Overview and Property Description#
9 East 71st Street is a seven-story, 21,000-square-foot mansion located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York. The property served as Jeffrey Epstein's primary residence and the central hub of his sex trafficking operation from the 1990s until his arrest in July 2019. According to Epstein's asset summary filed in July 2019, he valued the property at $55,931,000, though federal prosecutors assessed its value at approximately $77 million. The mansion served as the central hub of Epstein's New York trafficking operations, where systematic abuse of minor girls occurred from at least 2002 through 2005 according to the 2019 federal indictment. For details on the documented abuse patterns, victim experiences, and the physical layout that enabled the crimes, see Victims and Recruitment Patterns.
The property was owned by the corporate entity Nine East 71st Street Corporation, which was named as a defendant in multiple civil lawsuits filed by Epstein's victims. The mansion became a central piece of evidence in both the 2019 federal criminal prosecution and numerous civil actions, with forfeiture provisions in the indictment specifically targeting "the lot or parcel of land, together with its buildings, appurtenances, improvements, fixtures, attachments and easements, located at 9 East 71st Street, New York, New York, with block number 1386 and lot number 10, owned by Maple, Inc."
Acquisition and Ownership History#
The mansion's ownership history involves a complex and suspicious transaction between Epstein and billionaire Leslie Wexner, founder of L Brands (Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works). Public records indicate that the property was transferred from Wexner to Epstein under circumstances that remain partially obscure. The exact purchase price and terms of the transaction have been subjects of investigation and speculation, with some reports suggesting Epstein acquired the property for significantly below market value or potentially received it as a gift.
The property was held through various Epstein-controlled corporate entities, including Nine East 71st Street Corporation and Maple, Inc., both of which were named in the 2019 indictment's forfeiture provisions. This corporate structure was characteristic of Epstein's broader pattern of using multiple shell companies and entities to hold assets, facilitate operations, and obscure the true nature of his activities.
Following Epstein's death in August 2019, the property became part of his estate, administered by executors Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn. Multiple victims filed civil suits against the estate and the corporate entities that owned the property, seeking compensation for abuse that occurred at the residence. The property has been subject to ongoing litigation and remains embroiled in estate proceedings as of 2024.
Staff and Operations#
The Manhattan townhouse functioned as the operational headquarters of Epstein's trafficking network, staffed by a sophisticated hierarchy of employees, assistants, and enablers who facilitated his criminal enterprise. The 2019 federal indictment explicitly notes that Epstein "worked and conspired with others, including employees and associates who facilitated his conduct by, among other things, contacting victims and scheduling their sexual encounters with EPSTEIN."
Executive Assistants and Schedulers
The mansion's operations were coordinated by key assistants including Lesley Groff and Sarah Kellen, who managed scheduling, victim coordination, and household logistics from the residence. For comprehensive details on their roles in the trafficking operation, see Epstein's Co-Conspirators.
Household Staff
The townhouse employed a rotating staff of housekeepers, maintenance workers, and support personnel who maintained the property and ensured it was always prepared for Epstein's arrival and the arrival of victims. Juan Alessi, who served as Epstein's house manager at the Palm Beach residence from 1991 to 2002, testified extensively about the strict operational protocols Epstein demanded across all his properties. While Alessi's testimony focused on Palm Beach, his descriptions of elaborate household management, strict secrecy requirements, and constant preparation for "massage" appointments mirror operational patterns documented at the Manhattan residence.
Email correspondence from 2013 references "9 E Maintenance Procedures and Schedules" as part of a comprehensive household manual, indicating formalized operational protocols for property management. The October 2013 email from Mark Tollison to Epstein and Richard Kahn attached maintenance procedures to be incorporated into the "9 E Household Manual" alongside "Housekeeping Procedures and Schedules already [provided]."
Criminal Activity Documented at the Townhouse#
Jmail believes society has a moral obligation to fully investigate all potential perpetrators in Epstein's extensive network.
The Manhattan townhouse at 9 East 71st Street served as a primary location for Jeffrey Epstein's systematic sexual abuse and trafficking of minor girls. The 2019 federal indictment details a pattern of criminal conduct that occurred at the residence "from at least in or about 2002, up to and including at least in or about 2005," though evidence from civil complaints and victim testimony indicates abuse at the location began earlier and continued later than the charged timeframe.
Pattern of Abuse
The Manhattan townhouse was the site of systematic sexual abuse following the same recruitment and payment patterns Epstein employed across his properties. Victims described being brought to the residence, escorted to massage rooms, and subjected to escalating sexual abuse in exchange for cash payments that also incentivized recruitment of additional victims. For comprehensive documentation of these patterns, victim testimony, and the pyramid recruitment scheme, see Victims and Recruitment Patterns.
FBI Search and Evidence Seizure (July 2019)#
On July 6-7, 2019, immediately following Jeffrey Epstein's arrest at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, the FBI executed search warrants at the Manhattan townhouse. The searches yielded extensive evidence documenting Epstein's decades-long trafficking operation and provided critical support for the federal prosecution that would have proceeded had Epstein not died in custody on August 10, 2019.
Search Warrant Execution
FBI evidence reports document the systematic collection of materials from multiple locations throughout the mansion on July 11, 2019. Agents seized items including "2-page handwritten letter," "handwritten notes," multiple "binders with discs," "photographs," and extensive electronic devices. The searches targeted specific areas including "Room F," the "dining room table," a "blue suitcase," and "2 safes on 2nd floor."
Court documents detail applications for search warrants to examine electronic devices, including "A black iPhone with IMEI No. 357201093322785," "A silver iPad with Serial No. DLKQGM3KGMN3," "Two black binders with CDs, seized from a blue suitcase," "two black hard drives seized from a blue suitcase," and "a box of CDs seized from a blue suitcase." An additional search warrant application sought authorization to search "33 electronic devices seized on July 11, 2019 from 9 East 71st Street, New York, NY" alongside devices from other Epstein properties.
Evidence Collected
The FBI's evidence collection from the Manhattan residence was extensive and methodical. Property receipts and evidence logs document the seizure of:
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Photographic evidence: Multiple victims had described Epstein maintaining photographs of nude or partially nude girls throughout the residence. The FBI seized numerous photographs, with evidence logs noting collection of photos from various locations including safes.
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Electronic storage devices: The FBI collected CDs, hard drives, and digital storage media that potentially contained additional photographic or video evidence. One search warrant affidavit related to Little St. James Island notes that "compact discs seized from Epstein's New York residence contained labels including 'LSJ' (Little Saint James) along with female names," indicating the interconnected nature of Epstein's operations across properties.
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Financial records and scheduling documents: Evidence logs reference collection of materials that would document the cash payment system and scheduling coordination that facilitated the trafficking operation.
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Communications: The seizure of phones and electronic devices provided access to emails, text messages, and other communications between Epstein, his staff, and potentially victims and co-conspirators.
The searches of both the Manhattan residence and Epstein's Little St. James Island property in the U.S. Virgin Islands (conducted August 12, 2019) provided prosecutors with physical evidence corroborating victim testimony and establishing the interstate nature of Epstein's trafficking network, a critical element for federal jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1591.
Property Transactions and Legal Status#
Following Epstein's death on August 10, 2019, the Manhattan townhouse became embroiled in complex estate proceedings and civil litigation. The property was part of Epstein's estate, valued at over $577 million according to court filings, and administered by executors Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn.
Civil Litigation
Multiple victims filed civil lawsuits naming Nine East 71st Street Corporation and related corporate entities as defendants. VE v. Nine East 71st Street, Corporation, filed August 14, 2019 in the Southern District of New York, was one of the first such cases. The complaint alleged that the corporate entities "performed substantial business in New York" and "enabled Jeffrey Epstein to receive near daily massages from young females, often minors, who were not experienced in massage."
Jane Doe 17 v. Nine East 71st Street Corporation, filed October 17, 2019, similarly named the property-holding corporation as a defendant, alleging that "Corporate Defendants Nine East, Laurel, Financial Trust, NES, Maple, LSJE, HBRK, JEGE, Nautilus, and Cypress... each performed business, in whole or in part, in New York." The complaint sought to hold the corporate entities liable for negligence in facilitating Epstein's criminal conduct.
These civil actions reflected a legal strategy to pursue compensation from Epstein's corporate structure after criminal prosecution became impossible due to his death. The cases alleged that the corporate entities that owned and operated the properties where abuse occurred bore legal responsibility for enabling the trafficking operation through their negligent oversight and active facilitation.
Forfeiture Proceedings
The 2019 indictment included forfeiture provisions targeting the Manhattan property. Epstein's death terminated these criminal proceedings, and the property became part of his estate, subject to civil litigation.
Estate Administration
The executors of Epstein's estate faced extensive litigation regarding the Manhattan property and other assets. Ghislaine Maxwell filed suit against the estate in 2020, seeking payment for work she claimed to have performed managing Epstein's properties, though her claims related primarily to his Virgin Islands properties rather than the Manhattan townhouse.
The estate established a voluntary compensation fund for victims, administered through a claims process that required victims to waive rights to pursue further litigation. The fund's structure and payouts have been subjects of controversy, with some victims arguing that the process undervalued their claims and provided insufficient accountability.
Connection to Broader Trafficking Network#
The Manhattan townhouse functioned not as an isolated location but as the central hub of a multi-state and international trafficking network that included Epstein's properties in Palm Beach, Florida, Little St. James Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, and Paris, France.
Interstate Coordination
The 2019 indictment specifically emphasized the interstate nature of operations centered at the Manhattan residence. "Employee-2, located in the Southern District of New York, and on behalf of EPSTEIN, placed a telephone call to Minor Victim-2 in order to schedule an appointment for Minor Victim-2 to engage in paid sex acts with EPSTEIN" at the Palm Beach residence. Similarly, "Employee-2, located in the Southern District of New York, and on behalf of EPSTEIN, placed a telephone call to Minor Victim-3 in Florida in order to schedule an appointment for Minor Victim-3 to engage in paid sex acts with EPSTEIN."
These interstate phone calls, made from the Manhattan residence to victims in Florida, established the federal jurisdiction necessary for sex trafficking prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 1591. The coordination between properties extended beyond scheduling to include transportation of victims on Epstein's private aircraft and the systematic sharing of information about victims across locations.
Corporate Structure
The Manhattan property's ownership through Nine East 71st Street Corporation and Maple, Inc. was part of a broader corporate architecture designed to hold assets, facilitate operations, and obscure accountability. Civil complaints identified multiple related entities including "Laurel, Inc.," "Financial Trust Company, Inc.," "NES, LLC," "LSJE, LLC," "HBRK Associates, Inc.," "Nautilus, Inc.," "Cypress, Inc." and "JEGE, Inc." Each entity held specific properties or served particular functions within the overall trafficking enterprise.
This corporate maze complicated victim litigation, as determining which entities bore legal responsibility for specific conduct required extensive discovery and legal analysis. The 2007 Non-Prosecution Agreement granted immunity to "any potential co-conspirators," language broad enough that it potentially shielded not only individual employees but also corporate entities, though this interpretation remains contested in ongoing litigation.
Relationship to Other Epstein Properties#
While the Manhattan townhouse served as Epstein's primary residence and operational headquarters, it functioned in coordination with his other properties, each serving specific roles within the trafficking network.
The Palm Beach mansion at 358 El Brillo Way operated as a secondary hub, particularly for recruiting economically disadvantaged minors from the surrounding South Florida area. Victim testimony describes a similar pattern of abuse at the Palm Beach residence, with victims directed to a massage room where Epstein would sexually assault them before paying them cash.
Little St. James Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands provided Epstein with a remote, controlled environment where he transported victims by private aircraft, eliminating opportunities for escape and ensuring complete isolation. The island served as a destination for victims who had been groomed and conditioned through repeated abuse at the Manhattan and Palm Beach residences.
The Zorro Ranch in New Mexico and the Paris apartment extended Epstein's trafficking network internationally, with victim accounts describing abuse at these locations as well. The coordination between properties required sophisticated logistics, scheduling, and staff coordination, all managed primarily from the Manhattan townhouse where Lesley Groff and other assistants maintained operational control.