US Virgin Islands wants Jeffrey Epstein-related documents from NY hedge fund billionaire
The U.S. Virgin Islands government, in an expanding investigation into the alleged sex trafficking enterprise of Jeffrey Epstein, is seeking documents related to the late financier from billionaire businessman and philanthropist Glenn Dubin, his wife and his former investment firm, according to court filings in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas.
Dubin, a New Yorker whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $2 billion, has come under scrutiny for his alleged long-running professional and personal ties to Epstein, who was charged last year in an alleged child sex trafficking conspiracy and later died in prison.
The subpoenas, which are dated Sept. 3, seek documents relating to financial transactions and communications between the Dubins and Epstein, or any related entities and associates from 1998 to the present day. One request asks specifically for information about "three wire transfers between 2014 and 2016."
A separate subpoena seeks records from Highbridge Capital, an investment fund that was led by Dubin until 2013.
In January, Denise George, the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands, sued the $655 million Epstein estate and a group of shell companies that control his wealth and real estate holdings around the world. The complaint alleges that Esptein created a network of companies and individuals who participated in and conspired with him in a pattern of criminal activity related to alleged sex trafficking of minor girls and young women.
The subpoenas for information from the Dubins represent the latest aggressive move by George in her effort to pull back the curtain of secrecy that surrounded Epstein's enormous wealth. In July, the territory's government sought years of records related to Epstein from at least 10 financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Deutsche Bank.
Epstein purchased the private island "Little St. James" in 1998 and established the Virgin Islands as his permanent residence in 2010. He later acquired ownership of a neighboring island, "Great St. James," and was in the process of building a new estate there at the time of his arrest, according to court and property records.
Epstein's connection to the Dubins dates back to the early 1980s, when the Brooklyn-born Epstein began dating then 20-year-old Eva Andersson, according to a letter written by Epstein's defense attorneys and provided to a Florida state prosecutor during plea negotiations in 2008. Andersson is a former Swedish model who went on to become a doctor and, later, Dubin's wife.
According to a biographical sketch of Epstein in the lawyers' letter, Epstein provided financial support for Andersson to attend medical schools in Sweden and California. They were romantically linked for 11 years and remained close friends even after it became clear that "the demands of Jeffrey's life could not include staying in one place and having a family," the lawyers wrote. The letter was obtained by ABC News through a public records request to the office of the state's attorney in Palm Beach County, Florida.
"Today, [Jeffrey] is a very close and important friend to my family," the letter quotes Andersson-Dubin as saying. "He is the godfather of my three children and is a close friend of my husband as well."
After Epstein served time in Palm Beach County Jail and was registered as a sex offender, Andersson-Dubin maintained contact. In 2009, shortly after Epstein's release from jail, she wrote an email to Epstein's probation officer to attest that she was "100% comfortable" with Epstein being around her three children, who were then all under the age of 18, according to a copy of the email in the files of the county sheriff.
The Dubins reportedly spent Thanksgiving with Epstein that year, according to stories published in Vanity Fair and Business Insider.
A spokesperson for the Dubins, in response to an email with specific questions about those communications and the subjects raised in the subpoenas, sent this statement to ABC News: "The Dubins have previously said that they are horrified by and were completely unaware of Jeffrey Epstein's unspeakable conduct.”
Dubin has also denied allegations that he had any sexual contact with alleged Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who testified in a deposition in 2016 that Dubin was among several prominent men she had sex with at the direction of Epstein and another of his longtime companions, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell also denied those allegations in a deposition, calling Giuffre an "absolute liar."
The subpoenas from the Virgin Islands seek records from the Dubins regarding Giuffre and the Dubins' travel on private jets with Epstein and Maxwell. According to Epstein's pilot's logs that have previously been made public, one or both of the Dubins flew on Epstein's planes at least 18 times between 1996 and 2005, often accompanied by their children and a nanny. Maxwell is also listed as a passenger on 13 of those flights, according to the logs.
Maxwell is currently under indictment in New York for allegedly facilitating and, in some instances, participating in Epstein's grooming and abuse of three girls between 1994 and 1997. She is also under investigation in the Virgin Islands for her alleged role in Epstein's operation, according to July court filings by the attorney general. An attorney for Maxwell did not respond to inquiries when ABC News reported on the US Virgin Islands investigation in July.
The subpoenas for the Dubins were posted to the Virgin Islands court docket this week. The documents are addressed to a 5th Avenue penthouse that overlooks Central Park and the Museum of Modern Art. The apartment, which is reportedly the former residence of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was purchased by the Dubins for about $30 million, according to a 2006 report in the New York Observer.
In January, Reuters reported that Dubin, 63, was retiring from the investment industry to focus on his family and his charitable pursuits.
Maxwell pleaded not guilty to all charges in New York. She is currently being held without bail in a federal prison in Brooklyn. A trial is scheduled for next summer.
