A 69-page, law-enforcement-sensitive DOJ memo reveals Jeffrey Epstein was the subject of a previously undisclosed DEA investigation opened Dec. 17, 2010. The probe named Epstein and 14 others and flagged roughly $50 million in suspicious wire transfers from 2010–2015 that may be tied to drugs and prostitution. The memo also references multiple ICE and FBI inquiries, accounts in several countries, and companies linked to Epstein; most names remain redacted.
DOJ Memo Reveals Previously Undisclosed DEA Probe Into Jeffrey Epstein's Money Transfers
Jeffrey Epstein, at right, and the cover page of a 2015 Drug Enforcement Administration memo listing him as one of 15 people targeted in an investigation. / Credit: Document released by Department of Justice(Document released by Department of Justice)
A newly released, heavily redacted 69-page Department of Justice memorandum shows Jeffrey Epstein was the subject of a previously undisclosed Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation that ran for more than five years and named him alongside 14 other individuals in connection with suspicious wire transfers that may be tied to illegal narcotics.
Key Details From the Memo
The memo, marked "law enforcement sensitive," states:
"DEA reporting indicates the above individuals are involved in illegitimate wire transfers which are tied to illicit drug and/or prostitution activities occurring in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York City."
The record appears to originate from a DEA request to an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Fusion Center in Virginia seeking intelligence from other agencies related to an active case. The file includes a DEA case number and lists the case-opening date as Dec. 17, 2010, in New York. The document also bears the designation "judicial pending," which a law enforcement source told CBS News could indicate investigators were awaiting court approval for warrants or other legal steps.
Redactions and Scope
Much of the memo is heavily redacted, concealing the identities of the 14 other targets and many substantive investigative details. The memo cites roughly $50 million in suspicious wire transfers between 2010 and 2015, though names tied to those transactions are redacted. The Justice Department appears to have inadvertently left unredacted the name of a Polish fashion model tied to approximately $2 million in transfers; CBS News — at the request of the woman's attorney, who said she is a survivor of Epstein's abuse — did not identify her in reporting.
Related Inquiries and Financial Links
The memo also discloses previously unreported probes that have some connection to Epstein: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inquiries in West Palm Beach (2006–2008) and Las Vegas (opened 2009 and listed as pending as of Jan. 27, 2010); an ICE investigation in Paris opened in June 2013 and closed months later under the name Operation Angel Watch; and an FBI investigation opened in 2006 that the memo indicates remained active in 2015.
Investigators identified bank accounts linked to Epstein in Switzerland, France, the Cayman Islands and New York. The memo names companies tied to Epstein that have been scrutinized in the past, including SLK Designs LLC and Hyperion Air; public filings show those entities were formed and controlled by Epstein's longtime attorney Darren Indyke. SLK Designs was associated with two women included in Epstein's controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement and identified in the memo as potential co-conspirators.
Context And Aftermath
A separate criminal case brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in 2018 led to Epstein's arrest in July 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges; he was detained in a lower Manhattan jail and died in custody in August 2019, a death ruled a suicide. Prosecutors in that later case told CBS News they were not aware of the earlier DEA probe detailed in the memo.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee who has pursued Epstein records, emphasized the importance of tracing financial flows to understand the full scope of Epstein's activities. He called the newly revealed memo significant and criticized what he characterized as withheld files in related investigations.
Neither the DEA nor the Department of Justice responded to CBS News requests for additional comment on the memorandum.
Note: This account is based on the publicly released DOJ memo and reporting by CBS News; many names and details remain redacted in the document.
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