In email after email, modeling scouts on the global hunt for talent shared updates with an unexpected correspondent: Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender with no official role in the industry.
One scout boasted of a modeling prospect as a “cute French girl” who would be “happy to meet you,” and described how a group of 16- and 17-year-old potential models from Scandinavia “will be ready for next year.” Another recruiter touted a 19-year-old Russian who was “ready to travel,” while another extolled a young model as the “best girl.”
“She’s a gift that I had been planning on giving you,” the recruiter wrote.
Those professionals were far from alone in their embrace of the disgraced financier.
A CNN review of the trove of files released by the Department of Justice reveals new details about the depth of ties between Epstein and modeling industry insiders, including agency executives, administrators and recruiters.
The records illustrate a symbiotic relationship between the sex offender and some within the global industry, with Epstein providing money, professional connections and help with US visas, while modeling professionals gave him access to young, foreign women – many of whom now say he sexually abused them.
Even after Epstein’s 2008 sex crimes conviction, modeling insiders continued seeking to launch business ventures with him, invited him to fashion events and permitted him to associate with their companies, giving Epstein the aura of an executive who could make or break the careers of the models he preyed on.
CNN reviewed emails showing that at least six industry figures repeatedly sought to connect the registered sex offender with young models. While some of their messages contained sexual references, others appeared to be professional modeling referrals. The records also show numerous other insiders who kept friendly correspondence with Epstein.
Some Epstein associates have been charged with crimes including Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent accused of abuse by a prominent Epstein victim; Bruneldiedby suicide in a Paris prison after an arrest in 2020 on charges of raping minors. He denied the allegations.
Other modeling insiders in the DOJ records have not been accused of any wrongdoing and have denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. Many have said they believed Epstein was a legitimate figure in fashion thanks to his ties to the former owner of Victoria’s Secret, whose finances he once managed.
Daniel Siad, a professional model recruiter who arranged for Epstein to meet multiple models – including two who told CNN that Epstein abused them – said in an interview he had no reason to believe those women were being harmed. Siad said Epstein assured him he had paid for his crimes and that “this would never happen with anybody” Siad referred to him.
“I never heard anything from anyone I introduced to him who came back to me that they had a bad situation,” Siad said. “I believed this guy is a professional person.”
The DOJ files suggest Siad knew he wasn’t just referring young women to Epstein for modeling opportunities. In a 2018 message, he wrote that he was looking for a “good looking young assistant” for Epstein. He also repeatedly sent Epstein photos of young women he encountered during his travels – some of them with provocative poses.
Siad said, in hindsight, Epstein was a “chameleon” who deceived him. He said Epstein had been introduced to him as a casting director and that Epstein separately asked for help finding an assistant.
Epstein’s ties to the industry are part of ongoing investigations bylawmakersand law enforcement officials, including a criminal probe launched this year in Paris that is reviewing information related to Siad, according to the chief prosecutor of Paris. Two former models told CNN they spoke to investigators there about Siad, who has denied wrongdoing.
