What is document EFTA00027440?

This is an internal December 2020 email between prosecutors at the Southern District of New York drafting a victim notification letter about an upcoming felony plea offer to an unnamed individual in the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Who is mentioned in this document?

The document references Jeffrey Epstein by name. The intended recipient of the plea offer is redacted but appears to be a woman who 'is also known as' another name—characteristics consistent with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was arrested in July 2020 and whose case was proceeding in SDNY at this time.

What does this document reveal?

The document reveals that SDNY prosecutors were considering offering a plea deal in late 2020 and were taking care to notify victims proactively—in stark contrast to the 2007 Florida case where prosecutors secretly negotiated with Epstein and hid the agreement from victims. The careful avoidance of CVRA language shows awareness of ongoing litigation about those earlier failures.

Why did prosecutors avoid mentioning the Crime Victims' Rights Act?

Prosecutors noted that 'other DOJ components are currently litigating whether the CVRA applies in the context of a pre-indictment plea' before the Eleventh Circuit. This refers to litigation stemming from the 2007 non-prosecution agreement with Epstein in Florida, where victims were not notified as required by law.

Did Ghislaine Maxwell ultimately receive a plea deal?

No. Ghislaine Maxwell went to trial in late 2021 and was convicted on five of six counts, including sex trafficking of a minor. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022.

What is document EFTA00027440?

This is an internal December 2020 email between prosecutors at the Southern District of New York drafting a victim notification letter about an upcoming felony plea offer to an unnamed individual in the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Who is mentioned in this document?

The document references Jeffrey Epstein by name. The intended recipient of the plea offer is redacted but appears to be a woman who 'is also known as' another name—characteristics consistent with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was arrested in July 2020 and whose case was proceeding in SDNY at this time.

What does this document reveal?

The document reveals that SDNY prosecutors were considering offering a plea deal in late 2020 and were taking care to notify victims proactively—in stark contrast to the 2007 Florida case where prosecutors secretly negotiated with Epstein and hid the agreement from victims. The careful avoidance of CVRA language shows awareness of ongoing litigation about those earlier failures.

Why did prosecutors avoid mentioning the Crime Victims' Rights Act?

Prosecutors noted that 'other DOJ components are currently litigating whether the CVRA applies in the context of a pre-indictment plea' before the Eleventh Circuit. This refers to litigation stemming from the 2007 non-prosecution agreement with Epstein in Florida, where victims were not notified as required by law.

Did Ghislaine Maxwell ultimately receive a plea deal?

No. Ghislaine Maxwell went to trial in late 2021 and was convicted on five of six counts, including sex trafficking of a minor. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022.

EFTA00027440

Internal DOJ email from December 2020 showing prosecutors drafting a victim notification letter about an upcoming felony plea offer to an unnamed individual (likely Ghislaine Maxwell) in connection with the Epstein investigation.

This document is an internal email exchange between prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York dated December 8-9, 2020. It shows prosecutors drafting language for a victim notification letter to be sent through the DOJ's Victim Notification System (VNS). The letter was intended to inform victims that prosecutors planned to offer a felony plea deal to an individual connected to the Epstein case. Notably, the prosecutors deliberately avoided referencing the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA) because the Eleventh Circuit was litigating whether the CVRA applies to pre-indictment pleas—a reference to ongoing litigation stemming from the controversial 2007 Epstein non-prosecution agreement in Florida that failed to notify victims.

Key Highlights

•Prosecutors were preparing to offer a felony plea to someone in the Epstein case who was 'currently not charged with any criminal offenses'
•The DOJ deliberately avoided citing the Crime Victims' Rights Act due to ongoing litigation about victim notification failures in the original Epstein case
•The letter gave victims a deadline to contact prosecutors and share their views before any plea offer would be issued
•This represents an effort to avoid repeating the 2007 Florida case failures where prosecutors secretly negotiated with Epstein while misleading victims

Frequently Asked Questions

Books for Further Reading

Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

Julie K. Brown

Investigative journalism that broke the Epstein case open

Filthy Rich: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

James Patterson

Bestselling account of Epstein's crimes and network

Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein

Bradley J. Edwards

Victims' attorney's firsthand account

Document Information

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EFTA00027440

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From: ' To: ' Subject: FW: victim notification Date: Wed, 09 Dec 2020 00:00:15 +0000 This looks good to me, with one suggestion below. From• Sent: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 6:46 PM To: (USANYS); (USANYS) Cc: I ; (USANYS) Subject: victim notification Below is the text we would propose for a victim notification letter. We would plan to use VNS, and the letter is styled accordingly. One note: the letter does not expressly reference the CVRA, because other DOJ components are currently litigating whether the CVRA applies in the context of a pre-indictment plea (the issue is currently before the Eleventh Circuit, en banc). Since we're giving notice here regardless of whether it's required, because that's the right thing to do, there's no need to include language that touches on the CVRA issue. Thanks, Dear [Name]: Re: [Epstein case name auto generated from the VNS system] The enclosed information is provided by the United States Department of Justice Victim Notification System (VNS). As a victim witness professional, my role is to assist you with information and services during this case. I am contacting you because you were identified by law enforcement as a victim or potential victim during the investigation of the above criminal case. In connection with the above-referenced investigation, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York intends to issue a felony plea offer towed who is also known as is currently not charged with any criminal offenses, and this office has not yet extended any plea offer to her. If you have any questions about the felony plea offer, or if you wish to inform the prosecutor of your views regarding a potential plea agreement, please contact the prosecutors in this case by [date]. This office will not issue a plea offer before [date], in order to provide time for victims to confer with the prosecutors in this case. The prosecutors for this case are S and If you would like to arrange a time to speak with the prosecutors in this case, please either ask your attorney to contact the prosecutors directly, or if you are not represented by counsel, please contact Victim / Witness Coordinator, at If a plea hearing is scheduled in this case, we will notify you of available information as soon as practicable. Sincerely, Acting United States Attorney Victim Witness Coordinator Assistant United States Attorney Southern District of New York New York, NY 10007 EFTA00027440