The billionaire former Victoria's Secret CEO Les Wexner testified to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that he was "conned" by Jeffrey Epstein but denied any wrongdoing, according to a prepared statement a representative for Wexner provided to NBC News.
Wexner, 88, who has been under fire over his many appearances in the Justice Department's records on Epstein, denied allegations that he was Epstein's "co-conspirator." In his prepared statement, he told lawmakers that he "never witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity."
Wexner's testimony was delivered behind closed doors from his home in New Albany, Ohio, in response to a subpoena from the committee as part of its Epstein probe.
“I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide,” he said in his prepared statement. “I completely and irrevocably cut ties with Epstein nearly twenty years ago when I learned that he was an abuser, a crook, and a liar. And, let me be crystal clear: I never witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told reporters during a break in the deposition that Wexner was trying to "downplay" how close his relationship with Epstein was.
"There would be no Epstein island, there'd be no Epstein plane, there would be no money to traffic women and girls, Mr. Epstein would not be the wealthy man he was, without the support of Les Wexner," Garcia said.
Another committee member, Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said, "There's no question in my mind, given the evidence so far, that Les Wexner knew about this and failed to stop it.”
Wexner had a lengthy relationship with Epstein, who managed his personal finances for over a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s. The FBI referred to Wexner as a possible "co-conspirator" in an August 2019 internal document compiled days after Epstein died and recently released by the Justice Department.
In his statement, Wexner maintained he was a victim, as well, who had been ripped off by a person he'd trusted who "lived a double life. He was clever, diabolical, and a master manipulator."
"The other life he led, that we now know was full of unthinkable crimes, he most carefully and fully hid from me. He knew that I never would have tolerated his horrible behavior. Not any of it. At no time did I ever witness the side of Epstein’s life for which he is now infamous," Wexner wrote.
He said he permanently parted ways with Epstein in 2007 after Epstein was charged with soliciting prostitution of a minor. Wexner said his wife, Abigail, began reviewing their financial documents that Epstein had managed.
Wexner said that "after reviewing the information it became clear to Abigail that Epstein had stolen vast sums from our family. Once I learned of his abusive conduct and theft from my family, I never spoke with Epstein again. Never."
"In September 2007, nine months before he pled guilty in Florida, we revoked Epstein’s power of attorney, removed his access to our bank accounts, and forced him to resign from all our affiliated entities. Confronted with his financial wrongdoing by Abigail, Epstein agreed to, and did, return a substantial amount of money, even while continuing to maintain his total innocence of any wrongdoing, never dropping the con," the statement said.
Wexner has never been charged with any wrongdoing.
A batch of Epstein documents that a U.S. district judge in New York released in January 2024 included an allegation made by the late Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who testified in 2016 that she was forced to have sex with Wexner numerous times.
Wexner has denied the allegation. In his statement Wednesday, he said he never cheated on his wife with anybody.
"I dated Abigail for three years and have been married to her for 33 years. We are completely devoted to each other. To be clear, never once in 36 years have I been unfaithful to Abigail in any way, shape, or form. Never. Any suggestion to the contrary is absolutely and entirely false," he said.
A legal representative for Wexner said in a statement this month that Wexner has cooperated with the investigations into Epstein.
“The Assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect. Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again,” the representative said.
Wexner's statement sheds light on how Epstein came to work for him. He said that they were introduced in the mid- to late 1980s and that Epstein had been recommended to him by top people at Bear Stearns, where Epstein had worked, and by a member of the Rothschild family, with whom Epstein also worked.
"At first, Epstein was unwilling to take me on as a client. In fact, for the first few years I was acquainted with him, Epstein offered me advice here and there while explaining that giving individual financial advice was not his focus and refusing to accept compensation. He said he was assisting me as a favor. Little did I realize that, from the very start, Epstein was conniving to gain my trust," Wexner said.
"He was meticulous in revealing to me only glimpses into the life in which he was a sophisticated financial guru who consulted with heads of state, high-ranking politicians, royalty, university presidents, professors, CEOs, musicians, and other luminaries," the statement said.
In a 2019 letter to his Wexner Foundation, Wexner expressed sympathy for Epstein's victims and said, “I deeply regret having ever crossed his path."
Despite Wexner's denials of wrongdoing, he has faced backlash over his connection to Epstein. The Ohio Nurses’ Association called this week for removing his name from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and other campus facilities he helped fund.
“Publicly available records document Leslie Wexner’s relationship with Epstein and raise serious concerns that cannot be brushed aside as historical footnotes,” the nurses association in a letter Monday to OSU. “When an institution dedicated to healing carries the name of someone so closely associated with a man who systematically preyed on children, survivors see that name every day. For many, it is not neutral. It is retraumatizing.”
