Case Timeline

A chronological record of key events, drawn from court filings, public records, and verified reporting.

1998–2004: Property & Corporate Foundation

  • 1998 — Epstein purchases Little St. James island, U.S. Virgin Islands, for $7.95 million
  • 2000, September — JEGE Inc. incorporated in Delaware (Company #3284812) for aviation operations
  • 2000–2005 — FedEx shipping records document 2,894 shipments across two accounts, connecting New York, Palm Beach, Zorro Ranch (NM), and St. Thomas (USVI)

2005–2008: Palm Beach Investigation & NPA

  • 2005 — Palm Beach Police Department opens investigation after a parent reports abuse of a 14-year-old girl
  • 2006 — FBI launches federal investigation; Palm Beach PD refers case to federal prosecutors
  • 2007, September 24 — U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta (SDFL) signs Non-Prosecution Agreement with Epstein's legal team, naming four co-conspirators: Sarah Kellen, Lesley Groff, Adriana Ross, and Nadia Marcinkova
  • 2008, June 30 — Epstein pleads guilty to Florida state charges; receives 18-month county jail sentence with work release six days per week; serves 13 months

2008–2019: NPA Shadow Period

  • 2011, November — Financial Informatics Inc. incorporated in USVI (later renamed Southern Trust Company, September 2012)
  • 2012, October — JEGE LLC filed in USVI, mirroring the Delaware JEGE Inc. aviation entity
  • 2013, May 5 — EXECUTIVE-1 sends the "Approval Email" claiming AML compliance approval for the Epstein banking relationship at Deutsche Bank; no corroborating record has been produced
  • 2013, August — Deutsche Bank opens 40+ accounts for Epstein, classifying him as "Honorary PEP" (Politically Exposed Person) with high-risk rating; Southern Trust obtains 90% USVI tax exemption for "DNA database consulting"
  • 2014, January 24 — Butterfly Trust account opened at Deutsche Bank with Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn as co-trustees
  • 2014, June — Federal district court rules Epstein's victims may access plea deal details under the Crime Victims' Rights Act
  • 2015, September 21 — Virginia Giuffre files civil suit against Ghislaine Maxwell (SDNY, 15-cv-07433)
  • 2016, January — Great St. James island purchased for $22.5 million through Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem as straw buyer
  • 2018, November — Miami Herald publishes "Perversion of Justice" investigative series questioning the NPA
  • 2018, December 21 — Deutsche Bank terminates the Epstein relationship by letter; reference letters drafted for other financial institutions

2019: Federal Arrest & Death

  • 2019, February–May — Deutsche Bank accounts systematically closed; funds migrated to TD Bank. HBRK Associates account opened February 5; Indyke's IOLA opened April 5; $14.66 million flows into IOLA from Southern Trust via Charles Schwab ($12.66M) and Epstein's personal Deutsche Bank account ($2M)
  • 2019, May 7 — Richard Kahn withdraws $50,000 in cash from HBRK account, triggering a mandatory Currency Transaction Report — 60 days before arrest
  • 2019, July 6 — Epstein arrested at Teterboro Airport on federal sex trafficking charges (SDNY, 19-cr-490)
  • 2019, July 8 — Indictment unsealed; bail denied
  • 2019, July 19 — Former U.S. Attorney Acosta resigns as Secretary of Labor, 13 days after arrest
  • 2019, August 8 — Epstein signs Last Will and Testament establishing the 1953 Trust with Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn as executors; $2 million wired from IOLA to Representation Trust for "legal fees" the same day; $3 million bequeathed to Simona Petreike (Lithuanian citizen)
  • 2019, August 10 — Epstein found dead in Metropolitan Correctional Center; ruled suicide by NYC Medical Examiner
  • 2019, October 1 — TD Bank files Suspicious Activity Report (BSA-31000155070501) documenting $47.3 million in suspicious activity across 25 subjects, covering May 2015 through August 2019

2020–2022: Maxwell Trial & Civil Proceedings

  • 2020, April 14 — Eleventh Circuit en banc ruling in In re Courtney Wild (No. 19-13843) denies victims a private right of action under the Crime Victims' Rights Act (8-3)
  • 2020, July 2 — Ghislaine Maxwell arrested in Bradford, New Hampshire, on federal charges
  • 2020, July 6 — NYDFS signs consent order imposing $150 million penalty on Deutsche Bank for systemic anti-money laundering failures — exactly one year after Epstein's arrest
  • 2020, December 16 — Jean-Luc Brunel arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris
  • 2021, November 29 — Maxwell trial begins (SDNY, 20-cr-330)
  • 2021, December 29 — Maxwell convicted on five of six counts
  • 2022, February 19 — Brunel found dead in his cell at La Santé prison, Paris
  • 2022, June 28 — Maxwell sentenced to 20 years in federal prison
  • 2022, December — USVI Attorney General reaches $105 million settlement with the Epstein estate, naming 10 Epstein-created entities

2023–2024: Unsealing & Litigation

  • 2023, May — Little St. James and Great St. James islands sold to Stephen Deckoff for approximately $60 million
  • 2024, January — Court-ordered unsealing of Giuffre v. Maxwell documents begins releasing thousands of pages
  • 2024, October — FinCEN imposes $1.3 billion penalty on TD Bank for anti-money laundering failures

2025: Transparency Act & Document Releases

  • 2025, July 15 — Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduces H.R. 4405 (Epstein Files Transparency Act) with 24 cosponsors
  • 2025, July 17 — Sen. Ron Wyden discloses Treasury investigation documenting $1.08 billion in 4,725+ wire transfers through Epstein accounts at JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank
  • 2025, November 12 — Discharge petition reaches 218 signatures (214 Democrats, 4 Republicans)
  • 2025, November 18 — House passes H.R. 4405 by 427-1 (Rep. Clay Higgins casts sole "No" vote)
  • 2025, November 19 — Senate passes by unanimous consent; President signs into law as P.L. 119-38
  • 2025, December 19 — DOJ releases Data Sets 1–8 (30-day statutory deadline); includes 500+ entirely blacked-out pages

2026: Ongoing Proceedings

  • 2026, January 30 — DOJ releases Data Sets 9–12 (531,256 + 331,655 emails, 950,921 Deutsche Bank records, 150 supplemental files)
  • 2026, January 31 — 43+ victims' full names exposed in release, including 24+ minors with home addresses
  • 2026, February 2 — DOJ removes "several thousand documents and media items" after 200+ survivor attorneys file emergency motions
  • 2026, February 3 — Lithuania opens pretrial investigation (first country to act)
  • 2026, February 6 — Democracy Defenders Fund files OIG complaint and FOIA litigation (Case No. 1:25-cv-02791, D.D.C.)
  • 2026, February 9 — Reps. Massie and Khanna review unredacted files at DOJ; identify six redacted men described as "likely incriminated"
  • 2026, February 18 — France opens dual investigations: Parquet de Paris (trafficking) and Parquet National Financier (financial crimes); police raid Arab World Institute in connection with Jack Lang probe
  • 2026, February 19 — Prince Andrew arrested by Thames Valley Police (UK)
  • 2026, February 23 — Lord Peter Mandelson arrested by Metropolitan Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office (UK)
  • 2026, February 24 — Poland establishes Investigation Team No. 5 (National Prosecutor's Office); NPR reports DOJ withheld files containing accusations against President Trump
  • 2026, February 26 — Hillary Clinton deposed under subpoena (~6 hours, closed session)
  • 2026, February 27 — Bill Clinton deposed under subpoena (6+ hours) — first former president compelled to testify under subpoena in U.S. history