Jeffrey Epstein planned to own majority of Sarah Ferguson’s women’s brand after he was convicted of child sex offences, emails show

Jeffrey Epstein has been identified as the majority shareholder of the female empowerment brand led by Sarah Ferguson, according to documents released by the US Department of Justice.

The pedophile financier had planned to own a 51 per cent stake in women’s empowerment brand Mothers Army, which aims to tackle ‘some of the tough issues facing young people and families’, led by the former Duchess of York.

According to the emails, Sarah came up with a ‘great’ idea around June 2009 and enlisted Epstein’s help even after he was convicted of child sex crimes.

Later that year, an employee of Epstein outlined a business plan for the company, detailing how it would generate revenue from movies, TV series, a potential book deal, and even Tommy Hilfiger-branded clothing.

The company will also make money from a number of speaking events, including a women’s leadership event at Michigan State University, for which the company will be paid a $40,000 honorarium.

Under the proposed business plan, Ferguson would be the face of Mothers Army, earning a salary of $250,000 and owning the remaining 49% of the brand.

The former Duchess was so grateful for Epstein’s support that she sent him a series of enthusiastic messages saying she was ‘touched’ by his kindness and thanking him ‘for being the brother I always wished for’.

Despite this, Epstein’s team appeared wary of Ferguson’s involvement; An email sent by one of his co-workers described him as “a big mess, no focus, business naïve.”

The brand, called Mothers Army, which aims to solve ‘some of the tough issues facing young people and families’, was to be run by the former Duchess (pictured)

In a gushing email, Ferguson thanked Epstein for his support of the Mothers Army brand, saying he was ‘the brother I always wished for’.

The Mothers’ Army concept was apparently conceived by Ferguson herself, with an email sent by Jean Oelwang, CEO of Virgin Unite, a non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, outlining her goals for the brand.

In an email sent on 1 June 2009, Ms Oelwang wrote: ‘The Duchess of York came up with the wonderful idea of ​​bringing together a group of high-profile Mums to help raise the voices of Mums around the world to tackle some of the tough issues facing young people and families today.’

‘We’d like to volunteer our time to help develop this to the next level and would love you to join us on the marathon for a one-day planning session.’

This was then conveyed to Epstein by Ferguson himself and asked for his thoughts on the idea. ‘Great, but make sure you stick with the idea,’ he replied.

Ferguson later responded: ‘But for this purpose. I want and need you to help me with the business company… How do I do this? ‘What’s my next step?’

Another letter sent the same day by the former Duchess read: ‘But I don’t want to do any of this without you. I need your silent vigil and I want you to be assured that I will not raise the… business branch.’

Plans for Mother’s Army continued to develop later that year, when an email was sent to Epstein on June 26 by one of his colleagues, David Stern, outlining how the brand could be structured.

It has been suggested that the company will be financed by ‘JEDS’, an investment vehicle that will apparently allow Epstein to finance the brand.

Another email included an image of Mothers’ Army material with Ferguson’s face pasted over Uncle Sam’s with the words: ‘I want you for Mothers’ Army.’

The Duchess of York pictured in New York in part of files released in December

‘Please consider what stake in MA would be appropriate (100% seed funding and full management should give significant stake to JEDS)’ he said in the email.

Elsewhere in the plan it was stated that Ferguson would need ‘clear focus and development to create scale’. He also added that there is ‘the potential for MA to use its network to grow, as well as other JEDS deals’.

By September 2009, the brand appeared to be gaining major momentum with deals with Target, Tommy Hilfiger, and NBC.

‘Thank you very much, Jeffrey. Ferguson wrote to Epstein on September 3: I had the best argument with Target on Friday and they desperately want the Army of Moms project.

‘Also, Sarah Ferguson, my brand, my books, etc. They want to stand behind everything. Tommy Hilfiger all clothing, Perfumes etc. He wants to build my brand and sell it on QVC.

‘NBC wants my Moms Army TV show. Ben Silverman wants it. So is Ryan Seacrest. In just one week, energy seems to increase after lunch.’

Ferguson later praised the pedophile, saying: ‘I have never been so touched by the kindness of a friend.’

‘Thank you, Jeffrey, for being the brother I always wished for,’ he added.

An email sent to Epstein by one of his colleagues, David Stern, on June 26, 2009, outlined how the Mothers Army brand could be structured

Another email Mr. Stern sent on Sept. 11 appears to show a more thought-out business plan for the Mother’s Army brand

Another email Mr. Stern sent on Sept. 11 appears to show a more thought-out business plan for the Mother’s Army brand.

He outlined many ‘current deals’ yet to be signed, including the development of numerous TV series, book deals and fashion lines.

The email showed that Epstein planned to own a 51 percent stake in the company, while Sarah would own the remaining 49 percent and receive a salary of $250,000 each year.

Epstein’s involvement in helping Ferguson launch the business continued into 2010.

An email sent by Ferguson in February of the same year shows him asking for the financier’s help in trademarking the Mothers Army brand.

‘Can you please ask your dear lawyers to brand Mothers Army for me, not just the website but every category?’

Ferguson wanted to secure the brand name before mentioning it in a keynote speech on women’s empowerment at the ‘UN’.

‘I’m talking about mothers and their togetherness. “And before 15.00, I want the Mothers’ Army to be branded,” he said. ‘If your sons cannot do this, then I will try to find another way.’

Epstein said Ferguson had founded the Mothers Army brand and was currently ‘in the process of putting together training guides, product endorsements and strategic short-term and long-term goals’ for the company.

An email sent by Ferguson in February of the same year shows her asking for the financier’s help in trademarking the brand Mother’s Army

In August 2011, a reputation management firm representing Ferguson emailed one of Epstein’s lawyers to say that he was ‘willing to regain the rights to the Mothers Army Domain names’.

In 2011, amid the furor over Epstein’s conviction and his alleged victims, Ferguson attempted to prevent Epstein from becoming involved.

In August of the same year, a reputation management firm representing Ferguson emailed one of Epstein’s lawyers to say that he was ‘willing to regain the rights to the Mothers Army Domain names that Mr. Epstein had brought for himself.’

The message also appears to reference a request for Ferguson to sign a letter in support of Epstein following his 2009 conviction for child sex crimes.

Epstein’s lawyer later forwarded the email to him, saying: ‘You’ll see in the attached PR email that the Duchess is doing a bit of horse-trading here!’

By the end of September, it appeared that Epstein was no longer involved in the project at all, and the project was apparently shelved.

He is sent an email with a picture of a file with Sarah Ferguson’s face pasted onto Uncle Sam’s and the words ‘I want you for Mother’s Army’.

The sender asks Epstein: ‘Should I keep these Army of Mothers Pamphlets, throw them away, or mail them to Sarah F?’