Now he tells us

As bad actors go, it’s pretty difficult to top Jeffrey Epstein. He’s definitely in the pantheon of 21st century rotters.

Of course, now that I think of it, he may well have been a pretty good actor, since he was able to convince so many (supposedly) reputable people that he was a really interesting guy: a brainy philanthropist who could talk a good intellectual game. No doubt in my mind that, as the sex trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein proceeds, some of those (supposedly) reputable folks will no doubt be exposed as having been interested in things other than Epstein’s brilliant mind and scintillating conversation.

One of the questions hovering around Epstein is just how he acquired his fortune.

It is, of course, all wrapped up in his relationship with Leslie Wexner, “the billionaire mogul behind Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.” Along the way, Epstein amassed both a $$$ fortune and an impressive real estate portfolio that includes a a $77 million townhouse/mansion in NYC that once was Wexner’s and was rumored to have been given over to Epstein for the slightly-below market price of $1.

Other rumors suggest that Epstein paid $20M for the home, but since whatever amount Epstein paid, it likely came from money he had ripped Wexner off for, it really doesn’t matter all that much. By the way, Wexner’s words for ripped off: “misappropriated vast sums of money.”

Mr. Wexner, the chief executive of the retail giant L Brands, included the accusation in a 564-word letter he sent Wednesday to the Wexner Foundation, giving his most detailed account yet of how his life and affairs became intertwined with Mr. Epstein, who was arrested last month and charged with sex trafficking involving girls as young as 14.

In the letter, Mr. Wexner said the misappropriation was first discovered in 2007 as he separated from Mr. Epstein. In early 2006, Florida authorities charged Mr. Epstein with multiple counts of molestation and unlawful sexual activity with a minor. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to state charges of solicitation of prostitution from a minor and was required to register as a sex offender.

“It was agreed that he should step back from the management of our personal finances,” Mr. Wexner said in the letter. “In that process, we discovered that he had misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family. This was, frankly, a tremendous shock, even though it clearly pales in comparison to the unthinkable allegations against him now.” (Source: NY Times)

Wexner may have been a genius when it came to making money, but when it came to judging character, he apparently got played. And apparently missed out on the sleaze alert factoid that, while he may have been positioning himself as a money management genius, Epstein had also been “trying to pitch himself as a recruiter for Victoria’s Secret models.” Seems like that should have set off something of a klaxon-level, high-decibel alert. Or maybe it just made Epstein seem like more of a – hubba-hubba – Victoria’s Secret kind of guy.

Wexner had pretty much gone all in with Epstein, giving him “wide powers over his finances, philanthropy and private life.” Epstein was given:

…a so-called power of attorney, which enabled Mr. Epstein to hire people, sign checks, buy and sell properties, and borrow money — all on Mr. Wexner’s behalf.

Well, that would explain the purchase of a $77M house for $1.

Anyway, Epstein was supposedly running a hedge fund. Easy enough to do if you have the ultimate hedge of stealing to keep it in clover.

Epstein also had some convoluted back and forth with Wexner’s charitable foundations and his own, the C.O.U.Q. Foundation. (I was unable to find out what the acronym stands for, but couq? Clever boy, that Jeffrey Epstein.) I tried to look the foundation up on Guidestar. No surprise that there’s no info on it, other than a note that it’s not registered with the IRS.

Not only had Wexner’s charities made donations to C.O.U.Q., C.O.U.Q. turned around and made donations to Wexner’s charities.

I guess this proves once again that you don’t need to be smart to make money. You just have to know how to make money.

Anyway, Wexner has managed to claw back some money from Epstein. But nowhere near what he lost. Live and learn.

“I am embarrassed that, like so many others, I was deceived by Mr. Epstein,” he wrote. “I know now that my trust in him was grossly misplaced, and I deeply regret having ever  crossed his path.”

All of this is dinging a brand that was already struggling:

…to find its footing as retailers move away from sexualized marketing in the era of #MeToo. This week, Mr. Wexner told employees that Ed Razek, its longtime chief marketing officer, was retiring. Mr. Razek was instrumental in developing eroticized campaigns for Victoria’s Secret, as well as its annual fashion show.

Here's my question: why did Wexner wait more than 10 years to blow the whistle on Epstein’s theft? Seems like there may have been a crime or two committed here and, although Epstein got away with his bad behavior with that sweetheart deal he brokered in Florida for his sex-related crimes, he might have ended up in prison for stealing from Wexner. After all, theft is so much worse than sex trafficking, don’t you think?

If Wexner had called in “the authorities”  back when he realized he’d been had, Epstein over the last decade if Epstein had been in the stir. Talk about a missed opportunity. Instead we’re sitting here scratching are heads. Now he tells us…