Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner Alleges That Jeffrey Epstein “Misappropriated Funds”

Published on August 9, 2019

As former financier Jeffrey Epstein awaits trial in jail for charges of sex trafficking of children, his former and longtime client Les Wexner reveals that Epstein allegedly took $50 million dollars from him during his time as Wexners adviser. Wexner claims that his family chose to sever the business relationship they held with Epstein back in 2007 after learning that he allegedly stole “vast sums of money” from the family. Wexner currently serves as the CEO of L-Brands, the parent company of major retailers such as Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works.

Epstein’s Legal Troubles Began In 2006

While Epstein currently sits in jail awaiting trial over the sex trafficking charges he was arrested for in June, his legal trouble goes all the way back to 2006. Epstein was forced to register as a sex offender after a 2006 arrest in the state of Florida with multiple counts of molestation of a minor and the solicitation of an underage girl for prostitution. By the time Epstein had served his 13 months and registered as a sex offender, Palm Beach police had learned of more than 36 girls that had been molested—some as young as 14 at the time.

It was then that Wexner, a longtime client of Epstein’s, decided to cut ties. Epstein had been working for Wexner’s family as a finance adviser. Through that, Epstein allegedly misappropriated Wexner family money through a Wexner financed charities that Epstein held power of attorney over. The charity, called C.O.U.Q., allegedly accepted tens of millions of dollars in donations from the Epstein controlled Wexner trust to a business account in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In a letter that Wexner wrote to L Brands employees to clarify that Epstein had no affiliation with any of the L Brands businesses, he claimed that he was able to recover some of the lost funds.

In the letter, which was sent to the Wexner foundation just this last Wednesday, Wexner clarified that Epstein was not an employee of, nor was he affiliated with the L Brands family of businesses. Since L Brands is a publicly traded company, an affiliation with a high profile sex offender like Epstein could mean major consequences. When Epstein was arrested for a second time on June 6 under child sex trafficking charges, Wexner knew he would have to distance himself from the scandal in order to maintain good rapport with his company.

Wexner’s Letter Claims He Never Knew Of Illegal Activity

What makes Wexner’s affiliation with Epstein so controversial is the connection to Victoria’s Secret. A recent New York Times  article highlights how Epstein used the Victoria’s Secret name to prey on girls and young women. The disgraced financier allegedly claimed to be a talent scout for potential Victoria’s Secret models in order to gain trust from girls so he could molest them. The article claims that Wexner was made aware of the problem, but it is unclear if Epstein saw any repercussion at the time.

“I never would have imagined that a person I employed more than a decade ago could have caused so much pain,” wrote Wexner in an open letter that was published to the Wexner Foundation website earlier this week. “I condemn his abhorrent behavior in the strongest possible terms and am sickened by the revelations I have read over the past weeks,” he continued. The letter comes at a stressful time for L Brands, as its controversial Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek announced his resignation from the company earlier this week.

Julia Sachs is a former Managing Editor at Grit Daily. She covers technology, social media and disinformation. She is based in Utah and before the pandemic she liked to travel.

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