EFTA00100357.pdf

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK In the Matter of the Application of the United States Of America for a Search and Seizure Warrant for the Premises Known and Described as 9 East 71st Street, New York, New York and Any Closed Containers/Items Contained Therein TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL Agent Affidavit in Support of Application for Search and Seizure Warrant SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK) ss.: Amanda Young, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I. Introduction A. Affiant 1. I have been a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBP") since 2017. During that time, I have participated in numerous investigations and prosecutions of crimes against children, including the sex trafficking of minors. I have also participated in the execution of multiple search warrants. 2. I make this Affidavit in support of an application pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure for a warrant to search the premises specified below (the "Subject Premises") for the purpose of photographing, video-recording or otherwise documenting the appearance of its interior, and to seize the items and information described in Attachment A. This affidavit is based upon my personal knowledge; my review of documents and other evidence; and my conversations with other law enforcement personnel. Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause, it does not include all the facts that I have learned during the course of my investigation. Where the contents of documents and the actions, statements, and conversations of others are reported herein, they are reported in substance and in part, except where otherwise indicated. 2 2017.08.02 EFTA00100357 B. The Subject Premises 3. The Subject Premises are particularly described as a nearly 19,000 square foot multi-story, single-family residence located at 9 East 71st Street, New York, New York, and include all locked and closed containers found therein. As detailed further herein, the Subject Premises is believed to be owned, possessed and controlled by JEFFREY EPSTEIN, a target subject of this investigation. A photograph of the front entrance to the Subject Premises is included below: C. The Target Subject and the Subject Offenses 4. The Target Subject of this investigation is JEFFREY EPSTEIN. 5. For the reasons detailed below, I believe that there is probable cause to believe that the Subject Premises contain evidence, fruits, and instrumentalities of violations of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591 (sex trafficking of minors) and Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 (sex trafficking conspiracy) (the "Subject Offenses") by the Target Subject. 3 2017.08.02 EFTA00100358 II. Probable Cause A. Probable Cause Regarding the Target Subject's Commission of the Subject Offenses 6. On or about July 2, 2019, a grand jury in this District returned an Indictment charging JEFFREY EPSTEIN with the Subject Offenses. A copy of the Indictment is attached hereto as Exhibit A and is incorporated by reference. B. Probable Cause Justifying Search of the Subject Premises 7. As set forth in Exhibit A, from at least in or about 2002, up to and including at least in or about 2005, JEFFREY EPSTEIN sexually abused multiple minor girls in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere. During that time and continuing to the present, EPSTEIN possessed and controlled the Subject Premises, which is described in Exhibit A as "the New York Residence." 8. As further set forth in paragraphs 8 through 10 of Exhibit A, from at least in or about 2002, up to and including at least in or about 2005, EPSTEIN sexually abused numerous minor victims at the Subject Premises. In particular, and as alleged in the Indictment, when a victim arrived at the Subject Premises, she would be escorted to a room inside the Subject Premises with a massage table, where she would perform a massage on EPSTEIN. The victims, who were as young as 14 years of age, were told by EPSTEIN or other individuals to partially or fully undress before beginning the "massage." During the encounter, EPSTEIN would escalate the nature and scope of physical contact with his victim to include, among other things, sex acts such as groping and direct and indirect contact with the victims' genitals. EPSTEIN typically would also masturbate during these sexualized encounters, ask victims to touch him while he masturbated, and touch victims' genitals with his hands or with sex toys. Following each encounter, EPSTEIN or one of his employees or associates paid the victim in cash. 4 2017.08.02 EFTA00100359 9. As set forth in paragraphs 12 through 13 of Exhibit A, to further facilitate his ability to abuse minor girls in New York, JEFFREY EPSTEIN, the defendant, asked and enticed certain of his victims to recruit additional minor girls to perform "massages" and similarly engage in sex acts with EPSTEIN. When a victim would recruit another minor girl for EPSTEIN, he paid both the victim-recruiter and the new victim hundreds of dollars in cash. EPSTEIN knew that his victims were underage, including because certain victims told him their age. 10. One of the victims identified in paragraph 22 of Exhibit A is Victim-1. As part of the FBI's investigation of EPSTEIN, other law enforcement officers and I have interviewed Victim-1.' I know from my personal participation of interviews with Victim-1, my conversations with other law enforcement officers who have interviewed Victim-1, and my review of notes and reports of other interviews with Victim-1 that Victim-1 has provided the following information, in substance and in part: a. Between approximately 2002 and 2005, EPSTEIN sexually abused Victim-1 on multiple occasions in the Subject Premises. This sexual abuse all occurred when Victim-1 was under the age of 18. b. During that same period, Victim-1 observed multiple floors of the Subject Premises and numerous individual rooms within the Subject Premises. Victim-1 has provided detailed descriptions of certain aspects of the interior of the Subject Premises, including Victim-1 's In meetings with the Government, Victim-1 has disclosed that, approximately a decade ago, she committed marriage fraud in order to obtain a green card and, subsequently, U.S. citizenship. She has also disclosed personal substance abuse, primarily involving the abuse of prescription drugs, during various periods between the early 2000s and 2019. Victim-1 has also disclosed having worked for approximately a year at a "happy-ending" massage parlor, performing paid sex acts. Victim-1 is currently pursuing a civil damages claim against EPSTEIN for his sexual abuse of her. Information provided by Victim-1 has proven reliable and has been corroborated by independent evidence, including documents and records obtained during the investigation and the accounts of other victims whom Victim-1 has never met. 5 2017.08.02 EFTA00100360 memory of specific details regarding the layout, furnishings, decorations, and floor pattern of various areas within the Subject Premises. II. I know from my review of publicly available corporate and property records that at all times relevant to the Subject Offenses as alleged in the Indictment, the Subject Premises was owned by Nine East 71st Street Corporation (the "Corporation"). The President of the Corporation is listed as JEFFREY EPSTEIN, and no other officers or occupants are identified on the Corporation paperwork. In or around December 2011, the Subject Premises was transferred from the Corporation to another corporate entity, Maple, Inc., which is registered in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where EPSTEIN was then known to and continues to reside. Though no officer of Maple, Inc., is identified in the transfer paperwork, the signature of both the buyer and seller in the transaction appear to be the same. Moreover, the deed lists the consideration for the transfer of the Subject Premises as $10, an amount facially inconsistent with a fair market transfer to a third party. 12. I know from my participation in this investigation that EPSTEIN has continued to possess and control the Subject Premises from at least in or about 2002 to the present. In particular, I know from my review of Sex Offender Registration records that EPSTEIN presently lists the Subject Premises as one of his residences. Moreover, as described in paragraph 11, above, although ownership of Subject Premises was transferred from one corporate entity to another in December 2011, both corporations appear to be under EPSTEIN's control, and EPSTEIN appears to remain the sole owner and occupant of the Subject Premises. 13. Additionally, although Victim-1 has not been in the Subject Premises since in or around 2005, based on my review of publicly available records maintained by the New York City Department of Buildings ("DOB"), it does not appear that there have been any significant or 6 2017.08.02 EFTA00100361 structural renovations to the interior of the Subject Premises since that time. In particular, the DOB reflects only three approved alteration permits for the Subject Premises, one in or around 2011 which authorized facade restoration but expressly noted that there would be "no change to occupancy, use egress or bulk," and two permitting the "installation of heavy duty sidewalk shed" outside of the Subject Premises at various points, but similarly noting that there would be "no changes in use, egress or occupancy." As such, while it is possible that certain interior decorations have changed since 2005, it is probable that structural components of the interior, such as Victim-I's description of the layout of rooms and floors, among other details, would remain the same. 7 2017.08.02 EFTA00100362 III. Conclusion and Ancillary Provisions 14. Based on the foregoing, I respectfully submit that there is probable cause to believe that photographing, video-recording, and otherwise documenting the appearance of the interior of the Subject Premises, and seizing the items described in Attachment A, will yield evidence of the Subject Offenses. In particular, evidence depicting the interior of the Subject Premises and reflecting the occupancy, ownership, layout, furnishings, decorations, and floor pattern of the Subject Premises will corroborate Victim-1's account of EPSTEIN's commission of the Subject Offenses. I further submit that there is probable cause to believe that such evidence will be located within the Subject Premises and therefore request the court to issue a warrant to seize the items and information specified in Attachment A to this affidavit and to the Search and Seizure Warrant. Special Agent Federal Bureau of Investigation Sworn to before me on July 5, 2019 THEHONORABLE BARBARA MOSES UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8 2017.08.02 EFTA00100363 EXHIBIT A 9 2017.08.02 EFTA00100364 ATTACHMENT A I. Premises to be Searched—Subject Premises 1. The premises to be searched (the "Subject Premises") are described as a nearly 19,000 square foot multi-story single-family residence located at 9 East 71st Street, New York, New York, and include all locked and closed containers found therein. A photograph of the front entrance to the Subject Premises is included below: II. Items to Be Seized I. This warrant authorizes executing agents to photograph, video record and otherwise document the full interior of the Subject Premises, including any items, furnishings, or possessions therein. 2. In addition, this warrant authorizes the seizure of certain evidence, fruits, and instrumentalities of violations of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591 (sex trafficking of minors) and 371 (sex trafficking conspiracy) (the "Subject Offenses") described as follows: a. Evidence concerning occupancy or ownership of the Subject Premises, including utility and telephone bills, mail envelopes, addressed correspondence, diaries, statements, identification documents, address books, telephone directories, and photographs of its occupant(s). b. Evidence concerning the layout, furnishings, decorations, and floor pattern of the Subject Premises, including photographs and blueprints of the Subject Premises. 2017.08.02 EFTA00100365