Les Wexner sat for a deposition on Wednesday at his New Albany mansion about his longstanding ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Credit: Courtesy of TNS
Les Wexner said he was misled by, and that he had no knowledge of any wrongdoings of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his deposition in his New Albany mansion.
On Wednesday, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight Reform came to Ohio to depose Wexner, founder of L Brands and chairman of Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, about his longstanding ties with Epstein.
On Jan. 7, the committee announced it sent a subpoena to Wexner because of his relationship with Epstein, Wexner paid for Epstein’s New York City home and Virginia Giuffre — a prominent victim of Epstein — named Wexner in a deposition of one of the men she was trafficked to.
In a statement obtained by The Lantern, Wexner said he never witnessed nor knew of Epstein’s criminal activity.
“I was na?ve, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein,” the statement read. “He was a con man. And while I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.”
Wexner said he cut ties with Epstein nearly 20 years ago when he learned that Epstein was “an abuser, a crook, and a liar.”
“And, let me be crystal clear: I never witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity,” Wexner said.
Wexner’s relationship with Epstein has been discussed for years, but has ramped up in recent months with new information contained in thousands of emails and documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In previous Lantern reporting, Wexner claimed their relationship ended in 2007, but an email sent June 26, 2008 from Wexner to Epstein revealed a different explanation.
“Abigail told me the result…all I can say is I feel sorry. You violated your own number 1 rule…always be careful,” the email read from Wexner.
Epstein replied to that email with “no excuse.”
In the statement regarding his Congressional deposition, Wexner also said he was not a co-conspirator in any of Epstein’s illegal activities. In 2019, Wexner was among nine suspected to be working with Epstein in a list the FBI compiled and released in the Epstein files, per prior Lantern reporting.
Wexner said he told Congressional investigators that he met Epstein in the mid-to-late 1980s with an introduction by Bob Meister, the former vice chairman of Aon. He said Epstein, a financial advisor, was unwilling to take him on as a client for the first couple years of knowing each other, but would periodically give Wexner advice.
“Little did I realize that, from the very start, Epstein was conniving to gain my trust,” Wexner said in the statement.
Once Wexner hired Epstein to manage his personal finances, Wexner said he gave Epstein power of attorney to execute transactions quickly without requiring Wexner’s signature.
“What I did not anticipate was Epstein misusing the trust I placed in him despite his fiduciary obligation to act in my best interest,” Wexner said.
The statement said in 2007, Abigail Wexner, his wife, learned of the severity of Epstein’s offenses and realized Epstein had stolen a large amount of money from Wexner’s family.
“Once I learned of his abusive conduct and theft from my family, I never spoke with Epstein again. Never,” Wexner said.
In September 2007, nine months after Epstein’s arrest, the Wexners revoked Epstein’s power of attorney, removed his access to their bank accounts and forced him to resign from all affiliated entities, the statement read.
Wexner said he was not in Epstein’s social circle, but would often learn about Epstein’s famous acquaintances and his important positions. Wexner said he would have what seemed to be random chance encounters with prominent people who said they knew Epstein.
“Over the course of many years, he carefully used his acquaintance with important individuals to curate an aura of legitimacy that he then used to expand his network of acquaintances, and apparent credibility, even father,” Wexner said.
Wexner also denies being on Epstein’s airplane and said he did not give Epstein his New York townhouse. Wexner said Epstein purchased it from him for what he was told was the appraised value.?
Wexner said he did visit Epstein’s island once for a few hours with Abigail Wexner and his children when they were young and while on a cruise on their boat.
“Again, the side of Epstein that he chose to reveal to me was far different from the predator he eventually was exposed to be,” Wexner said.
Wexner also was ordered to be deposed in the lawsuit against Ohio State for its handling of Richard Strauss, a physician that sexually abused at least 177 student athletes. The judge denied the motion to quash the subpoena and Wexner will now have to sit for a deposition within 60 days of when the order was filed.
