iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

BOMBSHELL story by Olivia Carville @bloomberg.com Internal Report Shows TikTok Kept Safety Feature From Millions A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement NO PAYWALL www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

bloomberg.com

TikTok Withheld a Safety Feature From Millions. One Died by Suicide

A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement.

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Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 04/08/2026

Bombshell new report out from my investigators this morning spanning our four year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records. This report shows exactly how Wall Street protected Epstein and enabled his sex trafficking for decades. Mega thread following with some key points:

bloomberg.com

Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says

Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...

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Aaron W. Gordon @agordon.me · 19/07/2026

In which @suryamattu.com and I try to answer the age-old question: Are we smarter than Billy the Cat, the World Cup-predicting phenom? The answer is, definitively: No.

bloomberg.com

What Happened When We Let Claude Pick Our World Cup Brackets

Could Claude narrow the gap between a soccer expert and a novice? A World Cup prediction contest put AI-assisted forecasting to the test.

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Surya Mattu @suryamattu.com · 08/06/2026

NEW: A tax loophole costs the US government $48 billion a year. That's more than the budget of NASA and the 2026 health subsidy cuts combined. The loophole allows ETFs to defer or avoid capital gains tax on winning stock picks.

bloomberg.com

The Top 1% Reap Most From Tax Loophole Costing $48 Billion

The ETF industry is exploiting the tax break at an unprecedented scale.

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Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Full keyword list.

Screenshot of TikTok Pixel client-side code showing a predefined keyword list used to filter sensitive data before it is sent. Categories include race and ethnicity (asian, black, white, caucasian, hispanic, latino, arab, middle eastern, african american, native american, indigenous, pacific islander, jewish, afro, mulatto, mestizo, racial, ethnicity, ethnic group); religion (christian, catholic, protestant, baptist, orthodox, muslim, islam, islamic, sunni, shia, jewish, judaism, synagogue, hebrew, hindu, hinduism, vedic, bhagavad, buddhist, buddhism, taoism, shinto, atheist, agnostic, secular, religious belief); sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, gay, lesbian, lgbt, lgbtq, queer, asexual, sexual orientation, gender identity, trans, transgender, nonbinary, non-binary); political affiliation (democrat, democratic, republican, libertarian, conservative, liberal, progressive, nationalist, communist, socialism, socialist, marxist, left-wing, right-wing, maga, antifa, alt-right, green party, political party, political ideology); union membership (labor union, trade union, union member, collective bargaining, strike, unionized, organized labor, workers' union, teamsters, AFL-CIO, IBEW, union dues, union card); and criminal record (arrest, arrested, convicted, conviction, felony, felon, misdemeanor, parole, probation, criminal record, jail, prison, inmate, suspect, indictment, charged with, mugshot).

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Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

An interesting finding here is that TikTok’s “sensitive data” filter for state health sites is a bizarre keyword list with terms like MAGA, antifa, Teamsters, bhagavad, mulatto, queer, and nationalist. If your answer isn't on the list, it could still get sent w/ @suryamattu.com and Tanaz Meghjani

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Reuben Fischer-Baum @reubenfb.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Rhode Island folks! If you're interested in the intersection of data, journalism, and art, come listen to me moderate a talk with @suryamattu.com at RISD on Thursday, March 5, at 6:30pm.

A poster giving details for a lecture by artist and data journalist Surya Mattu. The event will take place at 6:30pm on March 5, in College Building (yes that's the official name) room 412.

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Cecilia D'Anastasio @cecianasta.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Stake says influencers like Drake and Adin Ross don’t win more than the average gambler. We ran the numbers, and guess what :) Here's our year-long data investigation into Stake and Kick's influencer empire, with @oliviasolon.bsky.social and @leonyin.bsky.social: www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

bloomberg.com

Unlikely Wins and Comped Spins: Inside Stake’s Empire

Crypto casino Stake pays Drake and other stars to bet, spreading clips of big wins to impressionable gamblers. The numbers show unusual luck is at work.

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Cecilia D'Anastasio @cecianasta.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Our Stake investigation found that Drake won four times more often than the average gambler playing Stake's own games. And he wasn't the only influencer getting very lucky livestreaming Stake slots on Kick www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

bloomberg.com

Unlikely Wins and Comped Spins: Inside Stake’s Empire

Crypto casino Stake pays Drake and other stars to bet, spreading clips of big wins to impressionable gamblers. The numbers show unusual luck is at work.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

This is 7th installment in our investigative series on Jeffrey Epstein based on previously unreleased emails Reporting by Max Abelson, @suryamattu.com Harry Wilson, me, @jeffykao.bsky.social and Ava Benny-Morrison and @dmehro.bsky.social Full story at this 🎁 link www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

bloomberg.com

How Epstein’s Wall Street Contacts Helped Him Build Wealth and Power

The disgraced financier maintained an abundance of access across the finance industry and was willing to play hardball to secure wealth and influence.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

And as Epstein was directing his high-powered attorneys to pressure the government into offering him a light sentence, he threatened legal action against Bear Stearns and top executives for steep losses.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

After stories of Epstein’s teenage victims spilled into the open, Wall Street continued to stay in touch. He had access to prestigious names in global finance, including the investment firm of billionaire Carl Icahn.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

They also show that Epstein’s ties on Wall Street were broader than previously known, involving not just standard banking relationships but some of the most sought-after hedge funds, such as Renaissance Technologies, whose reputation for success is almost mythical.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

The emails provide new details about Epstein as an investor and adviser, including how he leveraged influence when his bets lost money.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

NEW investigative report: "Things will get really nasty." Hedge funds. Brokerages. Billionaires. Jeffrey Epstein’s financial ties on and off Wall Street were broader than previously known, a cache of emails @bloomberg.com obtained earlier this year reveals 🧵 www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

bloomberg.com

How Epstein’s Wall Street Contacts Helped Him Build Wealth and Power

The disgraced financier maintained an abundance of access across the finance industry and was willing to play hardball to secure wealth and influence.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

This is the 6th story in our Epstein's Inbox series, which is based on 18K emails we obtained earlier this year. Find all of the stories here www.bloomberg.com/latest/epste...

bloomberg.com

Epstein’s Inbox: Trending News, Latest Updates, Analysis

See the latest on Epstein’s Inbox. From breaking news to in-depth reporting, Bloomberg tracks the full story in real time.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

The lawyer also demanded that Bloomberg “immediately send such documents to the Estate and destroy any copies in its possession.” (Bloomberg declined.)

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

An attorney for Indyke, in his role as the Epstein estate co-executor, said that his client’s email to Epstein was subject to the attorney-client privilege and that Bloomberg should not “publicly disclose the email itself or report on its contents.”

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

The email’s reference to “an Arab/Jewish thing” is unclear. There wasn’t a response from Epstein in the inbox.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Three days later, Indyke sent Epstein an email under the subject line, “Important.”

The email says

FROM : To: <jeeproject@yahoo.com> DATE: Fr1. Jan 18 2008 3:56 PM SUBJECT: Important
HSBC has made a unilateral decision to close down the French bank account effective January 21, 2008. Experton has been trying to get an answer from the Bank for the past couple of days regarding why. The acct never had a negative balance. Finally, Experton reached the person in charge of the account today and that person said the reason for the closure was account activity. When Experton asked this person to clarify, the person would not. Experton then asked the account rep to tell Experton if the account rep either was not allowed to tell Experton why or simply refused to do so. Experton asked if it was maybe an Arab/Jewish thing or something about Epstein that the bank does not like at which point Experton claims that the bank representative got nervous but would not confirm either of the two questions.
Experton wants to know if she should push hard or is there something that she does not know, so that she should just back off from the bank.
In the interim, for the next 15 days or so, Experton is willing to use her escrow account to make any necessary payments. She suggests that we wire the money from HSBC into her escrow account.
Please advise asap. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Darren K. Indyke Attorney-At-Law
Fourth F1oor

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

On Jan. 15, 2008, a few weeks after the HSBC letter was sent, Epstein’s personal attorney in New York, Darren Indyke, and his legal representative in Paris, Marie-Joseph Experton, traded emails about the closure of Epstein’s account. Experton said she would try to get to the bottom of it.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Epstein and Brunel clearly had a close relationship, which in the emails is shown through friendly banter about life, strategy about business rivals, Croatian models and industry gossip. One day after Epstein signed the non-prosecution agreement, Brunel sent him a lament, the emails we obtained show

The email says

FROM: jeanluc <jeanluc@mc2mm.com> To: Jeffrey Epstein <jeeproject@yahoo.com> DATE: Tue, Sep 25 2007 6: 25 PM SUBJECT :
HI
H have been running to write
you.
I cannot even imagine how it must be for you.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Compliance staffers also flagged that Epstein’s stated business purposes for the withdrawals were dubious. A due diligence review on Epstein turned up “Informations défavorables,” or negative information, on Epstein in US media after news reports covered his arrest in Florida

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Compliance officers at HSBC found that the French account had numerous round-dollar deposits and withdrawals were suspicious and bore hallmarks of money laundering and other financial misconduct.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

An HSBC spokesman declined to comment. But two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the bank closed Epstein’s account because red flags were raised concerning financial transactions involving young women associated with the French modeling agency MC2 and its owner, Jean-Luc Brunel.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

This is part of a series of stories based on emails sent to and from Jeffrey Epstein's private Yahoo account obtained by @bloomberg.com Emails and attachments from that account weren't included in more than 20,000 pages of documents that a congressional committee released publicly on Nov. 12.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

The previously unreported closure, which HSBC officials announced to Epstein in a letter dated Dec. 21, 2007, is the only known instance of a major bank closing one of his accounts before he pleaded guilty to sex offenses in Fla. in 2008.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

NEW/EXCLUSIVE: A French branch of HSBC closed a bank account maintained by Jeffrey Epstein in 2007 after compliance officers flagged transactions for suspicious activity, including payments tied to a modeling agent later accused of rape & sex trafficking 🧵 www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

The letter says

We hereby inform you that we do not intent to maintain our relationship and notify you this day, subject to a one-month notification period, the end of our banking contract for your account in existence since December 22", 2006. that is with effect on January 21", 2008.
Consequently, after this period is over, you should retumn all unused checks still in your possession and provide us with your new banking references, in order to enable us to wire the amount remaining on your account upon closing date. If not provided, we will issue a certified check for said amount,
Furthermore, we would like to have communication of the list of drawn checks which may still be presented for payment on your account, so as to keep sufficient and useful amount in order to avoid your account to become in debit. Failing that, your checks will be rejected.
The end of our banking contract occurring at HSBC's request, no charge will be invoiced for the closing down of your account.

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Davey Alba @davey.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

NEW: For months, my colleagues and I dug into YouTube's conservative airwaves and found a flourishing network of host-read ads on right-leaning podcasts. This phenomenon has enriched hosts, YouTube, and businesses that use ideology to sell. bloom.bg/3Kaio9w

YouTube’s Right-Wing Stars Fuel Boom in Politically Charged Ads

By
Davey Alba
Priyanjana Bengani
Leon Yin
Ashley Carman
Julia Love
Rachael Dottle
Elena Mejía Technology

Big Tech

November 20, 2025

On YouTube’s conservative airwaves, podcast hosts tout products that let people buy into the MAGA crowd: Republican Red Winery vintages for toasting the “silent majority;” Black Rifle Coffee for caffeinating gun owners; XX-XY Athletics for workout clothes symbolizing opposition to the “lunacy of the left social agenda.”

The popularity of YouTube podcasts among conservatives is driving a boom in small businesses tailoring ads to their millions of listeners, paying hosts like Joe Rogan and Candace Owens to read out promotions in the hope that fans will place orders. The phenomenon has enriched both the hosts and YouTube, supporting further growth of the businesses using ideology to sell.

A Bloomberg analysis of host-read ads across nearly 1,000 videos from eight of the platform’s top right-leaning podcasters found that advertisers on the shows routinely tapped into political identity in marketing. At least one host-read ad with a political message appeared in 91% of videos reviewed.

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Surya Mattu @suryamattu.com · 16/11/2025

Epstein’s Library 📚 Gift Link: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

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Surya Mattu @suryamattu.com · 14/11/2025

A cache of 18,000 emails offers another window into Epstein’s mind. Bloomberg parsed Amazon receipts from that inbox—filtering, verifying, and cataloging book orders—to build this timeline.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Reporting this story with @jeffykao.bsky.social Max Abelson, Harry Wilson, Ava Benny-Morrison, @suryamattu.com & @dmehro.bsky.social was a massive effort. There are TONS more details in our report about prosecutors' efforts to follow Epstein's money, which have been shrouded in secrecy for 2 decades

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Four days before he reported to prison, Epstein received an email from Wexner A spokesperson for Wexner declined to comment. A person close to Wexner said his email “expressed his strong disappointment that Epstein had breached his fiduciary duties and broken the family’s trust.”

FROM: Wexner, Les <LesW@ To: jeeproject@yahoo.com <> DATE: Thu, Jun 26 2008 5:45 PM SUBJECT :
Abigail told me the result...al1 I can say is I feel sorry. You violated your own number 1 rule... Always be careful.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

As Epstein reflected on his case, his emails about it became more frantic. On Nov. 16, 2007, he sent one to Jimmy Cayne, the former CEO of Bear Stearns, and his friend the psychiatrist Henry Jarecki. Under the subject line, “this is how crazy,” it contained a litany of grievances toward prosecutor

FROM: ijeffrey epstein <littlestieff@vahoo.com> To: jcayne@ , henry jarecki < DATE: Fri, Nov 16 2007 9:08 AM SUBJECT: this is how crazy
>
1.my team consists of professionals with over 250 vears of criminal experience. In an abundance of care , we have also consulted with outside ethics experts,and former justice dept officials . The clear and unanimous consensus is they find the conduct outrageous and frankly not one of them , has been able to recall seeing anything like this before.. .2. After the state had conducted its own investigation and returned a grand jury indictment.,the federal gov't , while adamantly refusing to coordinate with the duly elected district attorney, and his sex prosecutor of 13 years, ", engaged in a virtual extortion , to force the defendant and his counsel to go the state and in a wholly unprecedented step, demand , himself that he be charged with a crime greater than the state and grand jury thought appropriate. They then further demanded he obtain, from the state a sentence much greater than the state and its officials wanted., including having to register as a sex offender, a position that the state adamantly opposed. They then compounded their outrageous behavior by then demanding that Epstein pay an unnamed list of people ""alleged victims"",, a minimum of 150 thousand dollars each. No matter what their actual damages. They then refused the defendant, even the right to contact these adults.or conduct his own investigation. This was demanded in exchange for the gov't not prosecuting him for crimes, that they , the feds admittedly could only make the most tenuous connection to. The ausa then suggested the defendant be required to hire one of her friends as a continency lawyer, to , be paid for by the defendant to actually sue the defendant himself on behalf of a list of adults that she would onlv make avaliable after sentencing.. They threatened to use the sex tourism statute 2423 ( with a min mandatory sentence of 10 years) , and appl…

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

And he took note of one particular move Villafaña made: "She calls Les Wexner to inform him of the investigation" The former law enforcement official said Villafaña contacted Wexner in an effort to get him to cooperate & provide info about Epstein, his business, his travels and his enterprise

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Epstein was incensed. He and his attorneys took steps to back out of the NPA he’d signed. On Oct. 15, 2007, Epstein sent himself an email and attached a word document he wrote titled, “Did you know that.”

Epstein's email

20. She begins a money laundering investigation, wi thout the necessary requirement of specified illegal funds,
21 She says she iS contemplating charging a violation of a money transmi tting statute, though Epstein has no such business,

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

On Aug. 16, 2007, Villafaña requested that a grand jury issue subpoenas for Epstein’s financial records dating back to 2003. On the same day, Villafaña also sent a letter informing Epstein’s defense attorneys that she would continue investigating his finances as long as the NPA remained unsigned.

("In other words, if the sex offense case is resolved, the Office would close its investigation into other areas as well. The matter has not been, and it does not appear that it will be, resolved so the money laundering investigation continues, and Request Number 6 [seeking records of every financial transaction conducted by Epstein and his six businesses from "January 1, 2003 to the present] will not be withdrawn."

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

The evidence Villafaña collected was serious enough that she wrote in an 82-page prosecution memo that Epstein should be charged with money-laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to the former law enforcement official.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

That was the basis for a potential charge against Epstein of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, according to the former law enforcement official.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

At around the same time, prosecutors focused on a pattern of transactions in which Epstein directed some of his employees to withdraw large amounts of cash to disburse to women around the world he was suspected of having victimized

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

The money laundering probe was opened in Feb 2007 in February 2007, according to the former law enforcement official.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Yet the emails and documents from Epstein’s Yahoo account show that prosecutors in his office discussed the financial-crimes component of the investigation with Acosta and copied him on correspondence about it.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Last month, Acosta told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that he didn’t recall any discussion of “potential financial crimes” as part of his office’s Epstein investigation.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

The revelation that the investigation had a financial aspect also puts a spotlight on Alex Acosta, the former US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, who signed off on Epstein’s plea deal.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

The money laundering probe adds a new layer to the narrative about how the govt conducted its investigation. It also raises questions about what evidence prosecutors may have gathered as they followed Epstein’s money, long before the public began demanding a full accounting of his case

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Marie Villafaña, who was an AUSA for the Southern District of Florida at the time, even contacted Epstein’s longtime wealth-management client, Les Wexner, the billionaire businessman behind the brands Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, about the probe, according to the documents and emails.

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

The lead prosecutor requested that a grand jury issue subpoenas for “every financial transaction conducted by Epstein and his six businesses” dating to 2003, the emails show. Prosecutors also subpoenaed major banks for records about Epstein’s accounts and financial activity

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

🚨 EXPLOSIVE NEW investigation: We uncovered previously undisclosed details about an 18-month money laundering investigation into Jeffrey Epstein that took place alongside the 2007 sex crimes probe, according to emails obtained from Epstein's personal Yahoo account 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

bloomberg.com

Jeffrey Epstein Went to War Over Money Laundering Probe in 2007 Sex Case

Federal prosecutors opened a financial-crimes investigation into Jeffrey Epstein in 2007 amid their larger sex-trafficking probe. The financier and his legal team waged a war against them, his emails ...

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