A recently released set of files related to Jeffrey Epstein implied that the convicted sex criminal’s ties to collector Leslie Wexner ran deeper than some previously thought, placing new scrutiny on the former Victoria’s Secret CEO.
One email from an FBI official that was released to the public this week referred to potential “co-conspirators” who had worked with Epstein. While the email was heavily redacted, like other files released by the Department of Justice on December 23, the message clearly refers to Wexner, the namesake collector behind the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio.
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Epstein and Wexner’s professional relationship is well-documented. Epstein managed Wexner’s finances and even acted as a trustee to the businessman’s foundation. According to the New York Times, Epstein at one point owned a home near Wexner’s estate.
But some have claimed that Wexner may have been aware of Epstein’s crimes. In her memoir, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, mentioned Wexner and urged readers not to “be fooled by those… who say they didn’t know.”
Speaking to the Columbus Dispatch, a spokesperson for Wexner said that he had participated in investigations related to Epstein. The spokesperson referred the Dispatch to a comment from an investigator who worked on the Epstein case. That investigator stated that Wexner was “neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect” in the inquiry.
Though best known for leading brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie, Wexner and his wife Abigail are also recognized for their art collection, appearing on the annual ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list each year between 2003 and 2018. They have purchased major works by modernists such as Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko, and more.
