Jeffrey Epstein liked to run in powerful circles.
The trove of emails and documents released by the Justice Department in January show Epstein maintained connections to a wide swath of famous people — from Elon Musk and Bill Gates to Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
But Epstein’s own inner circle — unlike his social and professional ones — was kept small and relatively anonymous, while they facilitated his day-to-day operations as a mysteriously wealthy financier.
Epstein’s lawyer, accountant, assistant, pilot, modeling scout, and ex-girlfriend all worked together behind-the-scenes to manage his schedule and appointments, his businesses, properties and compounds across the globe, and, of course, his money.
Members of Epstein’s inner circle have consistently denied any wrongdoing, and say they were unaware of Epstein’s sex trafficking and abuse. Many have remained silent regarding their work for Epstein.
But the millions of newly-released documents from the Justice Department reveal fresh insights into Epstein’s relationships with his closest confidantes, and how they helped him maintain his place among the upper echelons of society even after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor and had to register as a sex offender in 2008.
The documents also reveal how they helped with the day-to-day logistics of Epstein’s life.
Some withdrew cash for Epstein — often tens of thousands of dollars at a time — set up shell companies for him, paid tuition for young women he favored, bought gifts and made travel arrangements for guests who stayed at his various properties. In at least one case, a member of his inner circle installed hidden cameras at an Epstein property.
Others routinely scheduled massages for Epstein – and it was during these massages that Epstein would sexually groom and abuse young girls and women, according to victims.
Together, the names of those in Epstein’s inner circle appear thousands of times across the newly released files. Though they haven’t had the same level of scrutiny that more famous people who appear in the files have received, that may start to change. Over the coming months, several of them are scheduled to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee.
Richard Kahn, Epstein’s longtime accountant, and Darren Indyke, his personal attorney, both of whom are co-executors of Epstein’s estate, are slated to testify on March 11 and March 19. Lesley Groff, Epstein’s executive assistant, was asked by the committee to appear on June 9.
A diagram produced by the US government identified some members of Epstein’s inner circle. In the end, federal prosecutors charged only one of them as a co-conspirator: Ghislaine Maxwell, his ex-girlfriend and accomplice who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for federal sex trafficking crimes.
Many in Epstein’s inner circle worked closely with him for years until he was arrested in July 2019. In return, some were remembered in his will to the tune of millions of dollars — though that money has yet to be distributed because the will has not gone into effect yet.
As co-executors of Epstein’s estate, Kahn and Indyke have set up a victims’ compensation fund, which says it distributed approximately $125 million to eligible applicants before winding down in 2021.
Recently, the two agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit from Epstein victims that alleged the pair were “facilitators” in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, allegations they strongly deny. The settlement, which still needs sign-off from a judge, would pay up to $35 million to victims and Kahn and Indyke would not admit to any wrongdoing, according to their lawyer.
Here’s a look at Epstein’s inner circle.
Groff first began working for Epstein in 2001, according to a 2010 payroll document, managing his schedule, booking his travel and personal appointments and interacting with high-profile individuals as the go-between.
Epstein praised Groff as an essential employee. When she became pregnant in 2004, he bought her a Mercedes-Benz E320 to make her commuting easier and agreed to pay for a full-time nanny so that she could keep working for him, according to a New York Times story .
“There is no way that I could lose Lesley to motherhood,” Epstein told The Times in 2005.
An attorney for Groff did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Multiple victims who spoke to the FBI also identified Groff as the person they’d call first to reach Epstein and schedule a massage for him. Many women have said that Epstein perpetuated his sexual abuse while receiving these massages.
In one 2019 FBI interview of a victim, who said she was 14 when she first met Epstein, identified Groff as the person she called to schedule the massages for herself and other girls.
Groff “never discussed about what was really going on with the massages but remembered LESLIE [sic] asking her, ‘Was this her first time’,” according to the FBI memo of the interview.
FBI memos like these, known as 302s, memorialize interviews from witnesses, but they do not typically contain information about whether the FBI took steps to corroborate the information. It’s unclear whether the allegations were verified or investigated.
A 2021 FBI memo of a victim interview also mentions Groff. The woman told investigators that she would occasionally ask Groff for money, which Epstein would have to approve, and she “would mention different girls’ names to” Groff.
The woman “felt it was pretty obvious LESLEY knew what was going on,” according to the memo. She also told the FBI that when she was 17 or 18, she called Groff to tell her that she needed to speak to Epstein immediately because she needed $400 for an abortion. According to the memo, the woman said Groff connected her to Epstein “on the phone right away.” Epstein gave the woman $1,000 in an envelope, the memo said.
Email correspondences in the Epstein files also reveal that Epstein relied on Groff to book domestic and international travel for him and scores of women. In one September 2015 exchange with Epstein, an unidentified woman asked him for financial help and to “forgive me my mistakes.” In back-and-forth emails, he told her to “start by writing dow= all your sins and then we can discuss.”
The woman then emailed Epstein to ask if Groff could book her a ticket back to Rome because she couldn’t afford it. Epstein then forwarded the entire correspondence to Groff, including the messages where the woman listed “sins,” such as eating, not saying thank you and “posting pictures on Ins=agram when you told me not to.”
Epstein instructed Groff to book the ticket for the woman.
The controversial non-prosecution agreement Epstein struck with federal prosecutors in Florida in 2008 included a clause to not bring any charges against “any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to…Lesley Groff.” The other names listed are redacted.
In a lawsuit filed in 2021 that was later dropped, an anonymous alleged victim, “Jane Doe,” claimed that Groff participated in Epstein’s trafficking of women. Both Doe and Groff agreed to dismiss the lawsuit after Maxwell was found guilty.
Two other victims filed a civil suit against Groff, but the litigation was dropped after they received money from Epstein’s estate as part of a compensation fund.
Groff’s lawyers announced in late 2021 that she would not be charged by law enforcement and that she had “never witnessed anything improper or illegal” and remains “heartbroken” for all of the victims.
Indyke was first introduced to Epstein when he joined a small boutique law firm fresh out of college in the 1980s, according to CBS News. He graduated from Cornell Law School in 1991. Indyke began working exclusively for Epstein full-time in 1996, according to a payroll document.
According to the documents reviewed by CNN, Indyke operated as a lawyer and personal representative for Epstein and his various business enterprises for nearly 25 years, even during Epstein’s incarceration.
As a lawyer, Indyke was responsible for the legal paperwork to establish dozens of companies and ventures for Epstein.
In one email from March 2019, Indyke wrote to Epstein regarding paperwork to create a new investment company called “Truth Robot LLC,” and Epstein directed an associate to “start looking for investments.”
Epstein wrote to Indyke: “Can’t have my name” on it.
Indyke replied, “Will =elete and have Rich sign as ‘Treasurer’ of Southern =inancial, LLC,” referring to Richard Kahn, Epstein’s longtime accountant.
Acting as Epstein’s attorney, Indyke also withdrew thousands of dollars in cash from various accounts at a time on his behalf, sometimes drawing scrutiny from banks.
In July 2016, an email thread between three Deutsche Bank employees revealed concerns after Indyke withdrew $11,500 in cash for Epstein over two days with no prior written request.
“There was no email from the client or RM saying they’d like 11.5k out of the two accounts on that specific date in advance?” one banker wrote. RM possibly refers to the relationship manager for that account.
“No, sir,” another banker replied. “Darren or the RM never sends an email. He just walks into the branch.”
Indyke’s withdrawal activity continued to raise such alarm that in July 2017 another banker recommended restricting Indyke’s ability to cash checks through Teller Operations and that Deutsche Bank should “consider whether we should exit the relationship.”
The civil lawsuit, which the parties recently agreed to settle, alleged that Indyke helped Epstein structure cash withdrawals to avoid triggering suspicions at banks, and that the cash was used to pay Epstein’s’ victims – an allegation Indyke denied in a court filing.
Indyke’s lawyer, Daniel Weiner, told CNN that following Epstein’s 2008 incarceration, Epstein “did not have ready access to credit cards and instead required cash to pay for a wide variety of items” including “maintenance, repairs and daily household needs” and “meals, gifts, gratuities and fuel for his private aircraft.”
Indyke has denied any wrongdoing and any knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise. Weiner told CNN: “Not a single woman has ever accused Mr. Indyke of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she reported to him any allegation of Mr. Epstein’s abuse.”
As Epstein’s lawyer, Indyke was included in thousands of attorney-client communications with Epstein, according to a document called a “privilege log” provided by the estate. According to the estate’s descriptions of the emails, Indyke was involved in advising Epstein on a myriad of civil litigation and criminal cases.
Despite Indyke’s close working relationship with Epstein up until his boss’s arrest in July 2019, he was never questioned by federal law enforcement authorities about his work for Epstein while Epstein and Maxwell were being investigated, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
An attorney for Indyke said “the release of the Epstein files also confirms that the Department of Justice was well aware of Mr. Indyke and did not consider him to be among Mr. Epstein’s co-conspirators.”
Indyke was such a close confidant to Epstein that upon his death, a copy of Epstein’s trust shows he planned to leave Indyke $50 million. That is a number matched only by Epstein’s girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, who was due to receive $50 million as well.
Epstein also named Indyke as a co-executor of his estate, putting him in charge of Epstein’s assets and access to potential evidence. Indyke and Kahn set up a restitution fund that has paid approximately $125 million to the victims, according to the administrator of the fund.
Since Epstein’s death, Indyke has kept a relatively low profile as victims have filed civil lawsuits against him and the estate. Indyke worked at the Parlatore Law Group in 2025 – a law firm run by a former personal lawyer for President Trump – but appears to have left the firm at the end of last year. He now works as a luxury real estate agent in Florida.
Attorneys for Indyke and Kahn told CNN their clients have been cooperating with the House Oversight Committee for several months.
“They willingly complied with that subpoena, producing thousands of pages of documents, photographs and other materials. Mr. Indyke fully intends to continue his cooperation with the Committee, and looks forward to setting the record straight as to his lack of involvement in Mr. Epstein’s misconduct,” said Weiner.
Indyke is scheduled to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee on March 19 after being subpoenaed.
Kahn first began working for Epstein as his in-house accountant in 2005, but his role quickly expanded into the de facto keeper of the keys to Epstein’s sprawling wealth. Kahn coordinated wire transfers, signed checks, handled taxes, and distributed money on Epstein’s behalf, according to the documents released by the Justice Department.
While Indyke withdrew large sums of cash for Epstein, Kahn appeared to be authorized to dole out money to Epstein’s friends, associates and causes. Epstein regularly directed Kahn to send financial support and gifts to his associates on his behalf, including a $10,000 Bloomingdale’s gift card, $3,500 to a model for her college tuition, and lump sums up to $5,000 for unspecified purposes.
“Jeffrey told me to organize with you regarding payment for my summer courses,” a model wrote to Kahn in 2017.
Kahn also distributed money to academic institutions, including a $25,000 donation to the Stockholm School of Economics and a $10,000 donation to Harvard Kennedy School in 2012. And Epstein included Kahn on an email in which he said he would donate $100,000 to Harvard University in 2011, to which Kahn asked if he should coordinate with a professor for “specifics.”
The DOJ documents show that Kahn and Epstein frequently communicated about various purchases for a group he and Epstein would refer to as “the girls.” It’s unclear whether “the girls” were always comprised of the same people and who they were.
Kahn oversaw the purchase of tickets to the US Open, lottery tickets and Amex gift cards, all of which were for “the girls.” Kahn also organized smaller expenses, including maid service for “the girl’s apartments” and their cable TV subscriptions.
It is unclear what Kahn meant by the girls’ apartments, but Epstein owned apartments at a property in New York’s Upper East Side neighborhood. Victims reported staying there. Epstein also lent out apartments to visiting acquaintances, associates and friends.
These financial relationships spanned more than a decade for some individuals.
Epstein asked Kahn to wire a woman named “Nadia” $10,000 in 2011.
In March 2017, Epstein instructed Kahn to send another $45,000 to Nadia for her accrued medical expenses. Nadia notes in her email request to Epstein that she had discussed these bills “with Darren.”
In another exchange, Kahn confirmed the wire payment of $10,000 to “the girl from Romania.” It’s unclear who the girl was.
An attorney for Kahn, Dan Ruzumna, told CNN in a statement: “Epstein’s books and records gave Mr. Kahn no indication that Epstein was paying for sex or that any woman was being sexually abused or trafficked.”
“Mr. Kahn never witnessed any of Epstein’s abuse, nor did any victim (or anyone else) ever report her abuse by Epstein to him. No victim has ever made any allegation to the contrary,” he added.
In 2018, when Epstein asked about the manner in which Kahn sent money to pay for an Airbnb, Kahn replied: “i signed up to send from my PayPal account so your name was =ot involved.”
In addition to directing payments for alleged victims, Kahn sent luxury gifts to high-profile clients and associates, including a Hermes bag to former Obama White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler. He also managed renovations for Epstein’s properties and other large projects.
After Epstein died in 2019, Epstein’s will showed he planned to give Kahn $25 million. Like Indyke, Kahn was never questioned by federal law enforcement authorities about his work for Epstein while Epstein and Maxwell were being investigated. Kahn’s attorney said “the recent release of the Epstein files confirms the DOJ never considered Mr. Kahn to be one of Epstein’s co-conspirators.”
Kahn is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee on March 11.
A French modeling scout, Brunel first met Epstein’s then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell sometime in the early-1990s, according to Maxwell. It’s unclear how Brunel and Epstein first met, but around this time, Brunel started an American outpost of the modeling agency, Karin Models.
Around 2005, Epstein gave Brunel approximately $1 million to start his own modeling agency, MC2 Modeling, in Miami and appeared to financially support the company for years.
Interviews with former Epstein staff employees suggest that Brunel introduced Epstein to girls and was a major conduit to securing work visas for the models, who often hailed from Eastern European countries.
Brunel and Epstein exchanged hundreds of emails, often messaging to “call” one another back. A message pad from September 2005 obtained by law enforcement shows that Brunel left a message for Epstein saying he found him a “2x8 years old” Russian language teacher, “not blonde.”
Across the emails, Brunel and Epstein would send each other photos of young women, and arrange logistics for photo shoots with models.
In one email from 2010, a redacted email user asked Epstein what he thought about her moving to the MC2 modeling agency. “there is no better person than jean luc,” replied Epstein.
While Epstein was serving his prison sentence in 2009, he sent photos of girls to Brunel. Brunel in turn visited Epstein during his 13-month prison stay dozens of times.
The modeling agency was a money pit; an accounting firm estimated the agency lost $49 million between 2006-2015.
By January 2015, Brunel and Epstein’s relationship had begun to fray. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a prominent survivor, alleged that Epstein forced her to have sex with Brunel in court documents and in media outlets, causing Brunel to write that he couldn’t work anymore.
Brunel later sued Epstein in 2015 in Florida state court contending that the allegations sunk his agency, but the case was dismissed.
Documents first reported by the Wall Street Journal show that in 2016, Brunel was quietly negotiating with attorneys for Epstein victims to testify against Epstein. Notes from a federal prosecutor show Brunel was willing to “cooperate” in exchange for immunity.
But the deal fell through — Brunel never did.
While Epstein initially planned to give Brunel as much as $5 million in his will and to forgive any debts, by the time Epstein died in August 2019, Brunel was left out of the trust entirely.
Brunel faced allegations of sexual violence as early as the 1980s. Dutch model Thysia Huisman accused Brunel of drugging and raping her in Paris in 1991, when she was 18.
Brunel was arrested in December 2020 at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on “counts of rape and sexual assault, rape and sexual assault on a minor under 15, rape and sexual assault on a minor over 15, sexual harassment, criminal associations and human trafficking to the detriment of minor victims for the purposes of sexual exploitation,” according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Brunel died in 2022 in a Paris prison while awaiting trial on charges of rape and sexual assault of adults and minors. A medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
Visoski spent nearly three decades working for Epstein as his pilot, logging hundreds of flights transporting Epstein and his guests, including presidents, royalty, billionaires and people identified only as “Female” in flight logs. Many of the trips were between Epstein’s private Caribbean island, his New Mexico ranch and his New York City townhouse.
But Visoski wore multiple hats for Epstein, and the two appeared to form a personal bond over the years.
An FBI memo from a 2006 interview with Visoski stated that, “In addition to Visoski’s flight duties, he provided Epstein with advice on home entertainment centers and vehicles. Visoski installed a home theater system in Epstein’s Palm Beach residence and his ranch in New Mexico.”
Epstein also directed Visoski to purchase hidden video cameras, apparently to be set up in his home in Palm Beach, according to a recently released 2014 email.
“Lets get three motion detected hidden cameras, that record,” Epstein wrote to Visoski.
The purpose of the cameras was not clear.
“Its amazing how small they are,” Visoski replied, adding that they could record for 64 hours. “I’m installing them into Kleenex boxes now. I’ll bring them by later today.”
Epstein, in turn, rewarded Visoski with personal favors and gifts, the DOJ documents show. Epstein planned to give Visoski $10 million, according to his will – the same amount he planned to leave for his brother, Mark, and for his ex-girlfriend, Maxwell.
Newly released bank statements show checks from Epstein made payable to Syracuse University between 2009 and 2012 for Visoski’s daughter’s tuition. In one email from Visoski to Epstein, he asked for a “personal loan” of $21,000 to cover his daughter’s tuition, adding that he was proud to report that she made the dean’s list.
Visoski’s daughter also had her wedding at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch, according to an FBI internal memo included in the DOJ tranche of files.
Visoski told FBI investigators in 2006 and again in his testimony at Maxwell’s trial in 2021 that he “never saw any sexual activity” on the flights and the women did not appear to be younger than 20. In his 2006 interview with the FBI, Visoski said that he “never observed any inappropriate behavior or anything of a sexual nature by Epstein,” according to the FBI memo.
“As a practical joke, Epstein asked Visoski to purchase a box of condoms to place on Donald Trump’s seat after he found out Trump’s girlfriend was pregnant,” the 2006 memo said.
David Rogers, Epstein’s other longtime pilot, told the FBI in 2020 that someone from Epstein’s “circle” advised him to stop putting down passenger names in the flight logs after 2007, when Epstein was first being investigated in Florida, according to a memo of the interview.
Some of the logs just list “female” or “male” as the passengers.
Visoski and an attorney for him did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
A former British socialite and the daughter of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine Maxwell first began dating Epstein sometime after her father died in November 1991. In the 1990s and 2000s – between her on-and-off-again romantic relationship with Epstein – she also worked for him by managing his properties and staff.
Maxwell became instrumental in recruiting victims for Epstein, according to victim testimonies. Maxwell scouted potential victims to give Epstein “massages” – including Virginia Roberts Giuffre – and tried to befriend victims by asking them about their personal lives or inviting them to the movies or on shopping trips.
She also spoke to them about sexual topics, commented on their bodies, and sometimes joined in on the sexualized massages and actively participated in the sexual abuse of minors, according to victim testimonies.
And she encouraged victims to accept Epstein’s financial assistance and to recruit additional girls into their circle, according to prosecutors.
After Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008, Maxwell distanced herself publicly from Epstein, but the two continued to correspond, according to the documents, and strategized on how to respond to media inquiries.
Maxwell denied all of the allegations made against her in the 2010s – and was even taken to court by Giuffre for a defamation case in 2015. They settled out of court four years later.
After Epstein died in prison, a copy of his will shows he planned to give $10 million to Maxwell.
Nearly a year after Epstein was charged with sex trafficking crimes in 2019, Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 as an accomplice to Epstein on charges of enticement and conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation and conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and two counts of perjury.
During Maxwell’s trial, one victim said in a statement she believed Maxwell was a “psychopath.”
“Her abuse of me and many other children and young women is evidence of her disregard for and violation of the rights of others,” the victim’s statement read.
In December 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of five federal charges – including sex trafficking of a minor – and was later sentenced to serve 20 years in federal prison.
In July 2025, Maxwell was interviewed in a proffer session with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Across her two-day interview with Blanche, Maxwell said she never witnessed anything untoward in Donald Trump’s friendship with Epstein and never heard of any allegations in which he acted inappropriately.
A week later, she was transferred to a lower-security federal prison camp in Texas, an uncommon move for a convicted sex offender that raised questions about why she was moved.
In February, Maxwell testified before Congress virtually but invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself. A lawyer for Maxwell said she could clear Donald Trump and Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing relating to Epstein in exchange for clemency from the president.
An attorney for Maxwell did not respond to a request for comment.