170 Associates to be Named: Federal Judge Orders Unsealing of Jeffrey Epstein-Linked Documents

A federal judge in New York has ruled to unseal numerous documents containing the names of individuals associated with the disgraced financier and sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein.

These documents are expected to reveal over 180 individuals, including associates, victims, investigators, and journalists involved in the Epstein case. However, some names will remain confidential, particularly those of minor victims who did not publicly discuss the case and an individual wrongly identified as an alleged perpetrator by a reporter.

One person has expressed concerns about the release of her name, citing potential physical harm as a reason to withhold it.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska issued a 51-page order outlining her decision on Monday. The order is connected to a 2015 lawsuit involving Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre and his former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Although the case was settled in 2017, the judge indicated in 2021 and 2022 hearings that the names would not remain sealed indefinitely.

Giuffre has accused Epstein and Maxwell of trafficking her when she was 17 years old. She is now in her 30s.

While some names have been redacted in certain documents, they belong to individuals who have either publicly acknowledged their ties to Epstein, were previously identified in other court records, or were mentioned in Maxwell’s trial.

The order includes a two-week delay to allow anyone whose name is set to be disclosed an opportunity to appeal.

Previously unsealed documents in the case included excerpts from a 2016 deposition by Rinaldo Rizzo, a former private chef for hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, who claimed that Epstein and Maxwell were in the company of a disoriented 15-year-old Swedish girl.

Jeffrey Epstein passed away in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019, with his death officially ruled as a suicide. Federal investigators reaffirmed this determination in a 128-page report released in June.

Ghislaine Maxwell, a central figure in the Epstein case, is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence on sex trafficking charges.

Efforts to release the names of Epstein’s clients and individuals who traveled on his private jet continue, with ongoing debates in Congress regarding document disclosures.