Role for EpsteinLawyer at J. Epstein & Company, 457 Madison Avenue, New York, from at least 1996 until 2003123
Corporate officesDirector, Financial Trust Company, Inc. (to at least December 2002); vice-president and secretary, J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc. (2000)45
Fiduciary rolesCo-trustee, The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust One (November 2001 – June 2003) and Trust Two (from November 2001); executor named in Epstein’s will of December 11, 2001678
Business interestNew York Strategy Group, LLC, approximately 98 per cent per an Epstein-entity accounting schedule; the majority interest was later bought by Darren K. Indyke9

Jeffrey A. Schantz is a lawyer who worked in Jeffrey Epstein’s New York office at 457 Madison Avenue from at least 1996 until 2003, alongside Darren K. Indyke. Correspondence from the U.S. State Department in 1996 named him as “Jeffrey A. Schantz, Esq.” of J. Epstein & Company, and a federal court referred to him as “Epstein’s transaction counsel.”1011 He held office in Epstein’s Virgin Islands foundation, was a director of Financial Trust Company, Inc., and was co-trustee of both Epstein trusts created in November 2001 and an executor named in the will Epstein signed the following month.45678 On June 27, 2003 Epstein signed two instruments removing him from both roles: an amendment substituting Ghislaine Maxwell and Ira Zicherman as co-trustees of Trust One, and a codicil substituting Henry Jarecki and James Cayne as executors.12131415 Asked in December 2016 whether Schantz still worked for him, Epstein answered, “Left 13 years ago.”3 The documents cited here record no allegation of wrongdoing against Schantz. He did not respond to the New York Times when it reported in August 2019 that he and Indyke had hired criminal defence lawyers, and no statement from him on any of the matters described here is recorded on this page.16

Lawyer at 457 Madison Avenue

The earliest documents on this page arise from Epstein’s lease of the townhouse at 34 East 69th Street from the State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions. A federal court, summarising the dispute in 1998, wrote that “Epstein contends that in a telephone conference between Richard Massey of OFM and Jeffrey Schantz, Epstein’s transaction counsel, on April 19, 1996, OFM orally consented to Epstein’s request to sublet the Premises to Fisher.”11 The court’s account cites Schantz’s own affidavit, and the docket records an affidavit of Jeffrey A. Schantz filed in opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment in 1997.1117 The Office of Foreign Missions addressed its April 26, 1996 letter refusing the sublet to Schantz.1 It copied him on its notice of default of June 3, 1996, and, as “Jeffrey A. Schantz, Esq., J. Epstein & Company, Inc., The Villard House, 457 Madison Avenue,” on its notice terminating the lease of August 7, 1996.110

Cimberly Espinosa, who worked at 457 Madison Avenue from October 1996, testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial in December 2021: “I was hired by J. Epstein & Co. for the legal team, legal counsel being Jeff Schantz and Darren Indyke. I was hired as the legal assistant, the legal admin.” She said she interviewed with the two of them, and that they “were the legal counsel representing Jeffrey Epstein.”218 Describing the office in the mid to late 1990s she said, “We had Jeff Schantz and Darren Indyke, the legal team.”19 Lesley Groff, who began work there in February 2001, described the same fourth-floor layout to federal prosecutors in 2021, placing “the attorneys, DARREN INDYKE (INDYKE) and JEFF SCHANTZ (SCHANTZ)” in one part of the office.20

Schantz appears in the record acting for Epstein on financial matters. In December 2001 Epstein was approached about advancing a $15 million bridge loan secured on Treasury bonds; the FBI’s account of the episode records that after examining the term sheet Epstein asked the would-be borrower to deal with his attorney, Jeffrey Schantz, on the loan collateral, and the borrower wrote to Epstein on December 18, 2001, “I shared with your in-house counsel, Jeffrey Schantz, that I would only make a personal guarantee if I verify that the Treasuries provided were in fact what was represented to us last week as available and unencumbered.”2122 When FBI agents interviewed Epstein about the matter at his office on May 8, 2002, their report records that “Also present at the interview was EPSTEIN’S attorney JEFFREY SCHANTZ.”21

In the litigation Epstein and Financial Trust Company brought against Citibank over an AIG-managed investment, the District Court of the Virgin Islands recited the allegation that in August 2001 “John Purcell, a Citibank representative, told Jeffrey Schantz, a lawyer for Epstein, that Citibank was acting in Epstein’s interests and that Epstein should trust Citibank rather than talk about actions which would run counter to Citibank’s undisclosed interests.”23 The opinion denying Citibank’s motion to dismiss draws on a declaration by Schantz describing the plaintiffs’ attempts to obtain information about the fund’s other note holders in 2001.24

The New York Post reported on February 4, 2003, in a story about a Vanity Fair profile of Epstein, that “Epstein and his lawyer, Jeffrey Schantz, couldn’t be reached for comment on the article.”25

Corporate offices

J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc.

The Articles of Incorporation of J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc., executed on June 12 and 14, 2000 and stamped received by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Division of Corporations and Trademarks, on July 13, 2000, name Paul Hoffman, Jeffrey Epstein and Jeffrey Schantz as the initial Board of Trustees, all at 6100 Red Hook Quarter, Suite B-3, St. Thomas, and list Schantz among the initial officers.26 The By-Laws provide that “The first Board of Trustees of the Corporation shall be composed of Paul Hoffman, Jeffrey Epstein and Jeffrey Schantz, who, subject to Article III, Section 6, shall hold office until new trustees are elected by the member.”27

Epstein, as sole member, elected the three trustees at a meeting on July 25, 2000 at which only he and Hoffman were present.28 The trustees held their first meeting the same day, July 25, 2000, with all three present, and elected Epstein president and treasurer, Schantz vice-president and secretary, and Hoffman vice-president and assistant secretary.5 A Chase Manhattan Bank business account signature card for the foundation lists Epstein as “President” and “Jeffrey A. Schantz” as “VP/Sec.”29

FirstBank Puerto Rico, answering a grand jury subpoena of December 31, 2019, wrote to the Southern District of New York on March 9, 2020 listing the accounts it held for Epstein. The first is a commercial checking account of “EPSTEIN VIRGIN ISLANDS FOUNDATION INC T/A ENHANCED EDUCATION,” opened September 7, 2000, with authorised signatures “JEFFREY EPSTEIN / JEFFREY A SCHANTZ” and the status “CREDITS ONLY ALLOWED.”30

Financial Trust Company, Inc.

An annual report for Financial Trust Company, Inc., dated June 25, 2003 and addressed to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, lists three directors and officers: “Jeffrey E. Epstein, Director/President,” “Darren K. Indyke, Director, Treasurer and Secretary,” and “Jeffrey A. Schantz, Director,” each serving “until successor elected.”4 The report gives the company’s paid-in capital at the close of the fiscal year as $55,297,888.4

New York Strategy Group, LLC

New York Strategy Group, LLC held a JPMorgan Private Bank account funded by Epstein.31 FedEx invoices of 1999 and 2001 show shipments sent in Schantz’s name from “NYSG LLC” and, earlier, from “J Epstein & Co PC” at the same business address.3233 An accounting schedule of outstanding balances among Epstein’s entities records that a non-recourse promissory note from The Wexner Children’s Trust II to Indyke provided the funds “used by DKI to purchase the majority NYSG interest from Jeff Schantz,” noting that Schantz had held approximately 98 per cent of the interest and Indyke the remaining approximately 2 per cent, and that on November 6, 2007 Financial Trust Company transferred $3,458,416.55 through Indyke’s attorney trust account to repay that note in full.9

Trusts and the will

The trusts, will, amendments and codicils described in this section and in “Removal, 2003” below are private instruments: Epstein created and could revoke the trusts, and wrote and could amend the will, naming Schantz to fiduciary roles by his own decision. No court, bank or public registry is recorded deciding anything about them; the record is Epstein’s own signature and, on the documents that were acknowledged, a notary’s record of that signature.

Under The Haze Trust, a revocable trust Epstein created on February 9, 1999 with himself as both grantor and trustee, “If at any time no Trustee is acting and no successor has been designated or no successor who has been designated is available to act, JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ is appointed as successor Trustee.”3435 On May 8, 2007, while still trustee himself, Epstein designated Indyke to act as an additional trustee of the same trust, invoking Article FIFTH, paragraph (a), which lets “the last acting Trustee” designate additional trustees,34 rather than paragraph (b), the vacancy clause naming Schantz.36

On November 8, 2001 Epstein created two trusts in New York, each opening “TRUST AGREEMENT dated November 8, 2001, between JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN, as Grantor, and JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN and JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ, as Trustees.”67 In both, Schantz alone was given the power to appoint and to remove trustees: “JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ is authorized to designate one or more additional or successor Trustees and is further authorized to remove any Trustee acting hereunder by a written and acknowledged instrument,” with Indyke named to take his place if he ceased to act without designating a successor.3738 Trust One directed that on Epstein’s death “Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be distributed to JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ, if he is then living”, the same sum the instrument directed to Epstein’s brother Mark Epstein.39 Schantz acknowledged both agreements before the same notary on November 8, 2001.4041

Epstein signed his last will and testament on December 11, 2001. It left all his property to the trustees of Trust One and provided: “I appoint JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ and PAUL HOFFMAN as Executors of this will. I authorize JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ to designate one or more additional or successor Executors … I authorize JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ to remove any Executor acting hereunder by a written and acknowledged instrument.”8

Removal, 2003

On June 27, 2003 Epstein executed two instruments. The first amendment to Trust One reads: “I hereby remove JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ as a co-Trustee of the trust and designate GHISLAINE MAXWELL and IRA ZICHERMAN as successor co-Trustees in his place”; it was signed by Epstein as grantor and trustee and by Maxwell and Zicherman as trustees, and it replaced the article that had given Schantz the appointment and removal power with one vesting that power in “the last acting Trustee.”1213 The first codicil to the will, of the same date, deleted the article appointing Schantz and Hoffman and substituted Henry Jarecki and James Cayne as executors, with Hoffman as successor.1415 The company annual report naming Schantz as a director of Financial Trust Company was dated two days earlier.4

On October 16, 2003, $1,000,000 was credited to the money-market account of New York Strategy Group, LLC from Epstein, and the same day the account paid $200,000 to Indyke and $500,000 to Schantz.31

An internal estate progress report dated November 28, 2003 lists, under the heading “457 Madison,” a conference room item: “Jeff Schantz’s room to be turned into a conference room.”42 A staff item on the same report records that “On Oct 21 Jeff Schantz had approved” a member of staff’s holiday request for December 22 to January 2.43

On December 3, 2004 Epstein executed a second amendment to Trust One deleting “Article FIRST, paragraph II, subparagraph (c) which provides a bequest to JEFFREY A. SCHANTZ,” and raising the sum going to Trust Two from ten to twenty million dollars.44 He signed the second codicil to his will the same day.45

Payments recorded

DatePayerDescriptionAmount
October 16, 2003New York Strategy Group, LLC, JPMorgan money-market accountBook transfer$500,000.0031

After 2003

Both 2001 trusts were amended and restated on January 27, 2012 with Indyke, Jes Staley and Andrew Farkas named as trustees; Staley never executed the restatement, and Epstein revoked and terminated both trusts on October 24, 2012, the recitals of each reciting that the original agreement had been made “with himself and Jeffrey A. Schantz, as Trustees.”4647

On December 6, 2016 Mark L. Epstein emailed his brother: “Does Jeff Schantz still work for you?” Epstein replied “No bad guy.” Mark Epstein wrote back, “Surprised to hear. He was with you for quite a while,” and Epstein answered: “Left 13 years ago.”3

In the week after Epstein died at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York asked colleagues for a list of his associates. An internal email of August 17, 2019 answered that “In terms of people who would (or would potentially be able to) send money on his behalf, I think the likeliest individuals would be Darren Indyke, Jeffrey Schantz, and/or” a third person whose name is redacted.48 The same evening a prosecutor asked the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General: “Is it possible to get the commissary records for anyone that received money from the following people since 7/6/2019: from Darren Indyke, Jeffrey Schantz, Gulnora Tali, and/or Richard Kahn.”49 The request was repeated in an outstanding-requests list of August 29, 2019 among records sought for the inquiry into Epstein’s death in custody.50

The New York Times reported on August 11, 2019: “Two of Mr. Epstein’s longtime attorneys, Darren Indyke and Jeffrey Schantz, were involved with some of his trusts and other entities in New York and in the Virgin Islands, according to incorporation documents. Neither lawyer responded to requests for comment. In a sign that the attorneys are bracing for government scrutiny of Mr. Epstein’s companies, Mr. Indyke and Mr. Schantz both recently hired criminal defense lawyers.”16

A suspicious activity report filed by JPMorgan Chase Bank reporting 4,725 wire transactions totalling $1,081,819,653 between October 1, 2003 and July 22, 2019 lists “JEFFREY A SCHANTZ” among the current, former and non-customers whose wire activity it covers, alongside Epstein, Indyke, Maxwell, Richard David Kahn and dozens of Epstein companies and trusts.51

Flight records

Epstein’s flight logs from the 1990s were put to witnesses by the FBI. Larry Visoski, Epstein’s chief pilot, told federal prosecutors in October 2020, going through a log entry that lists Schantz among the passengers, that “SCHANTZ was EPSTEIN’s attorney.”52

Coverage

  • New York Post, February 4, 2003.
  • The New York Times, August 11, 2019.

Footnotes

  1. Thomas E. Burns, Deputy Director, Office of Foreign Missions, U.S. Department of State, to Jeffrey E. Epstein, June 3, 1996, copy to “Mr. Jeffrey Schantz, J. Epstein & Company, The Villard House, 457 Madison Avenue.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00597016 pp.33–34. That letter refers to the earlier refusal as a “Letter from Thomas Burns to Jeffrey A. Schantz”, which is the form this page follows; a 1998 opinion and a later government complaint each describe the same April 26 letter as having informed Epstein. 2 3

  2. Testimony of Cimberly Espinosa, United States v. Maxwell, 20 Cr. 330 (S.D.N.Y.), trial transcript, December 16, 2021, p.2329. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02841698 p.34. 2

  3. Mark L. Epstein and Jeffrey Epstein, email exchange, December 6, 2016. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01059655 p.1. 2 3

  4. Annual Report on Domestic or Foreign Corporations, Financial Trust Company, Inc., fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, dated June 25, 2003 and addressed to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands; the page carries a partial, undated “RECEIVED … OFFICE” impression but no legible filing date, distinct from the federal court’s own 2023 “Filed” stamp on the same exhibit page; exhibit in Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-10904 (JSR). https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02808820 p.47. 2 3 4 5

  5. Minutes of the first meeting of the Board of Trustees, J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc., July 25, 2000. The page image prints “Paul Hoffman” throughout; the machine-read text of this degraded fax renders two occurrences as “Pal” and “Pant”, which are artefacts of the scan and not readings of the document. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01268689 p.11. 2 3

  6. The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust One, trust agreement dated November 8, 2001. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266298 p.6. 2 3

  7. The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust Two, trust agreement dated November 8, 2001; the trust’s named beneficiary on the grantor’s death was Kelly Bovino. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266334 p.1. 2 3

  8. Last will and testament of Jeffrey E. Epstein, December 11, 2001, Articles SECOND and THIRD (p.1); execution before three attesting witnesses (p.7) and self-proving affidavit before a notary (p.8), both dated the 11th day of December, 2001. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00016841 pp.1, 7–8. 2 3

  9. “Summary of Outstanding Balances” and “Timeline of Transfers,” accounting schedule for Epstein entities, entry for November 6, 2007. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00592513 p.5. 2

  10. Thomas E. Burns, Jr. to Jeffrey E. Epstein, August 7, 1996, terminating the lease, copy to “Jeffrey A. Schantz, Esq., J. Epstein & Company, Inc.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00597016 p.37. 2

  11. United States v. Epstein, No. 96 Civ. 8307 (DC), 1998 WL 159055 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 1, 1998), reproduced in an SDNY production. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00223050 p.3. 2 3

  12. First amendment to The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust One. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266298 pp.1–2. 2

  13. Execution and acknowledgment pages of the first amendment, “the 27 day of June, 2003.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266298 pp.3–4. 2

  14. First codicil to the last will and testament of Jeffrey E. Epstein: recital and substituted Article THIRD (pp.9–10); execution before attesting witnesses, dated the 27th day of June, 2003 (p.11). https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00016841 pp.9–11. 2

  15. Third codicil, reciting “my last will and testament dated December 11, 2001, a first codicil thereto dated June 27, 2003, and a second codicil thereto dated December 3, 2004.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00016841 p.17. 2

  16. Emily Steel, Matthew Goldstein, Steve Eder and David Enrich, “Jeffrey Epstein’s Opaque Finances Could Become Focal Point for Investigators,” The New York Times, August 11, 2019. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00172288 p.4. 2

  17. Docket sheet, United States v. Epstein, No. 96 Civ. 8307, entry 18: “AFFIDAVIT in opposition of Jeffrey A. Schantz Re: Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00187391 p.59.

  18. United States v. Maxwell, trial transcript, December 16, 2021, p.2330. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02841698 p.35.

  19. United States v. Maxwell, trial transcript, December 16, 2021, p.2336. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02841698 p.41.

  20. FD-302, proffer of Lesley Groff, July 23, 2021. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01246216 pp.1–3.

  21. FD-302, interview of Jeffrey E. Epstein at his office, May 8, 2002. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00128666 pp.1–2. 2

  22. Letter to Jeffrey Epstein, December 18, 2001, on WinTel Corporation letterhead. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00128641 p.21.

  23. Financial Trust Co. v. Citibank, N.A., 351 F. Supp. 2d 329 (D.V.I. 2004). https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01298970 p.65.

  24. Financial Trust Company, Inc. and Jeffrey E. Epstein v. Citibank, N.A. and Citigroup, Inc., Civ. No. 2002-108, District Court of the Virgin Islands, memorandum opinion denying the motion to dismiss. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01726507 pp.6–7.

  25. Paul Tharp, “Hotshot Epstein not so hot: VF,” New York Post, February 4, 2003, p.36. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01334055 p.1.

  26. Articles of Incorporation, J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc.: trustees and officers (pp.2–4); execution and notarial acknowledgment, June 12 and 14, 2000 (p.6); stamped “RECEIVED, LT. GOV. OFFICE, 2000 JUL 13” by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Division of Corporations and Trademarks (p.1). https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01298351 pp.1–6.

  27. By-Laws, J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc., Article III, Section 1. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01424531 p.5.

  28. Minutes of the first meeting of the member, J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc., July 25, 2000, held at 2:30 p.m. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01268689 p.12.

  29. Chase business account signature card and certificate of officers, J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation, Inc. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01268689 pp.4, 8–9.

  30. FirstBank Puerto Rico to Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller, March 9, 2020, produced under a grand jury subpoena of December 31, 2019. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01273238 p.3.

  31. JPMorgan Private Bank, money market investment account statement of New York Strategy Group, LLC for October 2003, page 6 of 7. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01514000 p.1. 2 3

  32. FedEx Express payment type detail, account billed to NYSG LLC, 457 Madison Avenue, shipment picked up July 16, 2001. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01315125 p.3.

  33. FedEx Express payment type detail, shipment picked up May 3, 1999, sender “JEFFREY A SCHANTZ / J EPSTEIN & CO PC.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01319595 p.8.

  34. The Haze Trust, Article FIFTH. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01295536 p.6. 2

  35. The Haze Trust, trust agreement dated February 9, 1999 between Jeffrey E. Epstein as grantor and Jeffrey E. Epstein as trustee. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01295536 pp.1, 11.

  36. Designation of trustee and acceptance of successor trustee of The Haze Trust, dated May 8, 2007. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01295536 pp.10–11.

  37. The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust One, Article TWELFTH (a)–(b). https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266298 pp.19–20.

  38. The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust Two, Article NINTH (a)–(b). https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266334 p.7.

  39. The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust One, Article FIRST, paragraph II, subparagraphs (b)–(c). https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266298 p.7.

  40. Acknowledgment of Jeffrey A. Schantz before a notary, November 8, 2001, Trust One. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266298 p.24.

  41. Acknowledgment of Jeffrey A. Schantz before the same notary, November 8, 2001, Trust Two. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266334 p.12.

  42. Estate progress report, November 28, 2003, “457 Madison.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00577845 p.6.

  43. Estate progress report, November 28, 2003, “Staff.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00577845 p.14.

  44. Second amendment to The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust One, executed December 3, 2004. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266322 pp.1–2.

  45. Second codicil to the last will and testament of Jeffrey E. Epstein, December 3, 2004. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00016841 p.14.

  46. Revocation and termination of The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust One, October 24, 2012. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266332 pp.1–2.

  47. Revocation and termination of The Jeffrey E. Epstein 2001 Trust Two, October 24, 2012. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01266357 pp.1–2.

  48. Email, Southern District of New York, “RE: Epstein Associates,” August 17, 2019. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00018951 p.1.

  49. Email chain, “Re: Epstein’s TruView,” August 17–18, 2019, between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00077513 p.1.

  50. Email chain, “RE: Outstanding Requests,” August 29, 2019. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00079824 p.1.

  51. Suspicious activity report 31000154806804, JP Morgan Chase Bank NA and JP Morgan Securities LLC. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01648787 p.1.

  52. FD-302, interview and proffer of Larry Visoski, October 7, 2020. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00159712 p.6.