The Silicon Valley venture capitalist William Elkus once was a trustee for one of Jeffrey Epstein's foundations in the 1990s, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider.

Elkus and Epstein each managed money for wealthy families in the late 1980s and '90s. Elkus went on to found Clearstone Venture Partners in 1998, which invested in PayPal, eToys, and United Online.

Epstein did not invest with or advise Clearstone, the company's chief financial officer said. Nearly 30 other Silicon Valley firms previously told Business Insider that the now deceased sex offender was not a direct investor.

By 1998, Elkus was no longer a trustee. Ira Zicherman, a former Bear Stearns senior managing director, was in that role for at least two years.

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Jeffrey Epstein's prominent associates ran hedge funds, private-equity firms, and even countries. But few Silicon Valley names have been tied to the disgraced financier thus far, despite his apparent effort before his arrest in July to refashion himself as a tech investor. Last month, 27 venture-capital firms told Business Insider that Epstein didn't directly invest with them.

Documents reviewed by Business Insider connect one prominent venture capitalist with Epstein, albeit two decades ago. William Elkus, who founded Santa Monica, California-based Clearstone Venture Partners, served as a trustee of one of Epstein's foundations, along with Epstein's brother Mark.

Jeffrey Epstein founded the J. Epstein Foundation in December 1991. Registration documents filed with the state of New York and obtained by Business Insider via a Freedom of Information Law request list Elkus as a trustee at its founding. It's unclear how long Elkus remained a trustee because the New York attorney general's office, which regulates charities, said it doesn't maintain annual tax filings from the 1990s.

Elkus is not listed on the foundation's earliest online tax filing, which covers 1998 to 1999, or on subsequent filings. On the earliest tax document, the trustees are the Epstein brothers and the former Bear Stearns senior managing director Ira Zicherman. Reached at home, Zicherman and his wife declined to comment. Epstein started his financial career at Bear Stearns.

Epstein renamed the J. Epstein Foundation in 2000, calling it Epstein Interests, according to registration documents. Zicherman was also a trustee for Epstein Interests in its 2000-01 fiscal year, but he does not appear after that time.

Read more: Jeffrey Epstein died by apparent suicide in jail. Here's everything we know about the convicted sex offender's past, famous connections, and his court case.

Elkus, whose notarized signature is on the J. Epstein Foundation's registration documents, declined to comment for the record in a telephone call.

A source with direct knowledge of Elkus' relationship with Epstein told Business Insider that the two men knew each other socially in the late 1980s and early '90s when they were managing money for wealthy families. The source said they did not do business together.

Elkus went on to found Clearstone in 1998, with investments including PayPal, eToys, United Online, and Cooking.com. He is a partner and adviser to another venture-capital fund, Structural Capital, and sits on the board of councilors of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Dana Moraly, Clearstone's chief financial officer, told Business Insider that Epstein has never been involved at Clearstone in any capacity, including as an investor or adviser. Moraly said she had not heard of him until she read media reports this year.

Some people linked to Epstein in public records have denied ties to the disgraced financier. Boris Nikolic, the biotech venture capitalist, was named last month in Epstein's will as the alternate executor to his $578 million estate. Nikolic told Bloomberg he was "shocked" to be included.

"I was not consulted in these matters and I have no intent to fulfill these duties, whatsoever," he said in a statement.

Foundation's beneficiaries: Miss Virgin Islands and a Harvard research center

Because records for the J. Epstein Foundation are incomplete, Business Insider was unable to assemble a comprehensive account of how much money the foundation donated and where it went.

But the following groups have either publicly identified the J. Epstein Foundation as a donor or are listed as recipients in public records:

Harvard's Project Zero : Epstein had long been linked to the university, socially and philanthropically. The research center lists the J. Epstein Foundation as a donor, and some of the group's scientists have cited support from the foundation for their work too. A Harvard spokesman said that Project Zero received more than one gift from J. Epstein and affiliated foundations, but no gifts were received after 2006. All the funds have been spent.

: Epstein had long been linked to the university, socially and philanthropically. The research center lists the J. Epstein Foundation as a donor, and some of the group's scientists have cited support from the foundation for their work too. A Harvard spokesman said that Project Zero received more than one gift from J. Epstein and affiliated foundations, but no gifts were received after 2006. All the funds have been spent. Miss Virgin Islands : According to a local report, the foundation sponsored a scholarship for the winner of the beauty pageant in 2007. The winner would " receive the J. Epstein Foundation Scholarship; one-year full tuition, room and board at the [University of the Virgin Islands]; a scholarship and more." Epstein also ran a nonprofit called the J Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation and owned a private island . The Miss Virgin Islands pageant did not respond to a request for comment.

: According to a local report, the foundation sponsored a scholarship for the winner of the beauty pageant in 2007. The winner would " The Trilateral Commission: Both the J. Epstein Foundation and Epstein Interests Both the J. Epstein Foundation and Epstein Interests gave the policy forum more than $30,000 from 1998 to 2001. Through other foundations, Epstein said he donated $180,000 to the group from 2002 to 2007, according to public records. The group did not respond to a request for comment.

Mount Carmel Health System : The foundation gave $10,000 in 1992 to the Columbus, Ohio-based healthcare group's foundation. Les and Abigail Wexner, for whom Epstein managed money for years, were also major benefactors, according to an : The foundation gave $10,000 in 1992 to the Columbus, Ohio-based healthcare group's foundation. Les and Abigail Wexner, for whom Epstein managed money for years, were also major benefactors, according to an annual report . A spokeswoman for Mount Carmel declined to comment.

Smithsonian Institution : Between 1996 and 1998, the foundation donated a total of $26,250 for an Italian Renaissance exhibition at the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in New York, a spokeswoman said.

: Between 1996 and 1998, the foundation donated a total of $26,250 for an Italian Renaissance exhibition at the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in New York, a spokeswoman said. Juilliard School : $10,000 to the prestigious New York music school. Last month, The Daily Beast reported that Epstein contacted the school seeking a student to teach him dance for exercise. One student said he flew her to Palm Beach, Florida, where she taught exercise to guests, including two Swedish models, one of whom was ex-girlfriend Eva Andersson Dubin. The dancer stayed on as his trainer for a few months, and she said he offered to pay for her tuition and equipment for the school. A spokeswoman for the school said the J. Epstein Foundation purchased a table at a 1999 gala for $10,000, but Epstein did not attend the event. Other Epstein foundations gave the school about $50,000 from 2000 to 2005.

: $10,000 to the prestigious New York music school. Last month, The Daily Beast reported that Epstein contacted the school seeking a student to teach him dance for exercise. One student said he flew her to Palm Beach, Florida, where she taught exercise to guests, including two Swedish models, one of whom was ex-girlfriend Eva Andersson Dubin. The dancer stayed on as his trainer for a few months, and she said he offered to pay for her tuition and equipment for the school. A spokeswoman for the school said the J. Epstein Foundation purchased a table at a 1999 gala for $10,000, but Epstein did not attend the event. Other Epstein foundations gave the school about $50,000 from 2000 to 2005. Compass : $25,000 to Aspen Educational Research, later renamed to Compass, a group that oversees a pair of charter schools in Aspen, Colorado. Epstein gave to other groups in the Aspen area, where Wexner had a home, including $50,000 to a Jewish congregation in 2008. The educational organization's director did not respond to a request for comment.

: $25,000 to Aspen Educational Research, later renamed to Compass, a group that oversees a pair of charter schools in Aspen, Colorado. Epstein gave to other groups in the Aspen area, where Wexner had a home, including $50,000 to a Jewish congregation in 2008. The educational organization's director did not respond to a request for comment. YWCA : $10,000 to the women- and social-justice-focused group, which did not respond to a request for comment.

: $10,000 to the women- and social-justice-focused group, which did not respond to a request for comment. Purdue University : $3,000 to the Midwestern school, which did not respond to a request for comment.

: $3,000 to the Midwestern school, which did not respond to a request for comment. Alexander Schneider Foundation : $3,000 to the New York-based group named after the famous violinist and conductor, who died in 1993. The main trustee for the foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

: $3,000 to the New York-based group named after the famous violinist and conductor, who died in 1993. The main trustee for the foundation did not respond to a request for comment. Cleveland Clinic Foundation: $1,000 to the Midwestern medical center. A spokeswoman said the organization has no records of any donations from Epstein.

Epstein ran at least five foundations and gave millions to a variety of organizations over at least 20 years, including arts groups, colleges, medical researchers, and think tanks. Some of those groups have returned the money or are considering doing so in the wake of Epstein's July charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking. On August 10, Epstein died by suicide while being held at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center.

Recently, the MIT Media Lab has been in turmoil after revelations that its director, Joichi Ito, had received money from Epstein for the research center and for his venture-capital funds since 2013 — well after Epstein went to jail on charges including procuring a minor for prostitution. Ito resigned on Saturday, less than a day after an article in the New Yorker described Epstein's relationship with him and MIT. At least two MIT scholars have publicly quit, citing Epstein's ties to Ito.

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