Fitryy Ricu Pay me fifty million dollars. Or pay the IRS seven times that amount. At first Epstein did not demand his fee up front. Instead he asked that the payment— often a substantial one—be put into | escrow. If his strategy worked, he'd get paid. If not, the money a. bounced back to the client. : g In the eighties, when tax rates on the top 1 percent were CHAPTER 26 i an q much, much higher than they are today, topping out at close to 7 4 50 percent, it was an extremely effective pitch. And then there q a were other ways to make money. Bs a -} __ In 1982, Epstein sold his wealthy friends, his friends’ wealthy q r. relatives, and others on an oil-drilling deal. One of the investors, f a Michael Stroll, had run Williams Electronics, an entertainment ake all his money? ~# _s company known for the pinball machines it made. a , a i; tories over the years about mon- a 4 Stroll put $450,000 into the oil deal. 7 characters. Sometimes, friends q ql But in 1984, Michael Stroll wanted his money back. Despite 2 a suggest he had ties to the | repeated demands and requests for a full accounting of what ly, ‘ts Bis ‘ impression that he was doing © _ Epstein owed him, he got $10,000 back on his $450,000 invest- : _ ment. Eventually he sued Epstein in federal court for the remain- in really did, at this stage in his — __ ing $440,000— the case went on for a number of years. In court, e > According to them Epstein spent — - Epstein told the judge that the $10,000 he'd returned was actu- c , 4 ¥ ith creative new ways for the rich © : ally the payment for a horse Stroll had sold him. i iq F ; mmission for tax-avoidance deals © _ _ Like many cases involving Epstein, this one was settled out ber of deals Epstein was involved — of court, the terms of the final agreement kept secret. im 4 as is his record of successes and q , q 3 del was evolving. He'd charge 4 fla q 4 atages. j a 108 . 4 109 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_022078