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- L Brands CEO Leslie Wexner wrote in a company memo that he did not know of the crimes of his former financier Jeffrey Epstein throughout the two decades they worked together.
- "I have searched my soul…reflected…and regretted that my path ever crossed his," Wexner wrote.
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L Brands Inc. founder and CEO Leslie Wexner spoke out for the first time about his association with financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested last week, saying he did not know of Epstein's alleged crimes during the two decades they worked together.
Epstein was recently charged in New York with two federal counts related to the sex-trafficking of minors, to which he pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Wexner sent out a memo on Monday to employees of his retail companies, including Victoria's Secret, assuring them that he "was NEVER aware of the illegal activity charged in the indictment."
"I would never have guessed that a person I employed more than a decade ago could have caused such pain to so many people," he wrote in the memo. "I have searched my soul … reflected … and regretted that my path ever crossed his."
Wexner employed Epstein primarily as his money manager back in the late 1980s (conflicting dates have been given to multiple publications, as pointed out by the Cut), and "Wexner allowed Epstein to take an active role in L Brands, which owns Bath & Body Works, Express, and Victoria's Secret," Business Insider's Taylor Nicole Rogers wrote.
Their connection extended to Epstein helping Wexner build a model town in Ohio, New York magazine reported in 2002. Epstein also owns a townhouse in Manhattan that was previously owned by Wexner.
Wexner said he "completely severed" all ties with Epstein 12 years ago.
"I would not have continued to work with any individual capable of such egregious, sickening behavior as has been reported about him," Wexner wrote in the statement.
- Read more:
- The CEO of Victoria's Secret's parent company was one of Jeffrey Epstein's only known clients, and the 2 were 'close personal friends'
- Jeffrey Epstein reportedly partnered with Victoria's Secret head Les Wexner to build a model town with McMansions costing as much as $4.5 million
- Here's how Jeffrey Epstein may have acquired a $77 million Upper East Side townhouse for $0