Jeffrey Epstein was found hanged in his prison cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center on Saturday morning

Source who'd seen Epstein recently told DailyMail.com 'there was no indication he might try to take own life'

Insider further claims pedophile had told prison guards and other inmates he feared someone tried to kill him

Epstein, 66, was briefly hospitalized on July 24 after being found semi-conscious on the floor of his jail cell

Billionaire was not on suicide watch at the time of his death, sparking outrage from top Washington figures

AG Will Barr has ordered both the FBI and the Inspector General to open investigations into death

Suicide comes 24 hours after court documents were unsealed implicating powerful men in sex scandals

Jeffrey Epstein told prison guards and fellow inmates that he believed someone had tried to kill him weeks before his death, a source has revealed to DailyMail.com. He was found hanging in his jail cell on Saturday morning

Jeffrey Epstein told prison guards and fellow inmates that he believed someone had tried to kill him in the weeks before his death, a source has revealed to DailyMail.com

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The insider, who had seen the disgraced financier on several occasions during his incarceration at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, also claims that the normally reserved Epstein seemed to be in good spirits.

'There was no indication that he might try to take his own life,' the source told DailyMail.com

'From what I saw, he was finally starting to adjust to prison. I think he was comforted by the rigidity of his new life.'

The world was left stunned early Saturday after news that Epstein was found hanging in his prison cell shortly before 7am.

The 66-year-old was rushed to nearby New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan hospital where he was pronounced dead.

On Saturday afternoon, a black bag believed to contain Epstein's body was pictured being taken out of the hospital.

The body was later switched into a white van belonging to a medical examiner, before it was transported away.

A coroner will now perform an investigation.

A black bag believed to contain Epstein's body was pictured being taken out of New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan hospital on Saturday afternoon

The body was loaded onto a stretcher and placed in the back of a black SUV, before it was later switched into a white van for transportation to the medical examiner's office

Epstein hanged himself inside his prison cell at Manhattan Correctional Center early on Saturday morning

Hospital staff are seen preparing a white coroner's van before Epstein's body was loaded inside

A coroner will now examine Epstein's body, while both the FBI and the Inspector General will open investigations into the circumstances surrounding his death

In a statement, Metropolitan Correctional Center told DailyMail.com that the FBI is now launching an investigation into Epstein's death.

The former financier, 66, was awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking and was being held at the high-security complex without bail.

Epstein - who once boasted an array of high-profile friends including Prince Andrew and President Bill Clinton - was arrested on July 6, accused of arranging to have sex with underage girls at his residences in New York City and Florida between 2002 and 2005.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Epstein's suicide comes just two weeks after he was hospitalized following what may have been an initial attempt to take his own life.

On July 24, Epstein was rushed to hospital under police guard after he was discovered semi-conscious on the floor of his prison cell in the fetal position.

Epstein was being held without bail at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking

Epstein's suicide comes just two weeks after he was hospitalized following what may have been an initial attempt to take his own life. He is pictured in New York in January

Epstein was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (pictured). Police are pictured patrolling outside the prison on Saturday afternoon

He spent several hours receiving medical attention before he was transported back to the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

It has not been confirmed whether Epstein attempted suicide, or whether he may have been attacked inside his prison cell.

The billionaire had been taken off suicide watch before taking his own life on Saturday morning - sparking outrage from Attorney General William Barr who has now vowed to look into the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death.

'Epstein's death raises serious questions that must be answered,' Barr said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.

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'In addition to the FBI's investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of the death'.

According to a prison officer, Epstein was being kept in a special unit with additional security, but he was not being actively surveyed by officials at the facility.

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The decision to remove Epstein, who was possibly the most high-profile inmate in the federal jail system, from suicide watch has both baffled and outraged former wardens and veterans of the federal prison system alike.

'For them to pull him off suicide watch is shocking,' Cameron Lindsay, a former warden, told NBC News.

'For someone this high-profile, with these allegations and this many victims, who has had a suicide attempt in the last few weeks, you can take absolutely no chances. You leave him on suicide watch until he's out of there.'

Meanwhile, a number of other high-profile Washington figures have demanded more information as to what happened to Epstein.

Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter shortly after news of the millionaire's death broke, stating: 'We need answers. Lots of them'.

2020 Presidential hopefuls Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand also demanded transparency as to the details of Epstein's death.

Following news of the Epstein's death, several purported victims spoke of their anger at the fact the millionaire will not face justice for his alleged crimes.

Jennifer Araoz - who claimed she was raped by Epstein at the age of 15 - told NBC News: 'I am angry Jeffrey Epstein won't have to face survivors of his abuse in court. We have to live with the scars of his actions for the rest of our lives, while he will never face the consequences of the crimes he committed.'

Attorney Lisa Bloom - who represents three of the millionaire's alleged sex trafficking victims - shared a statement from one of her anonymous accusers.

'I will never have a sense of closure now. I am angry as hell that the prison could have allowed this to happen and that I and his other victims will never see him face the consequences for his horrendous actions,' the statement read.

'I hope that whoever allowed this to happen also faces some type of consequence. You stole from us, the huge piece of healing that we needed to move on with our lives.'

Epstein is pictured with his associate and one-time girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell in 2005. On Friday, explosive court documents pertaining to a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell were unsealed, revealing damning new details about Epstein's alleged crimes

Epstein's shocking suicide comes just 24 hours after court documents from Virginia Roberts Giuffre (pictured) were unsealed

BOMBSHELL COURT DOCUMENTS UNSEALED

Epstein's death comes just 24 hours after more than 2,000 pages of documents detailing the lurid allegations of his sexual abuse of underage girls were unsealed to the public.

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On Friday morning, a federal appeals court published explosive documents pertaining to a 2015 lawsuit that Virginia Roberts Giuffre had filed against Epstein's associate, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.

Giuffre claimed Epstein and Maxwell kept her as a 'sex slave' in the early 2000s, whilst she was underage.

The unsealed papers - which made international news on Friday - implicated a number of high-profile men in sex scandals.

They include transcripts of a May 3, 2016 deposition made by Giuffre, in which she alleged that she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to have sex with and provide erotic massages for politicians and affluent businessmen.

Giuffre claimed that she was 'instructed' by Maxwell to have sex with former Senate Majority George Mitchell and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

Both Richardson and Mitchell have denied the allegations.

According to the documents, Giuffre claimed she also had sex with Epstein's friend Prince Andrew on multiple occasions, including once in London when she was 17 years of age.

Jeffrey Epstein's former sex slave Virginia Roberts Giuffre alleges that she was intimate with Prince Andrew on multiple occasions. She is pictured with Prince Andrew and Maxwell at Maxwell's London townhouse in 2001

Prince Andrew is pictured with Epstein in Central Park in December 2010

The Prince has always denied any wrongdoing and in a 2015 court application, a judge threw out Guiffre's allegations that she had sex with the Prince.

The judge ordered the allegations to be struck from the record as being 'immaterial and impertinent.'

Buckingham Palace also issued on the record statements in January 2015, stating: 'Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.'

Giuffre was working at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort at the time she met Ghislaine Maxwell, who then went on to introduce her to Epstein.

Epstein is known for his previous friendship with President Trump but Giuffre has denied ever having sexual relationships with the Commander-in-chief.

Jeffrey Epstein (left) and Donald Trump together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1997. Giuffre says she never had sex with Trump

Trump is pictured with then-girlfriend and now-wife Melania Trump alongside Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago club in 2000

Epstein was also an associate of President Bill Clinton - but the unsealed court documents reveal that Giuffre similarly denied ever being intimate him.

Giuffre was the first woman to go public with accusations against Epstein - and is the most high profile of his alleged victims.

The alleged 'sex slave' has previously recounted how she found herself being shuttled around the world and raped by men three times her age in court papers after she met Ghislaine Maxwell.

'Epstein had promised me a lot, and I knew if I left I would be in big trouble. I also knew that I was a witness to a lot of illegal and very bad behavior by Epstein and his friends,' stated one filing.

'If I left Epstein, he knew all kinds of powerful people. He could have had me killed or abducted, and I always knew he was capable of that if I did not obey him. He let me know that he knew many people in high places... I was very scared, particularly since I was a teenager.'

'When I was with him, Epstein had sex with underage girls on a daily basis. His interest in this kind of sex was obvious to the people around him,' she also stated.

'The activities were so obvious and bold that anyone spending any significant time at one of Epstein's residences would have clearly been aware of what was going on.'

JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S UNDOING: A TIMELINE OF THE MILLIONAIRE PEDOPHILE'S DOWNFALL 1999 - Virginia Roberts Giuffre is allegedly recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell to became Epstein's 'sex slave,' at 17. She also claimed that he forced her to have sex with his friend Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth. 2002 - Trump tells New York Magazine that his friend Epstein 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' 2005 - A 14-year-old girl tells police that Epstein molested her at his Palm Beach mansion. May 2006 - Epstein and two of his associates are charged with multiple counts of unlawful sex acts with a minor. State attorney of the time Barry Krischer, referred the case to a grand jury who heard from just two of the 12 girls law enforcement had gathered as potential witnesses. They returned just one single count of soliciting prostitution. July 2006 - The case is referred to the FBI by the Florida Palm Beach police who were unhappy with how the case was handled. 2007 - Epstein's lawyers meet with Miami's top federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta, who would later become the Secretary of Labor in the Trump administration. They secretly negotiate the 'deal of a lifetime'. June 2008 - After pleading guilty to two prostitution charges, the millionaire was sentenced to 18 months in a low-security prison in exchange for prosecutors ending their investigation into his sex acts with minors and give him immunity from future prosecution related to those charges. In reality, Epstein was able to work from his office six days a week while supposedly incarcerated at the jail. July 2008 - Accusers learned of the deal for the first time. July 2009 - Epstein is released from jail five months early. July 2018 - The Miami Herald publishes investigative journalist Julie K. Brown's exposé on Epstein's long history of alleged sexual abuse and news of the 'deal of a lifetime' after Acosta was made Labor Secretary. February 2019 - The justice department opens an internal review into Epstein's plea deal. July 7, 2019 - Epstein is arrested after his private jet lands at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport from Paris. At the same time, federal agents break into his Manhattan townhouse where they uncovered hundreds of photographs of naked minors. July 8, 2019 - Epstein is charged with sex trafficking charges which detail how he created a network of underage girls in Florida and New York, paying girls as young as 14 to provide 'massages and sex acts.' The charges carry a sentence of up to 45 years in prison. July 11, 2019 - More than a dozen women, not previously known to law enforcement, came forward to accuse him of sex abuse. July 24 - Epstein was found unconscious in his cell after an apparent suicide attempt. He was moved to suicide watch at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. August 9, 2019 - More than 2,000 documents are unsealed which reveal the lurid allegations against Epstein in detail. August 10, 2019 - Epstein is found dead in his cell.

CHARGES OF CONSPIRACY AND SEX TRAFFICKING

At the time of his suicide, Epstein was facing up to 45 years in prison on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking following his arrest on July 7.

The millionaire was taken into custody at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport after his private jet landed from Paris.

On the same day, federal agents raided his $77 million Manhattan townhouse where they uncovered hundreds of photographs of naked minors.

Prosecutors claim Epstein sexually exploited dozens of underage teenagers, some as young as 14, at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005.

They allege the businessman was 'well aware that many of the victims were minors.'

The girls were paid hundreds of dollars in cash to massage him, perform sexual acts and to recruit other girls, prosecutors allege.

They say Epstein had an army of recruiters, often not much older than their targets, who would approach vulnerable teens.

After his arrest, Epstein was subsequently denied bail.

After Epstein's arrest, federal agents raided his $77 million Manhattan townhouse (pictured) where they uncovered hundreds of photographs of naked minors

PREVIOUS CONVICTION AND 'SWEETHEART DEAL'

Epstein is a convicted pedophile who was previously served 13 months in a Florida prison after pleading guilty to procuring an underage prostitute in the state.

Prior to his conviction in June 2008, Epstein's lawyers met with Miami's top federal prosecutor, Alexander Acosta, to negotiate a 'lenient plea deal'.

Epstein pleaded guilty in exchange for the short prison sentence in a low-security jail, as well as immunity from future prosecution related to his charges.

It was later revealed that Epstein was allowed to leave prison on a regularly basis to work at a nearby office.

In recent months, critics have been outraged by the lenient sentence, dubbed 'a sweetheart deal'.

Last month, Acosta - who negotiated the deal - was forced to resign from his post as Secretary of Labor in the Trump administration over the fallout.

Epstein was released from prison in early 2010 and quickly managed to make his way back into high-powered New York circles.

He was spotted walking in Central Park with Prince Andrew later that same year.

Katie Couric, Woody Allen, Chelsea Handler and George Stephanopoulos were invited to a dinner at Epstein's Manhattan mansion alongside the Prince in 2010.

FROM MIDDLE CLASS TO MULTI-MILLIONAIRE: HOW EPSTEIN ACQUIRED HIS FORTUNE

Epstein was born to a middle-class family in Brooklyn, New York. He attended public school before dropping out of an undergraduate degree at Cooper Union.

Despite having no formal qualifications, Epstein commenced work as a physics and mathematics teacher at the prestigious Dalton School in Manhattan. He was hired by then- headmaster Donald Barr - the father of current Attorney General, William Barr.

It proved to be the beginning of four decades spent in the midst of power and privilege.

During his two-year tenure at the elite private school, Epstein met Bear Stearns CEO Alan Greenberg, whose two children were students at Dalton.

Greenberg was reportedly impressed by Epstein's quick mind, and offered him a job as a trader at Bear Stearns in 1976.

Epstein quickly found success in the field, and went on to work as a financial consultant.

He opened his own financial management firm, J. Epstein & Company, in 1988.

Epstein had pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls from at least 2002 to 2005. He is pictured in 2005

JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S ALLEGED VICTIMS VIRGINIA ROBERTS GIUFFRE Virginia Roberts Giuffre is pictured above at a museum in New Mexico in 2001 in a photo snapped by Epstein) Virginia Roberts Giuffre is perhaps the most high-profile of Epstein's alleged victims. She claims she is a former sex slave of Epstein and says the millionaire asked her to be a surrogate when she was just 18, around the same time he said she was too old for his sexual perversions. Her allegations were made public when her since-settled lawsuit against Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was included among the more than 2,000 pages of documents made public by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a deposition included in the newly released papers, Giuffre said that her father, who worked at Mar-a-Lago as a maintenance manager, got her a job there in summer 2000 as a locker room attendant at the club's spa when she was 16. She said she was reading a book on massage therapy one day when she was approached by Maxwell, who noticed the book and told her she knew someone seeking a traveling masseuse. When Giuffre said she had no experience or credentials, she recalled Maxwell said: 'We can train you. We can get you educated.' The court records contain graphic allegations against Epstein, portraying him as a sex slave-driver with an insatiable appetite for underage girls. 'My whole life revolved around just pleasing these men and keeping Ghislaine and Jeffrey happy,' Giuffre said. 'Their whole entire lives revolved around sex.' Giuffre said Maxwell instructed her to take off her clothes and give oral sex to Epstein the first time she met him after bringing her to Epstein's Florida home near Mar-a-Lago with the expectation she would be trained as a masseuse. Prosecutors have not accused Maxwell of any wrongdoing. They say they continue to investigate. In her own deposition, Maxwell called the claims another one of Giuffre's 'many fictitious lies and stories to make this a salacious event to get interest and press. It's absolute rubbish.' Giuffre managed to escape, after being sent to Thailand for her 19th birthday to take a massage course. She now lives with her husband and children in Australia. JENNIFER ARAOZ Jennifer Araoz as a teenager Jennifer Araoz now Jeffrey Epstein was hit with a lawsuit from Jennifer Araoz on July 23 of this year. Araoz, now 32, claims she was 15-years-old when she met Epstein after a 'recruiter' targeted her outside of her Manhattan high school and lured her to the millionaire's house, located several blocks away. For the next year, Epstein allegedly manipulated Araoz into giving him massages that ended with him masturbating while he showered her with gifts and cash. The illicit contact ended after Epstein 'forcibly raped' her, according to Araoz. Araoz claims she dropped out of school to avoid Epstein and her life quickly deteriorated. She is seeking damages for her emotional injuries. JOHANNA SJOBERG Johanna Sjoberg is pictured in 2007 One of the women who alleges she was 'lured' to Jeffrey Epstein's New York City mansion says the multimillionaire sex offender told her he needed to have 'three orgasms a day.' 'It was biological, like eating,' Epstein is alleged to have told Johanna Sjoberg. Sjoberg's testimony was revealed after a federal appeals court on Friday unsealed about 2,000 pages of documents related to Epstein, the financier facing charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls. The documents were released by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, as part of a defamation lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers, against Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime friend of Epstein. Sjoberg gave statements in a deposition as part of a lawsuit brought against Maxwell by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. She said that she was recruited by Maxwell in 2001, when she was a student at Palm Beach Atlantic College. Sjoberg was under the impression she was being hired as a personal assistant, but she soon realized her job was to provide 'sexual massages' to Epstein. According to The New York Times, Sjoberg was 'punished' when Epstein failed to orgasm as a result of one of her massages. Giuffre alleges that Maxwell recruited her when she was 16 years old to be Epstein's 'sex slave.' The lawsuit was settled in 2017 while the terms were kept confidential. JENA-LISA JONES Jena-Lisa Jones, 30, said she was 14 in Florida, when she became a victim of Epstein and stated on Saturday: 'God will have his judgement now' Jena-Lisa Jones claims she was just 14 years old when she was allegedly molested by Epstein in Florida. The purported incident, which occurred in the mid-2000s, left Jones feeling traumatized. 'You beat yourself up mentally and physically,' the now-30 year old previously told The Miami-Herald. Jones has become one of the first women to speak out following news of Epstein's death. 'God will have his judgement now,' she told NBC. COURTNEY WILD Alleged victim Courtney Wild (left) is pictured with her lawyer. She claims she was just 14 years old when she met Epstein Last year, Courtney Wild told The Miami Herald that she first met Jeffrey Epstein in 2002, when she 14-years-old and still wearing braces. She alleges that she helped recruit underage girls for the financier for seven years, alleging that he preferred those who were 'white and easy to manipulate'. 'By the time I was 16, I had probably brought him 70 to 80 girls who were all 14 and 15 years old... He wanted as many girls as I could get him. It was never enough,' she told the paper. Wild was wracked with guilt following her association with Epstein and her life fell apart. She served three years in prison on drugs charges and was only released in November of last year. MICHELLE LICATA AND ANNIE FARMER Michelle Licata Annie Farmer Michelle Licata claims she was a 16-year-old virgin living in Florida when she was recruited by a high-school friend to give 'massages' to Epstein. Soon after arriving at the millionaire's Florida mansion, she says she felt uncomfortable and he allegedly began calling her 'beautiful and sexy and gorgeous'. She described an encounter with Epstein to The Miami Herald in excruciating detail last year. Believing she was going to give the financier an innocent massage, she was left traumatized when he began masturbating in front of her. 'He kept trying to put his fingers inside me and told me to pinch his nipples. He was mostly saying 'just do that, harder, harder and do this... 'He ruined my life and a lot of girls' lives,' Licata told the paper last year. Meanwhile, Annie Farmer said she was 16 when she met Epstein in New York. 'He was inappropriate with me,' she told reporters earlier this month, although she did not disclose further details. She was one of Epstein's alleged victims who appeared in court on July 15 urging a judge to keep the millionaire behind bars, rather than release him on bail. UNNAMED 15-YEAR-OLD SWEDISH GIRL Court documents also revealed that a 15-year-old Swedish girl was allegedly confined to Epstein's private island (pictured) and kept there as a sex slave Court documents also revealed that a 15-year-old Swedish girl was allegedly confined to Epstein's private island and kept there as a sex slave. The horrific allegations were made by a butler who worked for hedge fund millionaire Glenn Dubin and his wife, Eva Andersson-Dubin. During a 2016 deposition which was revealed publicly for the first time on Friday, the butler, Rinaldo Rizzo, tearfully described seeing a 15-year-old girl in his boss's kitchen in 2005. Rizzo testified in his deposition that the girl was brought to the home by Maxwell and Epstein, who were visiting the Dubins. Andersson-Dubin, a former Miss Sweden, once dated Epstein. The butler said that the girl reminded him of other girls he saw at Epstein's home. Rizzo said the girl sat in a stool next to a kitchen counter in the Dubins' home. She was 'distraught and shaking...literally quivering' as she described her treatment at the hands of Epstein's alleged madam, and her assistant, Sarah Kellen, in the US Virgin Islands. He claims he told her that they had demanded sex from her and taken away her passport and threatened her when she refused. Rizzo testified in a deposition which was part of Giuffre's defamation lawsuit brought against Maxwell. Giuffre also accused Glenn Dubin of participating in the sex-trafficking ring, according to court documents. The Dubins have denied these allegations, with a spokesperson for the couple telling DailyMail.com: 'Glenn and Eva Dubin are outraged by the allegations against them in the unsealed court records and categorically reject them.'

HOW EPSTEIN 'STOLE MILLIONS' FROM HIS LONGTIME FRIEND AND VICTORIA'S SECRET FOUNDER LESLIE WEXNER WHILE MANAGING HIS FINANCES

The retail titan behind Victoria's Secret has accused the financier Jeffrey Epstein of misappropriating 'vast sums' of his fortune while managing his personal finances more than a decade ago.

Ohio billionaire Leslie Wexner said in a letter Wednesday that he recovered 'some of the funds' but severed ties with Epstein in 2007 as sexual abuse allegations first surfaced against him in Florida.

The letter was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which put the amount of misappropriated money at more than $46 million.

It's unclear whether Wexner reported the allegations to law enforcement.

'This was, frankly, a tremendous shock, even though it clearly pales in comparison to the unthinkable allegations against him now,' Wexner wrote.

He added that he was 'sickened' by Epstein's alleged abuse of dozens of underage girls in New York and Florida.

Wexner is the founder and chief executive officer of L Brands, a fashion retailer based in Ohio. The company's board recently hired an outside law firm to review any role Epstein may have played at the business.

Epstein managed Wexner's fortune beginning in the late 1980s and helped straighten out the finances for a real estate development Wexner was backing in a wealthy Columbus, Ohio, suburb.

It was through Wexner that Epstein acquired his seven-story Manhattan mansion less than a block from Central Park, a 21,000-square-foot residence that has been valued at about $77 million.

Wexner said he believed he could trust Epstein at first based on 'friends who vouched for and recommended him as a knowledgeable financial professional.'

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'I am embarrassed that, like so many others, I was deceived by Mr. Epstein,' he wrote in the letter. 'I know now that my trust in him was grossly misplaced and I deeply regret having ever crossed his path.'

Leslie Wexner, the founder and CEO of Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands Inc, accused Jeffrey Epstein of stealing more than $46million from his family's fortune. Wexner (above with model Stella Maxwell in 2016) hired Epstein as his money manager in 1991 and cut ties with him in 2007 after the financier was accused of sexually abusing underage girls