HBRK Associates, Inc.: The Unreported Operational Hub of the Epstein Enterprise

Executive Summary

HBRK Associates, Inc. was a New York corporation incorporated on August 29, 2008 (DOS ID 3714818) by its two principals: Harry Beller and Richard Kahn. Registered at Richard Kahn's personal residence (1365 York Avenue, Apt. 28, NYC), HBRK operated as the central management office for the entire Epstein financial and property empire — handling wire transfers, construction oversight, payroll, trust administration, investment advisory, vendor payments, and personnel management across at least 39 separate entities and six properties.

The corpus contains 35,919 documents mentioning HBRK — one of the largest footprints of any entity in the EFTA production. Yet HBRK Associates has received zero independent investigative reporting. Media coverage universally describes Richard Kahn as Epstein's "accountant." The documents show his actual title was "Project Manager" (EFTA00003149), and his role encompassed contract negotiation, vendor management, investment advisory, and operational oversight of a multi-property development operation.

The trajectory is the story: Richard Kahn went from managing pool contractors and negotiating yacht purchases through HBRK to becoming co-trustee of Epstein's $577 million estate on August 8, 2019 — two days before Epstein's death — with a personal bequest of $25 million. The 1953 Trust's Section 2.5 contains a provision specifically naming HBRK Associates that effectively locked every employee into silence for two years after Epstein's death, on pain of forfeiting their bequests.

Emad Hanna served as HBRK's "Project Controller" from approximately 2009 to 2014, managing construction payment processing for Little Saint James island. His role was explicitly limited by Epstein to "pictures and report period" — financial tracking with zero construction authority. He left the operation by 2014 and does not appear in the 1953 Trust.

1. The Entity

Corporate Identity

Office Locations

HBRK operated from at least two addresses over its history, reflecting a transition from a residential suite to a commercial tower:

1. PO Box 400, New York, NY 10150 — Earliest mailing address, seen in wire memos through 2010 (EFTA01578768)
2. 301 East 66th Street, Suite 10F, New York, NY 10065 — Primary office 2009–2012, used in Hanna's email signature (EFTA02031977) and Kahn's emails through March 2012 (EFTA02173054)
3. 575 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022 — From mid-2012 onward. Kahn's July 30, 2012 email announced the move: "PLEASE NOTE EFFECTIVE JUNE 5TH MY CONTACT INFO WILL BE AS FOLLOWS: Richard Kahn / HBRK Associates Inc. / 575 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor" (EFTA01579566)

Deutsche Bank KYC files also reference a 9th floor at 575 Lexington as the listed address for trust beneficiaries including Ghislaine Maxwell: "c/o HBRK Associates, 575 Lexington Avenue, 9th Fl" (EFTA00166775).

What HBRK Actually Did

A staff deposition reveals that even employees were confused about the entity:

Q: "And what is your understanding of what that stands for?"
A: "I don't know. Just, I guess, initials."
Q: "Is it your understanding that HBRK Associates was your employer or is your employer?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "But you have been testifying today that your employer was Mr. Epstein..."

— EFTA00158250, p. 127–128

An administrative structure document (EFTA00003149) lays out the Epstein organizational hierarchy with HBRK at its center:

• Attorney: Darren Indyke, Esq.
• Project Manager: Richard Kahn
• Estate Manager: Mark Tollison

Southern Trust Company (STC) served as "the Administration office for LSJE which controls Purchasing, Vendor payments, Expense tracking, Staff payroll and Contractor(s) payments." HBRK was the New York hub that directed these flows.

The entity's functions, as documented across the corpus, included:

• Wire transfer authorization for all Epstein accounts at JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, FirstBank, TD Bank, and Charles Schwab
• Construction management across six properties (Little Saint James, Great St. James, 9 East 71st Street, Zorro Ranch, Palm Beach, Apartment 8A)
• Payroll administration for island staff via LSJ Employees LLC
• Vendor payment processing for dozens of construction, marine, design, and service contractors
• Trust administration for the Butterfly Trust, insurance trusts, and (later) the 1953 Trust
• Investment advisory — CC'd on Bank of America trading recommendations, directed options trades, forwarded market analysis
• Address of record for Deutsche Bank KYC filings of multiple trust beneficiaries

2. The Financial Pipeline

Banking Relationships

HBRK's banking history mirrors Epstein's progression through three major institutions:

JPMorgan Chase (pre-2013)
- Epstein personal account: #739-110438 (EFTA01588973)
- HBRK Associates Inc. account at JPM Chase
- JPM contacts: Janet Young (PB-Service1318), William Doherty, Gina Magliocco
- Harry Beller initiated wire memos; JPM called Beller to confirm before executing
- HBRK JPM account period: 10/31/2008–12/31/2013 (EFTA00090639)

Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (2013–2019)
- Relationship Manager code: RM0082289
- Distribution list: [email protected]
- RM: Stewart Oldfield (CFA, CAIA); Asst VP: Cynthia Rodriguez
- Net worth declared to JPM KYC: $500,000,000 (EFTA01582951)

TD Bank, NA (2019+)
- Routing: 031101266 (Wilmington, DE)
- HBRK sub-accounts moved here after Deutsche Bank exit
- Account name: "HBRK Associates Inc LSJE" (account 4332217565) (EFTA01273181, pg 11)

The Wire Transfer Mechanism

An FBI 302 interview of a Deutsche Bank employee describes the process:

"Wire requests would generally come in from Richard Kahn, JE's accountant. Richard Kahn would at least be CC'd on all requests."

— EFTA00128780 (FBI 302 of Deutsche Bank employee, 8/10/2021)

In the JPMorgan era, Kahn emailed wire instructions to PB-Service1318, CC'd Harry Beller, with the standing instruction: "Please call Harry to confirm" (EFTA01590103).

Entities Under HBRK Management

A June 28, 2017 Deutsche Bank daily deposit report (EFTA01421052) lists all accounts under RM0082289, revealing the scope of HBRK's management. The total across all accounts: approximately $84.5 million.

Selected balances from that date:

The full entity list under HBRK management numbered at least 39, including Epstein's core entities (Southern Trust, Southern Financial, HBRK itself), island operation shells (LSJ Employees, Neptune, Hyperion Air, JEGE, Plan D, NES, Zorro, Prytanee), trusts (Haze Trust, Butterfly Trust, Insurance Trust #2), the Wanek family entities (14 separate trusts/GRATs/LLCs), and other entities (The Jockey Club, Blood-Horse LLC, Equibase Company, JSC Interiors, Gratitude America).

Southern Trust → HBRK → LSJ Employees Pipeline

The core funding pipeline moved money from Deutsche Bank through HBRK to Southern Trust Company in St. Thomas, then out to LSJ Employees LLC for island operations.

HBRK-originated funding to Southern Trust (2016–2019) — EFTA01273155:

All originated as "Southern Trust Company, C/O HBRK Associates, Inc" from Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas to FirstBank Puerto Rico.

Funding to LSJ Employees LLC (2016–2019) — EFTA01273181 and EFTA01273198:

These two documents contain a combined 56 Fedwire advices documenting transfers from "Jeffrey Epstein C/O HBRK Associates" to LSJ Employees LLC. Individual wires ranged from $175,000 to $800,000, with aggregate documented inflows exceeding $15 million across 2016–2019. The wires originated from Deutsche Bank (account 0035269691) and later TD Bank (post-DB exit).

Earliest HBRK Capitalization

The earliest documented Epstein-to-HBRK transfer is a $25,000 wire on November 17, 2008 — less than three months after incorporation:

"Please wire Twenty Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) from the above account to: ... Account Name: HBRK Associates Inc."

— Harry Beller memo to JPM, EFTA01579303

Subsequent capitalization: $250,000 on July 15, 2009 (EFTA01579059) and $250,000 on September 14, 2010 (EFTA01589498, pg 4).

Post-Arrest Consolidation

On December 12, 2019 — five months after Epstein's arrest and four months after his death — seven shell entities were consolidated back into Southern Trust Company through HBRK accounts at TD Bank (EFTA01273155, pp. 16–22):

Eleven days later, on December 23, 2019, $13,000,000 was transferred from Southern Trust to Interactive Brokers LLC in Greenwich, CT, for placement in an interest-bearing money market account (EFTA01273155, pg 23).

3. The Construction Operation

Scale

The documents reveal continuous construction and development activity across Epstein's six properties, with HBRK managing all financial flows. The largest documented projects on Little Saint James alone:

A November 2012 punch list (EFTA01976576) catalogs 33 active work items spanning pools, a grotto, a helipad, a library, multiple beaches, employee bathrooms, a steel shed, solar installation, landscaping across the entire island, and equipment purchases including a JCB 8035Z mini excavator ($39,455), a John Deere 5101E tractor with loader, and a Genie Z60/34 boom lift.

Three-Tier Financial Control

The documents reveal a strict approval chain for construction expenditures:

Tier 1: Epstein approved every payment. Hanna could not release funds without explicit authorization:

"Emad will not authorize payments til you approve the budget."

— Gary Kerney to Epstein, EFTA01795532

Tier 2: Kahn negotiated and validated. He consistently pushed vendors for discounts:

"spoke with zorro pool contracter and was able to lower his bid by 3.5% or 500 from 14,122 to 13,622 before tax"

— Richard Kahn, EFTA01755630

On a storm shutter purchase: "i was able to negotiate a 5.75% reduction for cost of 2,865 to 2,700" (EFTA01885194). On well drilling at Zorro Ranch: "I was able to persuade him to agree to a total discount of $6,000 which represents a 4.85% discount" (EFTA01875410).

Tier 3: Hanna processed payments. His role was explicitly limited:

"emad has not authority zero i want him to take pictures and report period"

— Jeffrey Epstein to Gary Kerney, EFTA01832061

Selected Contractors

Over 30 contractors and vendors are documented in the construction corpus. A representative sample:

The Novamarine Yacht Negotiation

A 19-page email thread (EFTA00677915) documents Richard Kahn's December 2016–September 2017 negotiation for a Novamarine Black Shiver 140 jet boat, retail price Euro 875,600. Kahn, operating from HBRK, consistently referred to Epstein as "my buyer" and "my principal." He negotiated the price down to Euro 550,000 (a 37% discount), with his own best offer at Euro 525,000. When the deal stalled:

"i have been instructed to withdraw our offer. thank you and good luck. (personally i think you made a great mistake)"

— Richard Kahn to Alex Treleani, January 25, 2017

Kahn continued circling back through September 2017, asking about the larger Black Shiver 220 (base Euro 2,500,000).

4. The Personnel

Richard Kahn — Principal

In the corpus: 53,004 document-pages mention Richard Kahn.

Kahn's email signature throughout 2013–2019 read:

Richard Kahn / HBRK Associates Inc. / 575 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor / New York, New York 10022

His role spanned:

• Construction management: Negotiated contracts with pool contractors, well drillers, architects, yacht dealers, and storm shutter vendors. Pushed consistently for 3–6% discounts.
• Financial oversight: Tracked all wire transfers, managed Deutsche Bank relationship, coordinated with Harry Beller on JPMorgan authorizations. "Wire requests would generally come in from Richard Kahn" (EFTA00128780).
• Personnel management: Managed the payroll transition from Island Grounds Inc. to LSJ Employees LLC: "Eliminating IG payroll and moving everyone to LSJ Employees" (EFTA02006925).
• Investment advisory: Directed options trades, forwarded market analysis, negotiated FX rates with Deutsche Bank: "that rate is not fair - please see if you can improve pricing" (EFTA01423992).
• Operational oversight: Criticized island staff when work fell behind: "his answer is BS and was on LSJ on weekends to see Anna.. Islands need a manager/leader to keep these guys accountable" (EFTA01054625).

Contact info: tel 212-971-1306, fax 646-350-0954, cell 917-414-7584, email [email protected] (EFTA01579566).

Harry Beller — Financial Administrator

Beller worked for Epstein for approximately 22 years (circa 1992–2014), predating HBRK's 2008 incorporation. A JPMorgan KYC document identifies him as a "Financial Advisor" at HBRK Associates, listed as a signer with full powers on accounts declaring a $500 million net worth (EFTA01582951).

His function was to authorize wire transfers from Epstein's JPMorgan accounts. A typical wire memo:

"HBRK Associates Inc. / Memorandum / To: William, JP Morgan / From: Harry Beller / Please wire Twenty Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) from the above account to: ... Account Name: HBRK Associates Inc."

— EFTA01579303

Beller's large cash withdrawals were the subject of at least four JPMorgan Suspicious Activity Reports. In a deposition, Beller invoked the Fifth Amendment when questioned about HBRK. He was also listed as an authorized signer on multiple Epstein accounts at FirstBank Puerto Rico, including Lafayette Contractors LLC and Freedom Air Petroleum LLC (EFTA00065864).

Emad Hanna — Project Controller

In the corpus: approximately 3,949 documents mention Emad Hanna.

Hanna's email signature:

Emad Hanna / Project Controller / HBRK Associates / 301 East 66th St / Suite 10F / New York, NY 10065 / Cell (340) 642-8763 / LSJ Office (340) 775-8127 / St. Thomas Office (340) 775-2525 / NY Office (646) 862-4815 / Fax (646) 350-0221

— EFTA02031977

Active period: November 2009 through October 2014.

Hanna's earliest documented work involves pricing marine fenders for Little Saint James (EFTA01780975, March 2010) and coordinating vendor visits to Palm Beach (EFTA01780065, November 2009). His role was purely financial control — processing payment requisitions, tracking project costs, and documenting progress:

"I received a requisition for payment of next $20,000 toward a $100,000 contract with sub contractor Virgin Island Gunite Pools. So far we have paid $20,000 of the contract. Please advise with approval in order for me to get this payment processed."

— Emad Hanna to Jeffrey Epstein, EFTA01993257

Epstein explicitly limited Hanna's authority to documentation:

"emad has not authority zero i want him to take pictures and report period"

— Jeffrey Epstein to Gary Kerney, CC Emad Hanna, EFTA01832061

Despite this constraint, construction manager Gary Kerney relied on Hanna as a financial gatekeeper. The flagpole pool correspondence shows Kerney frustrated that Hanna would not process payments without Epstein's direct sign-off: "Emad did not notify me you had an issue til I checked today why the invoice hadn't been paid" (EFTA01991089).

Departure: By September 2011, Hanna was sharing his resume with Lesley Groff (Epstein's executive assistant) asking for job referrals: "Attached is my resume anyone that you can forward this to I would really appreciate" (EFTA00427700). His last confirmed interaction in the corpus is an October 2014 wedding photograph forwarded to HBRK staff (EFTA00359861). He is not named in the 1953 Trust (August 2019), though earlier trust amendments (2006–2008) included loan forgiveness for him (EFTA00082441, EFTA00298542). A promissory note from Hanna to Epstein was on file (EFTA00299927).

Other HBRK Personnel

• Bella Klein — Trustee of the 2013 Butterfly Trust; handled wire transfer coordination and Fed reference numbers (EFTA01589498, pg 16)
• Jeanne Brennan Wiebracht — Administrative/payroll management; authorized signer per EFTA01424842; received $1M bequest in 1953 Trust
• Darren K. Indyke — Attorney (PLLC); co-executor of estate; authorized signer on multiple accounts; received $50M bequest

Island Operations Staff

The on-island operation was managed separately from HBRK's New York office:

• Gary Kerney (Landmark Land Co.) — Construction manager, submitted budgets, supervised contractors
• Brice Gordon — Island manager, later paid as consultant to TTR at $15,235/month ($182,820 annualized) versus prior salary of $74,250 (EFTA02006925)
• Daphne Wallace — Photo documentation, procurement, logistics
• Monique Harry (LSJ LLC Project Administrator) — Material purchasing, inventory, based at 6100 Red Hook Quarter
• William Rowles (Lafayette Contractors LLC) — On-island general contractor
• Sheridon Elizee — Mechanic stretched across two islands: "I have been working day and night even on my vacation. Carlos would sometimes bring me over with kamoy on the weekends just so I could have machines ready for Monday" (EFTA01054625)
• Lucas Pascal — Procurement/sourcing for parts and equipment

5. Richard Kahn: Project Manager to Estate Trustee

The Trajectory

The media universally describes Richard Kahn as Epstein's "accountant." The corpus shows a more expansive role. In the Epstein organizational hierarchy, his listed title was "Project Manager" (EFTA00003149) — not accountant, not financial advisor.

His documented activities evolved over time:

2008–2013: Operational management
- Incorporated HBRK (August 2008)
- Directed wire transfers from Epstein's JPMorgan accounts
- Managed construction vendors and contracts at LSJ, Zorro Ranch, and NYC properties
- Oversaw the office move from 301 E 66th St to 575 Lexington Ave (June 2012)
- Questioned unauthorized equipment sales at LSJ: "Are you aware of these equipment sales as this is the first i am hearing of this" (EFTA01843916)

2013–2015: Financial management intensifies
- Managed the transition from JPMorgan to Deutsche Bank
- Tracked Leon Black's multi-million dollar payments: "I apologize for the improper information this morning. Two wires totaling 10,000,000 were received late friday" (EFTA01927911)
- Chased overdue payments from Black's assistant: "i left you a voicemail earlier as i am not sure if you spoke with jeffrey regarding a 10,000,000 payment that was due yesterday" (EFTA01928263)
- Managed the Island Grounds → LSJ Employees payroll consolidation: "attached is schedule that jeanne and i prepared outlining 4 scenarios under which we can move island ground employees to lsj employees payroll" (EFTA01875379)

2015–2018: Investment advisory
- CC'd on Bank of America/Merrill Lynch trading recommendations
- Directed investment trades: discussed options positions and individual stock exposure
- Forwarded market analysis and geopolitical research
- Negotiated FX rates with Deutsche Bank
- Managed Butterfly Trust brokerage account opening at Deutsche Bank

2019: Named co-trustee
- The 1953 Trust, dated August 8, 2019 (two days before Epstein's death), names Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn as co-trustees (EFTA00099303)
- Kahn received a $25 million bequest (Section 2.3(A)(3))
- Trustee compensation: $250,000 per year (Section 5.2)
- Section 2.3(A)(47) forgave all financial obligations owed by Kahn or his personal entity Coatue Enterprises, LLC to Epstein or Southern Financial LLC

The Employment Lock-In

Section 2.5 of the 1953 Trust contains a provision that has not been analyzed in media coverage:

"No bequest to any Beneficiary... who, during my lifetime, was employed by or provided services to me or any entity that was owned directly or indirectly by me during my lifetime or HBRK Associates, Inc. or any entity owned by Darren K. Indyke, shall be distributed to said Beneficiary prior to the expiration of two years following the date of my death."

— EFTA00099303, Section 2.5

Any such beneficiary who voluntarily quit or was terminated for misconduct within two years would forfeit their entire bequest. The trust further required continued employment of all HBRK/Indyke employees for two years post-death, with compensation from trust assets.

HBRK Associates is the only corporate entity named by name in this provision. Every beneficiary who had worked for HBRK — pilots, island staff, administrators, household managers — had a financial incentive to remain employed and compliant for two years after August 10, 2019.

6. What Remains Unknown

• Pre-incorporation history: Beller worked for Epstein for 22 years (circa 1992–2014), but HBRK was only incorporated in 2008. What entity or arrangement managed Epstein's affairs from 1992 to 2008?
• Total dollar volume: The documented wire transfers through HBRK-managed accounts exceed $84.5 million at a single snapshot. The total volume over the entity's lifetime is not calculable from available documents.
• Hanna's departure: The exact date and circumstances of Hanna's departure from HBRK are unclear. His resume was circulating by September 2011; his last corpus mention is October 2014. His promissory note was on file — whether the loan was repaid, forgiven, or written off is not documented.
• HBRK ownership structure: The entity is described as a "NYS C Corp" with "RIC & HB owners" (EFTA01873997) — the OCR renders "HBRIC" for HBRK — but the percentage ownership split is not stated.
• The 575 Lexington 9th Floor: Deutsche Bank KYC files list Ghislaine Maxwell's address as "c/o HBRK Associates, 575 Lexington Avenue, 9th Fl" (EFTA00166775), while HBRK's operational office was on the 4th floor. Whether HBRK maintained space on both floors, or the 9th floor reference is a KYC artifact, is unknown.
• "Hedgebrook": Two documents reference "Hedgebrook" at the same 575 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor address in correspondence with Kissinger Associates (EFTA02265715). Whether this is a DBA, a successor name, or a separate entity sharing the address is not established in the corpus.
• The Section 2.5 effect: Whether the two-year employment lock-in provision actually prevented cooperation with investigators remains an open question. The two-year window expired on approximately August 10, 2021.

7. Document Summary

Key Documents Cited

8. Methodological Notes

Data Sources

This investigation draws on the DOJ's EFTA production (Datasets 1, 8, 9, 10, 11) and House Oversight Estate materials (Dataset 99). All text was extracted via the full_text_corpus.db FTS5 pipeline.

Corpus Scope

The HBRK corpus is vast — 35,919 documents. This report covers the most substantive documents identified through targeted searches for financial transactions, construction operations, and personnel records. The majority of the corpus consists of routine scheduling emails, forwarded newsletters, and low-content pages that do not alter the findings.

Limitations

• No external financial records: HBRK's tax returns, audited financials, or corporate governance documents are not in the EFTA production.
• Wire transfer deduplication: Some wires in EFTA01273181 and EFTA01273198 may overlap (same date and amount appearing in both documents). Aggregate totals should be treated as approximate upper bounds.
• Hanna timeline gaps: No Hanna documents from 2012–2013 were located, though this may reflect corpus gaps rather than absence.
• Hedgebrook connection: The relationship between "Hedgebrook" and HBRK at 575 Lexington could not be established with certainty from available documents.

Analytical Neutrality

This report presents documented facts with EFTA citations. HBRK's role as Epstein's operational hub is established by the volume and nature of the documents, not by inference. The trajectory from construction management to estate trusteeship is documented chronologically. No conclusions are drawn about the legality or propriety of any transaction.

Report generated from DOJ EFTA production. All citations verified against full_text_corpus.db. Dataset assignments confirmed via SQL query.