Vahe Stepanian served as a private banker in Deutsche Bank's Key Client Partners division, where he was part of the team servicing Jeffrey Epstein's accounts from 2013 through at least 2020. The archive documents 9,816 emails spanning July 2013 to October 2023, with Stepanian appearing as sender in 2,752 messages. Stepanian's primary role involved executing trades, providing market intelligence, and coordinating investment opportunities for Epstein's entities, particularly Southern Financial LLC and related accounts. His correspondence shows extensive involvement in equity trades, derivatives, foreign exchange transactions, and alternative investment pitches conducted on behalf of Epstein through Deutsche Bank.
According to public records, Stepanian worked at Deutsche Bank in New York for nearly nine years before moving to J.P. Morgan's Private Bank as a Vice President, where he focused on wealth management for ultra-high net worth clients. He later joined Cetera Financial Group as Director of Corporate Development. A FINRA disclosure from 2014 notes a client complaint against Stepanian while at Deutsche Bank Securities alleging failure to follow instructions regarding covered call positions, with claimed damages of $1 million, though the complaint was denied. Stepanian holds a degree from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business (2005-2009).
Background#
Vahe Stepanian graduated from the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business between 2005 and 2009. He joined Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, working in the Key Client Partners division—a unit of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management serving sophisticated institutional investors and ultra-high net worth individuals. His role involved trade execution, investment advisory support, and relationship management for private clients.
According to his professional profile, Stepanian spent nearly nine years at Deutsche Bank before transitioning to J.P. Morgan's Private Bank in New York as a Vice President in 2018. At J.P. Morgan, he provided comprehensive wealth management solutions to ultra-high net worth individuals, family offices, executives, and entrepreneurs, advising on asset allocation, capital strategies, and banking needs. He currently serves as Director of Corporate Development at RIA Acquisitions within Cetera Financial Group.
Stepanian has been involved with Armenian-American charitable organizations, serving on the endowment committee of the Armenian Assembly of America. His FINRA BrokerCheck record shows one customer complaint from November 2014 while at Deutsche Bank Securities, alleging he failed to follow instructions to roll covered call positions on options, with alleged damages of $1 million. The complaint was denied and closed in May 2015.
Correspondence with Epstein#
Stepanian's correspondence in the archive spans from July 2013 to October 2023, though the relationship was most active from 2013 through mid-2018. His emails primarily concerned Southern Financial LLC, the Epstein-controlled entity that maintained brokerage accounts at Deutsche Bank beginning in August 2013. Stepanian worked closely with Paul Morris, Stewart Oldfield, Tazia Smith, Daniel Sabba, and Ariane Dwyer on the Deutsche Bank team servicing these accounts.
Stepanian's role was primarily operational and transactional. He sent frequent trade confirmations directly to Epstein's email address ([email protected]), documenting equity purchases and sales. Example trade reports include purchasing 150,000 shares of Apple at $98.89 in September 2014, buying 24,230 shares of FMI at $23.19 in August 2014, and selling 1,453 shares of JPMorgan at $59.90 in October 2014. These confirmations were typically copied to Richard Kahn, Epstein's financial manager at HBRK Associates.
Beyond trade execution, Stepanian provided market updates and portfolio analysis. In August 2014, he flagged to Kahn that Epstein's Southern Financial account had "sizeable gains" given the rally and noted positions in AAL, AAPL, BIIB, FB, GILD, MBLY, SGMO, and TWTR that might warrant taking profits with the S&P 500 above 2,000. He coordinated with the broader Deutsche Bank team on derivatives strategies, including foreign exchange options and total return swaps on equities like Twitter.
From April through May 2018, Stepanian took a more active role marketing investment opportunities to Paul Barrett, who by then was managing Epstein's money through Alpha Group Capital LLC. Barrett had left JPMorgan in 2017 to establish this firm and trade on Epstein's behalf. Stepanian pitched Barrett on RIN (Real Infrastructure Now) II, a Deutsche Wealth Management infrastructure debt fund seeking a first close by June 14, 2018. When Barrett expressed interest but noted "JE is very focused on liquidity right now", Stepanian provided detailed answers about the fund's construction risk mitigants and security packages, explaining that 85% of the portfolio would be operational assets.
Stepanian also marketed Glendower Capital Secondary Opportunities Fund IV, a secondary private equity vehicle, to Barrett in May 2018. He coordinated with Stewart Oldfield in arranging these pitches, and the correspondence shows Barrett considering whether opportunities were attractive given Epstein's liquidity preferences. Stepanian attended the Frieze Art Fair in May 2018 with Barrett, following up afterward: "great seeing you yesterday at Frieze, hope you enjoyed the fair."
In June 2018, Stepanian was copied on internal Deutsche Bank emails breaking down Southern Financial's year-to-date profit and loss, which totaled $165,841 across various trading activities including equity, bonds, foreign exchange ($32,394), and rates ($40,488). The detailed P&L accounting demonstrates the bank's close tracking of revenues generated from Epstein's accounts.
From 2013 through 2015, Stepanian was copied on numerous structured trade proposals and confirmations. He coordinated with colleagues on margin calls for Southern Financial, worked with the alternatives investment suitability team on approvals for fund materials, and was included on discussions about Epstein's trading capabilities and ISDA documentation needs in 2017.
Stepanian's final documented involvement appears in September 2020, when Ariane Dwyer sent him and others ISDA amendments for Southern Financial and Southern Trust to forward to Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn.
Connections#
Stepanian's correspondence places him within Deutsche Bank's Key Client Partners team servicing Epstein. His most frequent co-correspondents included:
Paul Morris (4,696 shared emails) served as Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Private Bank and was a senior figure on the Epstein relationship team. Morris directed trading strategy and oversaw the account's profitability.
Stewart Oldfield (3,723 shared emails) was a Director at Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas focused on alternative investments. He coordinated with Stepanian on pitching private equity, infrastructure, and other illiquid strategies to Epstein's representatives.
Richard Kahn (3,443 shared emails), operating through HBRK Associates, served as Epstein's day-to-day financial manager and was copied on virtually all trade confirmations and investment communications.
Daniel Sabba (3,106 shared emails) was another Key Client Partners banker who worked closely with Stepanian on derivatives, structured products, and market analysis for the Epstein accounts.
Tazia Smith (2,495 shared emails) was a Director in Key Client Partners who coordinated equity trading and IPO allocations, working alongside Stepanian on execution.
Ariane Dwyer (1,756 shared emails) was an Analyst in Key Client Partners who assisted with research, confirmations, and administrative coordination for the team.
Darren Indyke (657 shared emails), Epstein's longtime attorney, received various account documents and confirmations that Stepanian helped prepare or transmit.
Paul Barrett (apparent in 2018 correspondence) was the former JPMorgan banker who established Alpha Group Capital to manage Epstein's investments after leaving JPMorgan in 2017. Stepanian pitched Barrett investment opportunities and coordinated meetings at Deutsche Bank's offices.
Document References#
Stepanian appears in numerous Department of Justice investigative documents as part of the paper trail documenting Deutsche Bank's financial relationship with Epstein. A trade report from September 2014 shows Stepanian confirming Epstein's purchase of 150,000 Apple shares at $98.89, with the order originating from Epstein's early morning email: "buy 150,00 apple appl on open." A June 2014 document shows Stepanian explaining a zero-cost EUR/USD collar trade to Richard Kahn, detailing strikes and expiries for foreign exchange options. An August 2014 email forwarded by Kahn to Epstein contains Stepanian's portfolio analysis noting "sizeable gains" in Southern Financial's equity positions.
Additional documents show Stepanian's involvement in executing various trades for Epstein, including a report on closing American Airlines options in October 2014 for an approximate total gain, and coordination on ISDA amendments for Southern Financial and Southern Trust in September 2020. The documents establish Stepanian as a consistent point of contact for trade execution and account servicing throughout Deutsche Bank's relationship with Epstein from 2013 onward.
The archive documents were produced pursuant to federal criminal investigations and civil litigation concerning Epstein's financial activities and the banks that facilitated them. Deutsche Bank was fined $150 million by New York State's Department of Financial Services in 2020 for compliance failures related to its Epstein relationship, which officially began in August 2013 when the bank opened brokerage accounts for Southern Trust Company Inc. and Southern Financial LLC.
Visits to Epstein Properties#
No visits to any Epstein-controlled properties are documented in the archive for Vahe Stepanian. His role appears to have been entirely conducted through remote communications—emails, phone calls, and meetings at Deutsche Bank's offices at 345 Park Avenue in New York. One reference indicates he attended the Frieze Art Fair in May 2018 where he encountered Paul Barrett, but this was a public art fair, not an Epstein property.