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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 293-1 Filed 05/25/21 Page 264 of 349
no federal charges filed against Epstein as a result of the government’s agreement in mid-2007 to
defer prosecution to the state.”°
C. July 2008: Villafafia Prepares and Sends a Victim Notification Letter to Listed
Victims
On July 8, 2008, Villafafia provided Goldberger with an updated victim list for 18 U.S.C.
§ 2255 purposes, noting that she had inadvertently left off one individual in her June 30, 2008
letter. Villafafia also informed the defense that, beginning the following day, she would distribute
notifications to each of the 32 victims and their counsel informing them that Epstein’s attorney
would be the contact for any civil litigation, if the victim decided to pursue damages. Finally, the
letter informed the defense that the government would consider a denial by Epstein that any “one
of these victims is entitled to proceed under 18 U.S.C. § 2255” to be considered a breach of the
terms of the NPA.
After exchanging emails and letters with the defense concerning the content of the notice
letter, Villafafia drafted a letter she sent, on July 9 and 10, to nine victims who had previously
retained counsel. The letter informed the victims and their counsel that, “[i]n light of” Epstein’s
June 30, 2008 state court plea to felony solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors to
engage in prostitution, and his sentence of a total of 18 months’ imprisonment followed by 12
months’ community control, “the United States has agreed to defer federal prosecution in favor of
this state plea and sentence, subject to certain conditions.” The letter included a reference to the
18 U.S.C. § 2255 provision of the NPA, and although the defense had never agreed to it, used
language from Acosta’s December 19, 2007 letter to Epstein defense attorney Sanchez clarifying
the damages provision. The paragraph below was described as “[o]ne such condition to which
Epstein has agreed”:
Any person, who while a minor, was a victim of a violation of an
offense enumerated in Title 18, United States Code, Section 2255,
will have the same rights to proceed under Section 2255 as she
would have had, if Mr. Epstein had been tried federally and
convicted of an enumerated offense. For purposes of implementing
this paragraph, the United States shall provide Mr. Epstein’s
attorneys with a list of individuals whom it was prepared to
name... as victims of an enumerated offense by Mr. Epstein. Any
judicial authority interpreting this provision, including any authority
determining which evidentiary burdens if any a plaintiff must meet,
shall consider that it is the intent of the parties to place these
identified victims in the same position as they would have been had
Mr. Epstein been convicted at trial. No more; no less.
On July 10, 2008, Villafafia sent Goldberger a “Final Notification of Identified Victims,”
highlighting the defendant’s obligations under the NPA concerning victim lawsuits pursuant to
370 As described in Section XII.G of this Part, the matter continued in litigation for years and resulted in the
district court’s February 21, 2019 opinion concluding that the government violated the victims’ rights under the CVRA
by failing to consult with them before signing the NPA.
237
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00004561.jpg |
| File Size | 1026.1 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.5% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 3,308 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 16:50:25.195399 |