Ghislaine Maxwell hired a former prosecutor who helped take down El Chapo as her defense attorney
- Ghislaine Maxwell has hired Cohen & Gresser attorneys Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell to defend her on federal charges related to the grooming of young girls for sexual abuse.
- Maxwell, a longtime girlfriend and associate to Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested in New Hampshire on July 2.
- Everdell previously worked as an Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the office that is now prosecuting Maxwell.
- While there, he was awarded the ATF "American Hero Award" for his work on the case of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
Ghislaine Maxwell, who was arrested last week on charges related to the sexual abuse of young girls, has hired an attorney famous for taking on Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to defend her.
The attorney, Christian Everdell is a member of the White Collar Defense and Litigation and Arbitration groups at the law firm Cohen & Gresser. But his claim to fame comes from his work as an Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York — the same office now prosecuting Maxwell.
While working there, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives gave Everdell and his team the "American Hero Award," for his work on the prosecution of Guzman, according to his bio on the firm's website.
Guzman was sentenced to life in prison five months after he was found guilty in a US court of running a criminal enterprise that smuggled drugs into the US. His 2015 escape from federal prison contributed to his infamy.
Everdell and Mark Cohen, another one of Maxwell's attorneys, filed their first memo in the case on Monday to schedule Maxwell's arraignment in New York. Cohen is the managing partner of the firm's New York office, and head of their Litigation & Arbitration and White Collar Defense & Regulation groups.
Jennifer Rodgers, who once supervised Everdell at the Southern District, speculated on Twitter that his history as a prosecutor means he'll likely talk to Maxwell about becoming a cooperating witness.
Cohen and Everdell didn't immediately return Insider's request for comment.
A grand jury indictment accuses Maxwell of enticing minors to travel to engage in sexual acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual acts, and perjury.
Prosecutors say that beginning in at least 1994, Maxwell had befriended young victims of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and groomed them, talking to them about their lives, interests, and school.
After the girls became comfortable with her, she'd normalize sexual abuse by discussing sexual topics with them, undress in front of them, and being present as Epstein sexually abused them, the indictment alleges.
Prosecutors say that Maxwell participated in some of the abuse, which included sexual massages of Epstein. They also accuse her of lying under oath during a 2016 investigation into Epstein.
Maxwell was arrested at her secluded $1 million New Hampshire estate last week. She had been in hiding since Epstein's arrest on sex trafficking charges in July 2019.
US Marshals transported Maxwell to a federal detention center in Brooklyn where she is awaiting her arraignment and bail hearing.
- Read more about Ghislaine Maxwell:
- What to know about British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's alleged madam who was just arrested by the FBI
- 'Our doors remain open': Prosecutors say Prince Andrew still hasn't spoken to investigators about his Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell connections
- Ghislaine Maxwell, the woman suspected of helping Jeffrey Epstein run a sex-abuse ring, has been arrested by the FBI