Billionaire says ‘world-class conman’ Epstein duped him
The billionaire, who built a retail empire including Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch, told members of the US Congress that his close financial adviser Jeffrey Epstein was “duped by a world-class conman”.
Les Wexner also denied knowledge of the late sex offender’s crimes or participating in Epstein’s abuse of girls and young women.
“I was naive, stupid and naive enough to trust Jeffrey Epstein. He was a fraud. And even though I was scammed, I did nothing wrong and I have nothing to hide,” the 88-year-old retired founder of L Brands told Congress’ House Oversight and Reform Committee before his interview.
Democrats on the panel subpoenaed Wexner after new details emerged about Wexner’s relationship with the well-connected financier after the Department of Justice released documents related to Epstein.
Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat who appeared in Wednesday’s interview, expressed skepticism in comments to reporters gathered near the six-hour hearing.
“There is no single person who played a greater role in providing financial support for Jeffrey Epstein to commit his crimes than Les Wexner,” he said.
In response to the allegations of famed Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who alleged in court documents that Wexner was among the men to whom Epstein sold her, Wexner expressed his total commitment to Abigail, his wife of 33 years.
He once said that he was not unfaithful “in any way, in any way.”
“Never. Any claim to the contrary is absolutely and completely false,” he said.
Wexner’s name appears more than 1,000 times in the Epstein files, which does not imply guilt, and Wexner has never been charged with any crime.
Epstein met Wexner through a business partner in about 1986, but it took several years for him to turn over management of his vast fortune to the “master manipulator” after the businessman conspired to gain his trust.
Wexner told Vanity Fair in a 2003 interview that Epstein “had excellent judgment and unusually high standards” and was “always a very loyal friend.”
On Wednesday, the billionaire said he wasn’t around much of Epstein’s social circle but often heard stories about his encounters with other wealthy people.
Wexner said Epstein “carefully used his acquaintance with important people to create an air of legitimacy.”
He visited Epstein’s infamous island only once, stopping for a few hours one morning while cruising on their boat with his wife and young children.
“It’s interesting that Mr. Wexner has somehow started to make it clear in his mind that he and Mr. Epstein are not even friends,” Garcia told reporters.
“We must be very clear that the two are very close, according to the report. They spent a lot of time together.”
In one of the newly released documents, Epstein wrote rude notes about Wexner saying, “I never did anything without Les’ knowledge” and “I will never give up on him.”
Another document, which appeared to be a draft letter to Wexner, stated that the two had “been doing ‘gang work’ for over 15 years” and were mutually indebted to each other; because Wexner helped Epstein get rich, and Epstein helped Wexner get richer.
Wexner’s spokesman said Wexner never received the letter and noted that it conformed to “a pattern of untrue, outlandish, and delusional statements made by Epstein in desperate attempts to perpetuate his lies and justify his abuse.”
Wexner told congressional representatives that Epstein “lived a double life,” presenting himself to wealthy clients as a financial guru with stable girlfriends while hiding his misdeeds with underage girls “extremely carefully and completely.”
“He knew I would never tolerate his terrible behavior. Not any of it,” she said.
Newly released records from the US Department of Justice contradict Wexner’s claim that he broke off his relationship with Epstein in 2007.
Wexner emailed Epstein in mid-2008, after he was sentenced to prison in Florida for soliciting a minor into prostitution.
“Abigail told me the outcome… all I can say is I’m sorry. You violated your own #1 rule… always be careful,” Wexner wrote. Epstein responded, “There is no excuse.”
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