeze estate assets until full transparency was provided. Eventually, after asset sales began moving forward, the fund resumed operations, but the episode underscored the ongoing mistrust surrounding how Epstein’s wealth has been handled since his death.to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Deutsche Bank managed to avoid a public trial in the Jeffrey Epstein–related lawsuit by agreeing to a $75 million payout to Epstein’s accusers. The settlement, reached in federal court in 2023, effectively shut down what would have been a highly damaging class-action trial that could have forced the bank to disclose extensive internal communications, compliance records, and executive correspondence about its relationship with Epstein. Legal analysts described the deal as a strategic move to cap financial exposure while preventing further reputational fallout. The agreement also meant that top Deutsche Bank executives would not have to testify under oath about the bank’s decision to keep Epstein as a client years after his sex crime conviction.This settlement followed a broader pattern of financial settlements replacing courtroom accountability. In 2020, Deutsche Bank paid a $150 million fine to New York regulators for failing to monitor Epstein’s suspicious transactions, a penalty the bank accepted without admitting wrongdoing. By resolving both cases through monetary settlements, Deutsche Bank avoided the discovery and witness testimony that a full trial would have required. The deals enabled the bank to protect senior management from cross-examination while publicly presenting the payouts as part of a commitment to “learn from past mistakes.”to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit brought by women who accused the bank of enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. The plaintiffs claimed Deutsche Bank ignored multiple red flags and continued to process transactions that directly facilitated Epstein’s abuse—payments that were allegedly routed to victims, recruiters, and associates even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction was widely known. The settlement, reached in 2023, marked one of the largest financial agreements of its kind between a major bank and victims of sexual exploitation, with court filings revealing that Epstein maintained dozens of accounts at Deutsche Bank between 2013 and 2018.In addition to the civil settlement, Deutsche Bank previously paid a $150 million regulatory fine in 2020 to New York’s Department of Financial Services for “significant compliance failures” related to its relationship with Epstein. The bank admitted it had misclassified Epstein as a low-risk client despite internal warnings and compliance alerts noting his criminal history. Executives later described taking Epstein on as a “critical mistake,” and following public outcry, Deutsche Bank announced an overhaul of its anti–money laundering systems. The settlement underscored how major financial institutions helped sustain Epstein’s criminal enterprise long after his name should have been toxic in global banking circles.to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

In a televised interview aired in Australia, Bill Gates was pressed about his past association with Jeffrey Epstein and asked whether he regretted having that connection. During the exchange, he acknowledged that he “shouldn’t have had dinners” with Epstein, but he adamantly denied there was ever any deeper partnership or formal alignment between Epstein and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates maintained that his interactions with Epstein were limited and opportunistic rather than indicative of any ongoing relationship.The interview drew attention because it forced Gates into a defensive posture over years-old ties at a moment when Epstein’s legacy remains deeply controversial. He was challenged repeatedly on whether his ex-wife, Melinda, had warned him about Epstein’s intentions and whether any philanthropic deals had been discussed—questions he deflected by restating his regret while pushing back on accusations of deeper involvement.to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

In his October 2009 deposition, taken during the Jeffrey Epstein v. Bradley Edwards defamation lawsuit, longtime Epstein pilot Larry Visoski described his decades of employment under Epstein and the routine nature of his work. Questioned by victims’ attorney Bradley Edwards, Visoski confirmed that he had flown Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and numerous guests—some of them prominent figures—across Epstein’s properties in New York, Florida, New Mexico, and the Virgin Islands. Represented by Critton & Reinhardt, Visoski repeatedly emphasized that his duties were strictly professional: piloting aircraft, maintaining schedules, and ensuring safe transport. When pressed about the ages of female passengers, he claimed he never knowingly flew minors and denied witnessing any sexual activity or misconduct aboard Epstein’s planes.to contact me:[email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.