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ISN GLOBAL NEWS | INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
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THE MEN AND WOMEN BEHIND EPSTEIN'S EMPIRE
How his lawyer, accountant, assistants and pilot kept a convicted
sex offender at the centre of the world's most powerful circles.
By ISN Global News Investigations Desk | March 2026
Source: US Department of Justice — Epstein Files, January 2025
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Jeffrey Epstein did not operate alone.
Behind the gilded façade of private jets, Manhattan mansions and
island compounds stood a small, deliberately obscure group of loyalists
who managed every detail of his existence — from scheduling massage
appointments to withdrawing cash at Deutsche Bank, from building shell
companies to booking international flights for young women.
They were not famous. That was precisely the point.
The millions of pages released by the US Department of Justice in
January 2025 — fought over in federal courts for years — finally put
names to functions. They confirm what investigators long suspected:
Epstein's empire was a machine. His inner circle were its engineers.
Unlike the celebrities and politicians whose names fill his flight logs
and contact books, his operational circle was kept deliberately in the
shadows. His lawyer, his accountant, his executive assistants, his
pilot, and his ex-girlfriend formed the architecture of a criminal
enterprise that spanned two decades — surviving a 2008 conviction, a
sweetheart non-prosecution deal, and continuing to function until
Epstein's arrest in July 2019.
All have denied any knowledge of, or participation in, Epstein's sexual
abuse and trafficking of young women and girls. Several are now
scheduled to testify before the US House Oversight Committee.
Their silence is finally coming to an end.
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KEY FACTS AT A GLANCE
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▸ Inner circle size → 6 core operatives
▸ Years of operation → Approx. 1996–2019 (23 years)
▸ DOJ documents released → Millions of pages, January 2025
▸ Only person charged → Ghislaine Maxwell (20-year sentence)
▸ Victims fund distributed → $125 million (wound down 2021)
▸ Pending civil settlement → Up to $35 million (Indyke & Kahn)
▸ Congressional testimony → Kahn (Mar 11) · Indyke (Mar 19) · Groff (Jun 9)
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① GHISLAINE MAXWELL — The Accomplice
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Of all the names in Epstein's orbit, Ghislaine Maxwell is the only one
the federal government charged as a co-conspirator.
A British socialite and daughter of media mogul Robert Maxwell, she
entered Epstein's world in the early 1990s — and became, by all
accounts, the operational centre of his trafficking network.
Maxwell recruited, groomed and abused young women and girls on
Epstein's behalf for years. She was convicted in December 2021 on five
federal counts including sex trafficking of a minor. She is currently
serving a 20-year sentence.
The DOJ files confirm she was not merely Epstein's girlfriend — she was
his most active enabler, communicating closely with other members of
the inner circle to coordinate access to victims.
Current status: Incarcerated. Federal Prison.
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② LESLEY GROFF — The Executive Assistant
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Lesley Groff joined Epstein's payroll in 2001. Her function was simple
in description — and devastating in implication. She controlled access
to Jeffrey Epstein.
Multiple victims who later spoke to the FBI identified Groff as the
first person they would call to arrange a massage appointment with
Epstein. It was during these massages, according to victims, that
Epstein carried out the majority of his sexual abuse.
In a 2019 FBI interview, a victim who said she was 14 when she first
encountered Epstein recalled calling Groff to schedule massages for
herself and other girls. The FBI memo noted that Groff had asked the
girl whether "this was her first time."
A 2021 FBI interview records another victim telling investigators that
she regularly contacted Groff when she needed money — money Epstein had
to personally approve. She told the FBI she felt it was "pretty obvious"
that Groff knew what was happening.
In one account, the same victim described calling Groff at age 17 or 18
to urgently reach Epstein — because she needed $400 for an abortion.
According to the memo, Groff connected the girl to Epstein immediately.
He sent $1,000 in an envelope.
Email records show Groff regularly booked international and domestic
travel for Epstein and scores of young women, managed his calendar, and
acted as the go-between between Epstein and women he was financing.
Crucially, Groff was named in Epstein's 2008 non-prosecution agreement
as a potential co-conspirator who would not be charged.
Groff's lawyers stated she had "never witnessed anything improper or
illegal" and she has described herself as "heartbroken" for victims.
Current status: Not charged. Scheduled to testify June 9, 2026.
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③ DARREN INDYKE — The Lawyer
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Darren Indyke met Epstein in the 1980s. By 1996 he was working
exclusively for him. Over nearly 25 years — through Epstein's 2008
conviction, his incarceration, and his 2019 arrest — Indyke was present
at every legal turn, managing the corporate machinery of Epstein's life.
According to DOJ documents, Indyke established dozens of shell companies
on Epstein's behalf. In one email from March 2019, just months before
Epstein's final arrest, he was helping create a new investment vehicle
called "Truth Robot LLC."
Epstein's instruction: "Can't have my name on it."
Indyke also served as Epstein's primary cash handler. He would walk
into Deutsche Bank branches — without prior notice, without written
requests — and withdraw tens of thousands of dollars at a time.
The pattern alarmed Deutsche Bank employees. Internal emails from 2017
recommended restricting his access to cash checks, with one banker
suggesting the bank should "consider whether we should exit the
relationship."
"Darren or the RM never sends an email. He just walks into the branch."
— Deutsche Bank employee, internal memo, 2016
A civil lawsuit — recently settled — alleged these withdrawals were
structured to avoid bank reporting requirements, and that the cash was
used to pay victims. Indyke has denied this.
Epstein's trust planned to leave Indyke $50 million upon his death —
a figure matched only by Epstein's then-girlfriend. As co-executor of
the estate, Indyke now controls significant assets and evidence.
Current status: Not charged. Testifies March 19, 2026.
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④ RICHARD KAHN — The Accountant
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Richard Kahn joined Epstein's operation in 2005 as his in-house
accountant. The role expanded rapidly. By the time the DOJ files were
released, Kahn's fingerprints were on virtually every financial
transaction in Epstein's life.
From Harvard University donations to Bloomingdale's gift cards to wire
transfers to individual young women — Kahn processed it all.
DOJ documents reveal that Epstein and Kahn communicated regularly about
expenditure on what they referred to as simply "the girls." Kahn
organised ticket purchases, gift cards, maid services for "the girl's
apartments," and cable TV subscriptions — all charged to Epstein.
Across more than a decade of records:
▸ $10,000 wired to a woman named "Nadia" — 2011
▸ $45,000 wired to the same woman for medical expenses — 2017
▸ $10,000 confirmed wire to "the girl from Romania" — identity unknown
▸ $3,500 to a model for college tuition
▸ $10,000 Bloomingdale's gift card
▸ $25,000 donated to Stockholm School of Economics
▸ $100,000 committed to Harvard University
In a 2018 exchange, when Epstein questioned how an Airbnb booking was
paid for, Kahn replied: "I signed up to send from my PayPal account so
your name was not involved."
Current status: Not charged. Testifies March 11, 2026.
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⑤ SARAH KELLEN — The Assistant
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Sarah Kellen was identified by multiple victims as one of the key
figures who scheduled massage appointments and managed direct access
to Epstein.
Like Groff, she was named in the 2008 non-prosecution agreement as a
potential co-conspirator who would not face charges.
Kellen has since married and changed her name. She has maintained a
low public profile and has not publicly addressed her role in Epstein's
operation.
Current status: Not charged. No announced testimony.
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⑥ DAVID RODGERS — The Pilot
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David Rodgers piloted what media coverage came to call the "Lolita
Express" — Epstein's private Boeing 727.
Flight logs released as part of the DOJ files show Rodgers flying
Epstein, his associates, guests, and young women to destinations
including Little Saint James island in the US Virgin Islands, New York,
Palm Beach, and international locations.
Aviation logs are among the most concrete records in the Epstein files —
they document who traveled with him, when, and where. These logs have
been central to identifying individuals who claimed not to know Epstein.
Current status: Not charged. Has not spoken publicly.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
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The DOJ files do not resolve the central legal question — how much did
these individuals know, and when?
But they establish beyond reasonable doubt that Epstein's operation
required a full administrative infrastructure. His crimes did not occur
in a vacuum. They were enabled by schedules, wire transfers, flight
plans, and carefully managed access to a man who had already been
convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Epstein paid generously for loyalty. His will promised Indyke $50
million. Others received cash, gifts, and in Groff's case, a
Mercedes-Benz and a full-time nanny — so she could keep working for him.
The 2026 House Oversight Committee hearings represent the first time
several of these individuals will be compelled to speak publicly and
under oath. For the victims who have waited years for accountability
beyond Maxwell's conviction, what Indyke, Kahn and Groff say in those
chambers may finally begin to fill in the gaps.
ISN Global News will continue covering the committee hearings and all
developments in the Epstein estate litigation as they unfold.
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ISN GLOBAL NEWS | Original Investigative Reporting | March 2026
All facts sourced from US DOJ Epstein Files (January 2025).
All individuals named deny wrongdoing.
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Asad Baig