Episode Details

A new BBC investigation has raised serious questions about the role of modeling agencies and their executives in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse and trafficking operation, revealing how young women were allegedly directed into his orbit under the pretense of legitimate professional opportunities. One survivor, identified as Roza, described how MC2 Model Management sent her to two supposed photoshoots at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence in 2009, when she was just 18 years old and had recently arrived in the United States from Uzbekistan. At the time, Epstein was serving a jail sentence for soliciting a minor but was permitted to leave custody for work. Roza alleged that the photoshoots, conducted by Epstein’s associate Nadia Marcinko rather than a professional photographer, were staged to introduce her to the financier, who subsequently employed her as an assistant and repeatedly raped her. She accused Jeff Fuller, then president of MC2’s American operations, of failing to protect her despite knowing where she was being sent. Although Fuller previously claimed he did not know she was going to Epstein’s home, the BBC obtained an expense statement suggesting he personally arranged her return flight after the second photoshoot. Department of Justice records also revealed that at least ten MC2 models met or communicated with Epstein after his 2008 conviction and that Epstein had provided the modeling agency with $1 million in 2005, contradicting earlier public statements minimizing his involvement. Following Epstein’s arrest in 2019, MC2’s American division dissolved, and Fuller established another agency, The Source Models, which reportedly absorbed approximately 50 former MC2 models and continues operating. Fuller did not respond to the BBC’s latest allegations, although he previously maintained that he was unaware Roza was being abused.

The investigation also examined the activities of other modeling industry figures connected to Epstein, including former agent Ramsey Elkholy and agency director Faith Kates, whose relationships with the financier appeared in newly released Justice Department documents. Investigators discovered that Elkholy attempted to connect 34 women with Epstein, including an 18-year-old student, and that correspondence suggested arrangements in which Epstein’s female assistants would establish relationships with prospective recruits before introducing them to him. One woman told the BBC that Epstein sexually assaulted her during their first meeting at his Manhattan townhouse when she was 19. Elkholy denied knowingly facilitating abuse, insisting that he believed Epstein’s explanation of his earlier criminal case and had intended only to provide professional opportunities. Another survivor, identified under the pseudonym Simona, alleged that Epstein raped her more than 200 times after she became involved in his world through the modeling industry. Attorney Sigrid McCawley, who represents more than 100 Epstein survivors, emphasized that modeling scouts and agents played a critical role in identifying young women who fit Epstein’s preferences, while victims were frequently manipulated through threats to their livelihoods and professional ambitions. The findings have intensified questions about why individuals who allegedly helped facilitate Epstein’s access to vulnerable women have largely escaped criminal scrutiny. New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie is now proposing legislation that would strengthen authorities’ ability to investigate individuals who enabled sexual trafficking operations, challenging the Justice Department’s previous position that investigators had uncovered insufficient evidence to justify further investigations of uncharged third parties. The revelations highlight the continuing controversy surrounding Epstein’s network of recruiters, professional intermediaries, and associates, many of whom have never been required to publicly account for their relationships with him.

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