The Victoria's Secret billionaire Leslie Wexner handed Jeffrey Epstein power of attorney in 1991, giving him sweeping control over his financial affairs, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Friends and associates of Wexner were mystified by the trust Wexner placed in Epstein, according to the report.

A woman told The Times that Epstein once posed as a Victoria's Secret talent scout in 1997 and tried to "manhandle" her in a Santa Monica, California, hotel room.

During the time he was close to Wexner, Epstein acquired two luxury properties and a private jet previously owned by Wexner or his companies.

Epstein was arrested in July on federal charges of sex trafficking and sex-trafficking conspiracy, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

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Leslie Wexner, the billionaire CEO of Victoria's Secret's parent company, L Brands, mysteriously handed almost total control of his financial affairs to Jeffrey Epstein for more than a decade, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Wexner gave Epstein power of attorney in 1991, according to a three-page legal document acquired by The Times.

This would have made him able to hire people, sign checks, buy and sell properties, and borrow money on Wexner's behalf. The Times said Wexner did not cut ties with Epstein until 2007, the year before Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges. The plea deal was the focus of a November exposé by the Miami Herald that ultimately led Epstein to be arrested in July on federal charges of sex trafficking and sex-trafficking conspiracy, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Friends and colleagues were mystified that Wexner had handed such sweeping control of his affairs to Epstein, who at the time he was made power of attorney was working as Wexner's personal financial adviser, The Times said.

The newspaper detailed how Epstein took a central role in Wexner's financial, philanthropic and personal affairs. It reported that:

From 1991 to 2007, Epstein took control or possession of valuable assets previously owned by Wexner or his companies. These included a New York mansion, a luxury Ohio property, and a private jet. According to The Times, there are no publicly filed documents showing the purchases.

Epstein acquired a leadership role in two of Wexner's foundations and was named as a trustee in entities with millions of dollars in shares, including one for Wexner's children, according to public filings.

He was given control over designing Wexner's personal yacht, Limitless.

Well before Wexner cut ties with him, Epstein was accused of posing as a Victoria's Secret talent scout. A California model named Alicia Arden told The Times that in 1997 Epstein assaulted her after luring her back to a Santa Monica hotel room.

Maria Farmer, in an affidavit filed in April, accused Epstein of sexually assaulting her in Wexner's Ohio mansion in 1996.

Two former executives for Victoria's Secret told The Times they were concerned by Epstein's apparent attempts to introduce himself into the model-auditioning processes and informed Wexner, who said he would take care of it.

A 2017 photo of Jeffrey Epstein from the New York state sex offender registry. New York state sex offender registry

Epstein served 13 months in jail from 2008 to 2009 after pleading guilty to the prostitution charges.

Representatives of Wexner and L Brands, the Victoria's Secret's parent company, which is owned by Wexner, declined to provide The Times details of the work Epstein performed for Wexner.

"While Mr. Epstein served as Mr. Wexner's personal money manager for a period that ended nearly 12 years ago, we do not believe he was ever employed by nor served as an authorized representative of the company," Tammy Roberts Myers, a company spokeswoman, told The Times.

She told the publication that at the request of the company's board, L Brands had recently hired a team of lawyers to review the relationship between Epstein and Wexner.

L Brands did not immediately respond to a request from Business Insider for further comment.

Epstein's attorney, Martin Weinberg, did not respond to requests for comment from The Times or Business Insider.

Wexner declined to comment to The Times on its report.

In a letter earlier in July to employees, Wexner wrote he was "NEVER aware of the illegal activity charged in the indictment" of Epstein.

"I would never have guessed that a person I employed more than a decade ago could have caused such pain to so many people," he wrote.