Epstein’s Berkeley Connection: Tuition Payments and a Recruitment Pipeline

Summary

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Epstein’s Berkeley Connection: Tuition Payments and a Recruitment Pipeline

The Epstein Chronicles with Bobby Capucci
Date: May 25, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Bobby Capucci dives into newly revealed evidence connecting Jeffrey Epstein to the University of California, Berkeley. The focus is on Epstein’s alleged funding of a law student’s tuition in exchange for help recruiting female “assistants” — exposing an insidious recruitment pipeline running through academia. Capucci dissects the implications, reviews details from a Daily Californian investigation, and highlights Epstein’s transactional exploitation in higher education.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Epstein’s Academic Infiltration (00:55 – 02:40)

• Expanding Beyond Ivy League:

  • While Epstein’s elite connections to Harvard and Yale have long been covered, Capucci emphasizes that “if you think it stopped there, you haven’t been paying attention” (00:57). New records show Epstein’s reach extended to UC Berkeley.
  • Not just a donor, Epstein was actively seeking a pipeline for assistants—even in public institutions.

• Disturbing Recruitment Expectation:

  • Capucci details a transaction: Epstein funded a Berkeley law student's tuition, stipulating she refer two “assistants” to him (01:14). Considering Epstein’s criminal background, the assistant role implied something “disturbing.”
  • “This man was recruiting women everywhere he went and once he got them into his web, the coercion began and it was rinse and repeat, right?” (01:36)

Mechanics of the Transaction (02:40 – 06:40)

• Paper Trail:

  • In 2016, Epstein paid a $1,000 deposit to Berkeley Law for a student’s master’s tuition, corroborated by emails and American Express statements. (03:04)
  • Communications indicate persistent pressure from Epstein to the student to uphold her “obligation” and refer candidates.

• Epstein’s Motives:

  • Capucci stresses Epstein’s actions were never charitable: “He wasn't doing it because he was nice and wanted this girl to succeed. He was doing it because he wanted something from this girl.” (03:22)

• The Recruitment “Ponzi”:

  • Epstein coerced women, especially international students with precarious immigration situations, into his referral web, using financial aid as leverage (04:00). “Everything had a price — especially human flesh.” (03:30)

Details from the Daily Californian Exposé (06:40 – 11:42)

• Explicit Expectations:

  • Epstein told the student, “Now that you are a lawyer, I would have thought you recognized that an agreement had two sides, each with its own obligation” (08:12). Capucci highlights this as clear evidence Epstein saw his support as a transactional deal.

• “Normalizing” the Abuse:

  • Capucci observes, “Years of correspondence…detail the student’s application process, deferral and attendance at Berkeley Law. Documents show Epstein provided financial support in exchange for recommendation of assistance referred to as girls.” (09:16)
  • He adds, “Bring somebody over here, control their whole life, and then mold them. That’s what he wanted to do.” (09:42)

• Photos and Candidate Descriptions:

  • Emails included photos, names, and bios of women from cities like New York, Paris, Zurich, and Monaco (09:22), matching Epstein’s international recruitment MO.

• Student’s Role and Responsibility:

  • Though the former student didn’t comment to reporters, Capucci notes the student’s request for an official $25,000 sponsorship contract in exchange for post-graduation work for Epstein (December 2014 and January 2015 emails, ~10:00–10:30).
  • Capucci calls for self-responsibility: “If this woman led anybody into the clutches of Jeffrey Epstein, she should have to answer for it.” (10:44)

Escalation of Demands and Aftermath (11:42 – 15:00)

• Ongoing Financial Support:

  • Epstein’s payments extended to campus housing and additional tuition expenditures via his foundation (12:31).

• Increasingly Brazen Demands:

  • In 2017, Epstein moved from hints to explicit quid pro quo: “I’m not against helping you. However, you must produce two candidates with your full recommendation and then I will help.” (13:25)
  • When the student suggested a candidate age 28, Epstein rebuked her: “Okay, no more over 24. Sorry for that. You must do as you’re told. Your tendency to add your own thoughts is, is a huge negative in the in biz.” (14:02)
  • Capucci calls this a “sick degenerate bastard” mentality and highlights how Epstein was angry the woman was “too old.” (14:25)

• Post-Graduation Relationship:

  • Epstein remained in contact via WhatsApp, helping the student prep for the California Bar and continuing to discuss the “side gig” of recruiting assistants.
  • The student admits in text, “It was the price to pay for Berkeley, I guess... Way better than supplying you ladies.” (15:10)

• Patterns of Victimization:

  • Capucci summarizes: “Unfortunately folks, this is just one of many of these types of stories.... If you think that Jeffrey Epstein stopped at this one girl, this one woman, you have not been paying attention.” (15:40)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Transactional Nature of Epstein’s Sponsorship (03:30):
  “This man was as transactional as transactional could be. Everything had a price, especially human flesh.” — Bobby Capucci

• On Epstein’s Modus Operandi (04:00):
  “[Epstein] would coerce these women, get them here from other countries, get them involved in all kinds of immigration fraud, take their passports, put them in that building at East 66 and then make them do whatever he wanted.”

• Blunt Take on Responsibility (10:44):
  “There has to be some self responsibility in life and you have to take ownership of the decisions you make. And if this woman led anybody into the clutches of Jeffrey Epstein, she should have to answer for it.”

• Epstein’s Explicit Demands (13:25):
  “I’m not against helping you. However, you must produce two candidates with your full recommendation and then I will help.” — Email from Jeffrey Epstein

• Epstein Correcting the Student (14:02):
  “Okay, no more over 24. Sorry for that. You must do as you’re told. Your tendency to add your own thoughts is, is a huge negative in the in biz. I want it in an organized professional form. This is high school level.” — Email from Jeffrey Epstein

• The Price to Pay (15:10):
  “It was the price to pay for Berkeley, I guess... Way better than supplying you ladies.” — Text from the student

• Capucci’s Closing Note (15:40):
  “If you think that Jeffrey Epstein stopped at this one girl, this one woman, you have not been paying attention.”

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:55 | Introduction to Epstein’s infiltration of academia | | 01:36 | Explanation of Epstein’s recruitment “deal” at Berkeley| | 03:04 | Discovery of payment trail and pattern | | 06:40 | Details from the Daily Californian investigation | | 08:12 | Epstein’s email: “agreement had two sides” | | 13:25 | Epstein’s explicit demand for “candidates” | | 14:02 | Epstein criticizing the student’s recruitment choices | | 15:10 | Student’s WhatsApp admission, “price to pay for Berkeley”|

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Summary

This episode exposes a chilling window into how Jeffrey Epstein used education sponsorships — even at public institutions like UC Berkeley — as recruitment tools for his criminal enterprise. Through Capucci’s narration and direct reading of correspondence, the audience sees how Epstein exploited vulnerable international students, demanding they recruit women as “assistants” in exchange for tuition payments. The host underscores the systemic, manipulative nature of Epstein’s strategies and the disturbing normalization of coercion within academic circles.

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For more details and sources, refer to the episode description box.

Transcript

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Visit your nearby Lowe's Foreign what's up everyone? And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. One of the sectors of society that Jeffrey Epstein loved to infiltrate was academia. And it didn't matter if the school was on the east coast or the west coast or anywhere in between. And we've talked a whole lot about Jeffrey Epstein and his Ivy League adventures at Harvard and Yale. But if you think it stopped there, you have not been paying attention, because now we have records showing us that Jeffrey Epstein was paying for students at Berkeley University as well. And not only that, one of the stipulations was that she had to find Jeffrey Epstein two quote unquote assistance. And considering who we're talking about, that seems to be a bit disturbing assistance. We all know what Jeffrey Epstein's assistants were expected to do. Now, to be clear, the person in this article that they're talking about never ended up being one of Jeffrey Epstein's assistants, if you will, but instead somebody that seems like they got caught up in his web. So let's dive into this article from the Daily Californian and let's see what they have for us. Price to Pay for Berkeley Jeffrey Epstein paid law students tuition in exchange for assistance. This article was authored by Ray Weimer, Eleanor Dalton, Hannah Kamiker. Records show that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein funded a student's UC Berkeley School of Law degree in return for referring female assistants. That is just nefarious as like here, I'm gonna pay for you to go to school, but I need you to refer these women back to me that you meet on campus. That's part of it. And what did he need the women for. We all know, we all know what he needed the women for. And look, one of the main reasons we're even talking about this article is because it offers more proof of what Epstein was up to. This man was recruiting women and everywhere he went and once he got him into his web, the coercion began and it was rinse and repeat. Right? How many times throughout history did Jeffrey Epstein do this same exact scheme? Plenty. That's how many times Jeffrey Epstein paid Berkeley law school a thousand dollar deposit in 2016, according to a March 22American Express Credit card statement. The timing of the payment corresponds with several emails is exchange between Epstein and the law student. The pair communicated frequently from 2015 to 2019, during which the student completed a master of laws from Berkeley's law program and graduated in 2017. And do you think Jeffrey Epstein was doing that out of the kindness of his heart or did he have ulterior motives? He wasn't doing it because he was nice and he wanted this girl to succeed. He was doing it because he wanted something from this girl and it looks like what he was trying to get along with, whatever else was her to help him recruit other girls. And that was the ponzi scheme Epstein was up to. He would coerce these women, get them here from other countries, get them involved in all kinds of immigration fraud, take their passports, put them in that building at East 66 and then make them do whatever he wanted. And we have heard that time and time again from multiple women. According to the emails, the student was already training to be a French barista and was looking to work in the United States. The master of laws is intended to prepare international students for the fundamentals of u. S. Law practice, making them eligible for a u. S. Bar exam. So she was over here from France trying to get her stuff together and become a lawyer here in America, or at the very least be able to take the bar. And who was her benefactor? Well, none other than Jeffrey Epstein. And again, do you think he was doing it out of the kindness of his heart? This man was as transactional as transactional could be. Everything had a price, especially human flesh. A few days prior to the payment on March 15, 2016, Epstein said that he would personally handle the $1,000 deposit. In the same email, Epstein expressed frustration that the student had not supplied him with assistance, insisting it was part of an understanding with with the student when they asked for financial support. Yo, I'm going to give you this dough, but I'm going to need you to bring some women into my web. Now, of course, I'm sure that wasn't the conversation, right. I'm sure Jeffrey Epstein was more convincing and probably pitched something different. But at the end of the day, that's the result, and that's what he wanted. And that's exactly how his operation functioned. It relied on women bringing other women into the spider's web, and it was the same strategy he used with the high school girls. But after he got nailed the first time, Epstein decided to flip the script a bit and start abusing girls from outside of the country. That's the real story. That's what he was doing. Now, does that mean he wasn't abusing people in America? Of course not. He certainly was. But he wised up all these little girls he was bringing in from South America, from Eastern Europe. That was all by design, and it was designed to give him cover and to make sure that he didn't get nailed doing what he was doing. Now that you are a lawyer, I would have thought you recognized that an agreement had two sides, each with its own obligation, Epstein said in the email. The former student declined to comment after a request from the Daily Californian. See, when people decline to comment, it makes it worse for them. Now, of course, this woman is probably somebody who was abused. Let's be honest, okay? Epstein doesn't do anything for free. And maybe she doesn't want to come forward, she doesn't want to talk about it, whatever. That is certainly her prerogative and nobody should force her to do so. But what I will say is this. It fits the pattern, right? This is exactly the sort of shit Epstein was up to. Campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore said UC Berkeley could not comment on individual students due to federal privacy laws, but noted that many students have third party sponsors that pay for tuition and other fees across the campus. Academic programs, which are processed through the standard billing procedure. I don't find anything wrong with that. If you have somebody you want to sponsor and help get through school, cool. But you should be doing it from a place of giving, right? Not from a place of expectation, not from a place of, I'm doing this for you, so I expect this from you. But in Epstein's world, we all know that the abuse was almost mandatory. And Epstein was so adept at doing it and normalizing it that some of these women didn't even realize they were being abused. Years of correspondence with Epstein from 2015 to 2017 detail the student's application process, deferral and attendance at Berkeley Law. Documents show Epstein provided financial support in exchange for Recommendation of assistance referred to as girls. Oh, I'm sure. Emails included photos of candidates, their names, and descriptions of a number of girls from New York, Paris, Zurich and Monaco. That all tracks exactly what Epstein was looking for. Bring somebody over here, control their whole life, and then mold them. That's what he wanted to do. Same thing he did with Nadia right now. Some of these girls, these women were overage. There's no doubt about it. Epstein wasn't only trafficking young girls. That was what he liked. That was his proclivity. But if he can control somebody and get them as part of the operation, he's cool with that too. Their correspondence began in 2011, but it was not until 2014 that their emails first mentioned Berkeley Law. If your company could invest in my education at Berkeley or we can make an agreement and I will work for one of your companies upon my completion, the student wrote in an email dated December 2014. Talk about walking into the mouth of the beast. Good lord, this poor woman. In January 2015, the student asked for an official contract with Epstein that guaranteed a commitment of $25,000 in tuition payment from his foundation before applying to the program. I can work for you as a lawyer with pleasure, after you know it, the student said in the January 2015 email. Honestly, though, as bad as I feel for the student, she should have known better. Here, Epstein was already a convicted sex offender. You're not going to google your patron. You have no idea who he is. Look, there has to be some self responsibility in life and you have to take ownership of the decisions you make. And if this woman led anybody into the clutches of Jeffrey Epstein, she should have to answer for it.

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Visit your nearby Lowe's. Upon acceptance into the Master of Laws program, the student deferred their attendance for a year after a job offer for from a Swiss bank, according to emails forwarded to Epstein between the student and the admissions manager at Berkeley Law. After agreeing to make the deferral payment as requested by Berkeley Law, Epstein assured the student they did not need to repay him for the tuition. In 2016, a series of emails from Bella Klein, one of Epstein's former accountants, to the student show that Epstein made about $2,700 worth of payments to to campus residential and student service programs for summer session housing. The student said over emails Epstein would pay for their schooling through his self titled foundation, the Jeffrey Epstein Foundation. And I'm sure he just did that because he wanted to, right? Epstein expected nothing in return. He wasn't a transactional guy. He wasn't parasitic. Their communications in 2017 points toward a more explicit expectation of recommending assistance, with Epstein writing, I'm not against helping you. However, you must produce two candidates with your full recommendation and then I will help. So in other words, two girls for me to abuse and then I'll give you some money. So this woman, if she did that, she's part of the plot, right? And she was obviously over 18. So let me take back my statement I just made a second ago about poor woman. If she brought anybody to Jeffrey Epstein and those people were abused, she should be held accountable. That's how I feel. That's my opinion. Anybody who is over 18 who work with Jeffrey Epstein should be investigated. And if there's enough there, they should be indicted. And then if a jury finds them guilty, they should be convicted. I know crazy stuff, right? Epstein later chastised the student after she recommended a 28 year old assistant. In the email, Epstein said the student was not meeting his requirements, to which the student replied with okay, no more over 24. Sorry for that. You must do as you're told. Your tendency to add your own thoughts is, is a huge negative in the in biz, Epstein said in an email reply. I want it in an organized professional form. I know your work can be better than you have led me to believe. This is high school level. So absolutely admonishing her for bringing him a woman who is too old. That's what it comes down to. That's why he was mad. This sick degenerate bastard. After her graduation in 2017, Epstein and the student remained in contact, continuing their communication via email and WhatsApp. Epstein helped the student prepare for the California Bar, and documents indicate that he funded their preparatory course prior to taking the exam in 2019. The student shared via WhatsApp how the work they had done for Epstein negatively impacted their reputation in Swiss investment bank they previously worked at and other Swiss circles. The student described their work for Epstein as a side gig recruiting for a businessman in New York. Okay, she needs to be brought in, investigated, whatever. A side gig recruiting for a businessman in New York. Admitting it, huh? Okay, it was the price to pay for Berkeley, I guess the suit, the student said in a text message. And I don't judge or complain. Hire me as a lawyer, paralegal at some point. Way better than supplying you ladies. And unfortunately folks, this is just one of many of these types of stories and when it comes to the girls with no names, forget it. I'm guessing that there is many, many cases such as this and probably even more extreme because if you think that Jeffrey Epstein stopped at this one girl, this one woman, you have not been paying attention. All right folks, that's going to do it for this one. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.

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