Jeffrey Epstein reportedly wired $350,000 to 2 people after a bombshell 2018 report, prosecutors say
- Federal prosecutors accused Jeffrey Epstein, the 66-year-old hedge fund manager charged this week with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, of witness tampering and alleged he wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to two potential witnesses, according to court documents reviewed by multiple news organizations.
- Prosecutors claim Epstein wired $350,000 between November and December in 2018, after The Miami Herald published its extensive investigation about his previous plea deal, according to The New York Times.
- The two individuals who were alleged to have received the money were possible co-conspirators, prosecutors said, according to NBC News.
- Epstein's attorneys reportedly asked the court to allow his client be held under house arrest, NBC News said. Prosecutors are asking for Epstein's bail to be denied in light of the new accusations of witness tampering.
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Federal prosecutors accused Jeffrey Epstein, the 66-year-old hedge fund manager charged this week with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, of witness tampering and alleged he wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to two potential witnesses, according to court documents reviewed by The New York Times on Friday.
Prosecutors claim Epstein wired $350,000 between November and December in 2018, after The Miami Herald published its extensive investigation about his previous plea deal with the US Attorney's Office in Miami, according to The Times.
The two individuals who were alleged to have received the money were possible co-conspirators prosecutors said, according to NBC News and The Times.
In 2008, Epstein cut a plea deal with US Attorney's Office in Miami to avoid federal charges on suspicion of sexually abusing underage girls at his mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. Instead he pleaded guilty to two state counts of soliciting prostitution and avoided serving in a federal or state prison.
Instead, he registered as a sex offender and served 13 months in a private wing of a county jail - for six days of the week, he was allowed to work in an office-setting for 12 hours a day.
Epstein's attorneys reportedly asked the court that his client be under house arrest with an ankle monitor, NBC News said. Prosecutors are asking for Epstein's bail to be denied in light of the new accusations of witness tampering.
"This course of action, and in particular its timing, suggests the defendant was attempting to further influence co-conspirators who might provide information against him in light of the recently re-emerging allegations," prosecutors said in court filings, according to NBC News.
Epstein is currently being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He is pleading not guilty the charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison. The charging document alleged Epstein "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations."