EFTA00270337.pdf

ED-1057 (Rev. 5-8-10) (Overall Document Classification Required) FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION Electronic Communication Title: (U//FOUO) ROBERT COUTURIER Date: 01/10/2019 Drafted By: Missing Case ID #: 72-MM-NEW (U) - SEE SUB Details: 11/17/2010 ROBERT COUTURIER, business address phone number the above listed location. After being advised of the identity of interviewing agent, and the nature of the interview, COUTURIER provided the following information: COUTURIER first met JEFFREY EPSTEIN sometime between 1985-1988 and he was introduced to EPSTEIN by YSABEL GOLDSMITH. At that time, EPSTEIN was looking for a designer to decorate his place located at 9 East 71st Street, Manhattan, NY. COUTURIER was interviewed for the job but EPSTEIN did not hire him on that occasion. COUTURIER and EPSTEIN travel in the same social circles and there is a lot of gossip surrounding EPSTEIN. The talk is mostly about how much he enjoys the company of young girls and women. COUTURIER stated that EPSTEIN always made him feel uncomfortable and strange when he was around him so COUTURIER was friendly and courteous to him but does not consider EPSTEIN his friend There is no doubt that EPSTEIN is very intelligent and can carry a conversation about any subject but there is something about him that is weird and off- putting. He is incredibly wealthy and COUTURIER believes that most people around him do not talk too much about him because that type of wealth usually buys power. Although people might have information about EPSTEIN they might be reluctant to talk; it is easier to excuse his bad behavior or turn a blind eye to it. COUTURIER stated that about six or seven months ago a woman by the name of who is EPSTEIN's assistant, called him and asked if he would consider taking on the challenge of decorating EPSTEIN's place in Manhattan and if he would also consider decorating his place in the US Virgin Islands (USVI). COUTURIER advised these are just two of the homes he currently owns but EPSTEIN also has an apartment in Paris, France and a huge ranch somewhere in the Midwest in the U.S. COUTURIER stated that by this time, he had heard of EPSTEIN's incarceration and thought that EPSTEIN had "paid his debt to society" and maybe things had changed with him so he went into the meeting trying to be objective EPSTEIN also stated that to be honest, he would be making a lot of money if he took the project. The first meeting took place sometime in business phone and cellular , was interviewed at his design studio at (Overall Documillliassification Required) the EFTA00270337 (Overall Document Classification Required) Title: (U//FOUO) ROBERT COUTURIER Re: 72-MM-NEW, 01/10/2019 April or May 2010 and , EPSTEIN's assistant, showed him the overall plans of the USVI house. Although EPSTEIN was supposed to attend the meeting he could not make it so handled it. Ten days later, EPSTEIN, , and his other assistant LAST NAME ) all flew from Palm Beach, FL to the house on the USVI after the initial meeting. Sometime in June 2010, COUTURIER and EPSTEIN plus his assistants, flew to the USVI on EPSTEIN's private plane. They took it from Palm Beach to the island and stayed there for a day and a half. EPSTEIN was very excited and appeared to be like a kid with a new toy. COUTURIER recalls that EPSTEIN kept the house very cold and his bedroom was white but had no lights in the room, it was dark and very austere. The focal point of the room was an enormous bed. EPSTEIN also showed him another room in which he wanted to place four beds and wanted to have it decorated in a very colorful palette for his girls. EPSTEIN told COUTURIER him that he does not have any friends and that he does not really like people. EPSTEIN stated that he has girls coming to spend time with him in the island. EPSTEIN then lamented that "the girls" are only interested in Facebook and MySpace and that he wanted the space in this bedroom to be comfortable and have access to the Internet as they were online so much. COUTURIER did not ask how old these girls were or anything about them. He did not ask him any personal questions. COUTURIER stated that on the flight back he grew increasingly uncomfortable. Although he did not see any of the young girls that EPSTEIN was talking about he was not sure if he could do this job for him. COUTURIER added that every time he met with EPSTEIN he had his assistants there who are all very attractive young women and others unknown to him but all appeared to be over the age of 18. EPSTEIN also showed COUTURIER his home on 71th street in Manhattan, NY as he wanted him to decorate that place also. COUTURIER showed him a massage room where he had photographs ("artistic renditions" according to COUTURIER) of young women in the nude, ranging from age 15 through 20 all hanging from the walls of this massage room. COUTURIER did not ask him any questions about this room and moved on to the rest of the house. COUTURIER then came back to New York and started out drawing plans and although he did not have a contract, EPSTEIN did give him a check for $50,000.00 as a deposit for his services. COUTURIER stated that his plans went back and forth between his offices and EPSTEIN's people but EPSTEIN never seemed happy. COUTURIER sent some of his associates back to the USVI to take measurements and adjust his plans and EPSTEIN was pleased in some aspects but was still highly critical. COUTURIER then decided that this was not the right job for him. COUTURIER stated that in the back (Overall Document Classification Required) 2 EFTA00270338 (Overall Document Classification Required) Title: (U//FOUO) ROBERT COUTURIER Re: 72-MM-NEW, 01/10/2019 of his mind, he wanted to have "a way out" should he decide that he could not work with EPSTEIN which was why he did not have a formal contract signed. EPSTEIN was very difficult to work with and COUTURIER found that EPSTEIN had not changed his pattern of behavior obviously if he was having the home in the USVI decorated for girls to stay with him. This did not sit well with COUTURIER. He then wrote EPSTEIN a note apologizing for not being able to take on this job. COUTURIER stated that he could not just drop everything or any of his projects whenever EPSTEIN wanted him at the site (USVI). EPSTEIN was very persistent but COUTURIER was firm in his decision. In July 2010, EPSTEIN tried to sue him for his deposit and he has many attorneys at his disposal who are very aggressive. COUTURIER's attorney stated that if they decided to litigate this case, it was going to be a long process. COUTURIER decided to settle and returned $15,000.00 to EPSTEIN to save himself the hassle of litigation. COUTURIER stated that EPSTEIN and were a couple but had broken up. At one point COUTURIER had spoken to about her break-up with EPSTEIN. She told him, "I have seen him do horrific things" but did not elaborate. is still his assistant and they are on friendly terms. COUTURIER stated he believed that although very pretty, was now too old for EPSTEIN even though she is in her 30s. COUTURIER stated there are people in New York who are outraged about EPSTEIN's lenient sentence for his sex trafficking charges. One person who has followed the story and written about JEFFREY COUTURIER is , phone number . AMY FIENNE-COLLINS also wrote an article for "Vanity Fair" on child prostitution but the article met with much resistance. COUTURIER concluded by saying that although this would job would have generated a lot of income for his company, he simply could not do it and although he tried to remain objective, his conscience would not let him continue this project. COUTURIER provided the following information regarding JEFFREY EPSTEIN's contacts: ASSISTANTS: (NY) (NY) (Palm Beach) BRICE LNU (USVI) RICHARD BARNETT III (Attorney) RICH KAHN • COUTURIER also provided the New York Residence: 9 East 71st Street New York, NY jeevacation@gmail.com Palm Beach Residence: 358 El Brillo Way Palm Beach, FL 33480 (Butler in NY) following (USVI) OTHER EMPLOYEES: DARREN INDYKE (Accountant) information for JEFFREY EPSTEIN: (Overall Document Classification Required) 3 EFTA00270339 (Overall Document Classification Required) Title: (U//F0110) ROBERT COUTURIER Re: 72-MM-NEW, 01/10/2019 .• (Overall Document Classification Required) 4 EFTA00270340