Survivor Alleges Epstein Associate Still Running Model Agency ‘Put Me in Danger’

An email uncovered in Department of Justice files reveals the close ties between financier Jeffrey Epstein and model agency executive Jean-Luc Brunel’s associate, Fuller. In a March 2012 message to Epstein regarding another model, Fuller wrote: “Had it not been for you, we would have fired her months ago. And I would be careful as she blabs about things.”

A month after Epstein’s 2019 arrest, the U.S. branch of MC2 Models was dissolved. Fuller subsequently launched The Source Models, which remains active. The BBC has identified 50 models transferred from MC2 to the new agency. Requests for comment from The Source Models went unanswered.

Sigrid McCawley, lead attorney for over 100 Epstein victims, explained the critical role model agencies played in Epstein’s operation. “Epstein said to many people he wanted three different girls a day. Think about those numbers… The [model] scouts were really critical because they were the ones who were identifying the type of woman that Epstein liked,” she said.

In the case of former agent Ramsey Elkholy, BBC Eye investigations show he attempted to connect 34 women to Epstein, including an 18-year-old still in school. One woman’s experience illustrates how assistants were co-opted into the abuse structure. DOJ files indicate Elkholy suggested one of Epstein’s female assistants befriend the woman before introducing her to the financier.

The woman, who was 19 at the time, told the BBC that Epstein sexually abused her during their first meeting at his New York townhouse.

Elkholy provided a statement to the BBC: “I completely reject any allegation that I knew of or facilitated abuse of any kind… At the time, I had no knowledge of any abuse and I knew only his own [Epstein’s] account of his 2008 [legal] case, which I misguidedly believed.” He added: “The record and published reporting show that women were often groomed by other women in his inner circle. I was never part of that circle, or indeed of any such activity… my intention was to help models find professional opportunities by introducing them to an extremely well-connected individual.”

McCawley countered that these female assistants had “no choice” in their actions. “These young survivors were being abused regularly. Their livelihoods were being threatened… They had to do what they were being told to do,” she stated.

Another survivor, identified by the pseudonym Simona, told the BBC that Epstein raped her more than 200 times. “People think that we gained something, that we agreed on this abuse in order to gain something, whether it’s monetary or influential, but it’s not true. We’re left with deep trauma,” she said.

Simona recounted that at age 20, already signed with a New York agency, Epstein offered to introduce her to his “good” friend Faith Kates. At the time, Kates headed Next Management, one of the world’s premier model agencies. She stepped down from her senior executive role in December of last year but remains legally listed as a company director.

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