Max Abelson, Peter Guest and Jeff Kao
Jeffrey Epstein’s office set a rule for its special team inside American Express: spending on trips for young women and others had to be kept a secret, even from his inner circle.
After a flight confirmation went out to multiple people in 2017, Epstein’s longtime assistant, Lesley Groff, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, sent a message to the relationship manager for his invite-only Black card, officially known as Centurion: “PLEASE HELP! Take ALL Email Addresses OUT of OUR ACCOUNT!!”
She explained that “Jeffrey was livid” because he’s “EXTREMELY private” and “does not want ANY flight confirmations sent to anyone but me”.
For years, Epstein’s office relied on American Express to arrange trips not just for the disgraced financier, who’d pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution, but for dozens of women, often Eastern European. His Centurion relationship manager also booked and cancelled trips that were never meant to be taken, a move aimed at helping the women obtain visas, according to emails released by the Department of Justice.
The documents offer a window into the uppermost tier of consumer finance, where the wealthiest clients are paired with dedicated handlers who anticipate needs and handle an array of requests. In the Centurion program, reserved for American Express’ biggest spenders, relationship managers play highly personalised roles as travel agents, problem solvers and door openers.
For Epstein, the discretion and service that came with the card provided a ready-made infrastructure for arranging travel for women. More than 100 of them have accused him of abuse, and several have said they were flown by various means to Epstein’s properties in the US, Europe and the Caribbean. He was arrested on charges of sex trafficking in July 2019 and died in federal custody the next month.
That was more than a decade after Epstein pleaded guilty to sex offences in a Florida state court in 2008. In between, his money and connections bought some of the most luxurious help the financial system has to offer, sparing him from the struggles facing the millions of people who leave US prisons and jails each year.
Along with an array of billionaires, lawyers, executives, advisers and co-conspirators, Epstein used one of consumer capitalism’s icons of exclusivity and excess to keep his machine moving. The booking patterns and fake itineraries are the kinds of requests that should have raised red flags, said two experts in human trafficking, who asked not to be named discussing legally sensitive matters.
An American Express spokesperson said the company terminated Epstein’s account after the federal charges against him and regrets having him as a customer.
“American Express strongly condemns abuse, exploitation and human trafficking,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the company continuously updates its processes and controls. “We take our legal and regulatory responsibilities seriously, including reporting suspicious activity.”
Epstein, a cardholder since 1977, was a lucrative customer. At times, he spent at a clip of more than $US1 million ($1.38m) per year, statements show, likely generating tens of thousands of dollars of fees for American Express. He had a Centurion from at least 2004, according to the public files.
By 2006, there were eight Gold cards, counting additional users, and a Platinum to go with it. His account was up to three Centurions in 2012, and as many as nine in 2017. A message to prosecutors from American Express after Epstein’s arrest in 2019 tallied Centurions, a Platinum, Golds, a Blue Cash card, and business cards including Plum and Gold.
One of his account’s Centurion cards was in the name of Celina Dubin, the daughter of his billionaire friends Glenn and Eva Andersson-Dubin, according to a 2018 statement that’s since been more fully redacted. Karyna Shuliak, Epstein’s girlfriend, had a card with a $US60,000 monthly spending limit.
‘Against AMEX Policy’
More than $US100,000 of spending detailed on Epstein’s Centurion statements from June and December of 2012 ranges from quotidian to decadent: a locksmith, plumbing supplies, cabs, chocolate, movie tickets, Match.com, Vivienne Westwood and the ritzy Manhattan restaurant Per Se. In 2018, he had 11.2 million rewards points, even after giving a million to an associate.
The spending on Celina Dubin’s card included flights, juice, a cheese shop, a delivery, a fitness studio and Eleven Madison Park’s Hamptons pop-up. A representative for the Dubins and a lawyer for Shuliak both declined to comment.
The main contact at American Express for Epstein’s office was Natalia Molotkova, a Centurion relationship manager from Russia. According to her emails, she was based outside Atlanta and had once worked at a “visa agency” in the city. Messages to Molotkova weren’t returned. American Express declined to say whether she was still employed by the company or, if not, when she left.
More than a dozen American Express colleagues helped arrange flights zigzagging Moscow, Miami, Minsk, New York, St Petersburg, West Palm Beach, Warsaw and beyond. Groff was clear about who was in charge: “Jeffrey would now like the girls to depart Tues Nov 22nd evening,” she wrote about one trip. For another, she requested an “itinerary for girls with price tags”.
The emails don’t show Groff explaining why many of the women were travelling, though in several cases she said they were arranging trips to obtain visas. Groff declined to answer questions for this story. Her lawyer has said she never witnessed anything illegal.
Groff asked to arrange a “fully refundable” trip for an Eastern European model just before Christmas of 2012, telling Molotkova to move fast so the woman could get an itinerary for “an interview with the consulate”. Groff told her to book anything for any hotel – “we don’t care how much or what it is like” – explaining that the model would “alter the dates herself on the reservation to match the air ! (she knows how to do it with Word).”
Molotkova had a question and an offer. “Does she need the reservation only for the visa purpose? It is against AMEX policy, to be honest,” she wrote back, “but here is the option, we can hold it till tonight.” After the scheduled appointment, Groff told Molotkova to cancel the trip. She added: “You have been great.”
Molotkova, it appears, was also willing to help when Groff told her to find a flight just for show, from Rome to London, around the same time as another from Rome to Miami. “This is a decoy flight,” Epstein’s assistant told her in January 2016, “she will not really take it”, but “needs to show an itinerary for this flight”. Molotkova sent options.
That March, when Shuliak told Groff she needed quick trip reservations to bring to a visa appointment, Epstein’s assistant simply forwarded the note to Molotkova. It became routine: In March 2018, Molotkova asked if she could cancel flights booked for a Canadian visa.
Epstein’s office also got help from more than 10 American Express support staff members, half a dozen travel counsellors and a colleague named Kathy whom Molotkova considered “GREAT”. She helped with a flight that was reserved so one woman could “get her Visa”, and another trip that Groff said was for the “girls”, though she clarified that one was “over 25″. Other coworkers helped Epstein’s office book flights for women from Lithuania and Russia, according to the public documents.
All kinds of companies aim to please important customers, though holders of the Black card are welcomed into one of the most special clubs in finance.
Once they make it in, even if their lifestyles seem extraordinary, relationship managers are there to enable, not question, according to one former American Express employee who asked not to be named speaking about internal company matters.
It’s not uncommon for Centurion cardholders to use relationship managers as personal assistants, the person said.
While relationship managers are trained on spotting risky or illegal behaviour – and have an obligation to report suspicious activity – their job is to keep the client happy, the person said.
‘Happy International Women’s Day!’
For Epstein’s office, privacy was paramount. Information on one trip went out further than it was supposed to in early 2016, according to a note asking Molotkova to investigate. Her response: “Could be a glitch.”
But that May, a ticket for Epstein himself was sent around too widely: “Please can you make it stop?” Groff told her. “Only send tickets to ME.” Molotkova apologised. “No problem,” Groff answered, “but sometimes I don’t want all these people to know about tickets I am purchasing … so really good to get this fixed.”
It happened again that September. A year later, a flight confirmation for someone else made its way to Shuliak, triggering the “PLEASE HELP” message.
One of the reasons for Groff’s alarm was upcoming travel: “I am petrified that all these tickets we have coming up this week from Russia to Paris will somehow resurface and get emailed to someone in our ‘list’ of emails,” she wrote. “I know you understand this is truly a GIGANTIC issue!”
Epstein was irritated, she told Molotkova, who offered to ease his mood with 60,000 points. “We do value Mr Epstein’s business,” Molotkova wrote to Groff. “And your HARD work.”
The emails show a polite relationship between Epstein’s office and Molotkova or her American Express colleagues. The subjects ranged from oral surgery to kidney donation, coffee, the World Cup, dance competitions and vacations in Russia and Disney World. “I feel guilty when you have a complicated request and I am not here,” Molotkova told Groff at the end of 2015.
And when Groff asked in 2017 for a ticket from Moscow to Paris, Molotkova wished her a “Happy International Women’s Day!!” and taught her its history and that phrase’s equivalent in Russian: “It came from Europe, politically active women!!! So say to your Russian girls – S 8 Marta!!!! They will know!!!” Groff thanked her – “Good to know!” – and noted: “I work with plenty of Russians!”
Arranging the itineraries often required long exchanges. In September 2018, they worked to arrange a trip for a woman in Eastern Europe. After much back and forth, Groff asked if her office changed flights more than any of Molotkova’s other clients.
“Yes,” Molotkova wrote, “but you still is the BEST, most understanding and patient!!! I love you!!!”
Epstein remained a customer until his arrest. From March through June 2019, his account racked up more than $US2.5 million of spending, much of it for a card connected to a business named for his private island.
Five days after Epstein was taken into custody by federal agents, American Express Travel sent an itinerary to Shuliak for a business class flight from New York to Warsaw, then on to Minsk. “Enjoy your trip!” it said.
Bloomberg
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