← The Epstein Chronicles
The Epstein Chronicles
Lesley Groff and the Administrative Backbone of Epstein’s World (Part 2) (5/29/26)
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Lesley Groff was Jeffrey Epstein’s longest-serving and most senior assistant, working for him from 2001 until his 2019 arrest, and the newly examined records place her closer to his daily life than almost anyone else in the Epstein files. Her name...
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What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to pick up where we left off talking about Leslie Groff once again. This article was published by the Guardian and the author is Sophie Elmhurst. By 2015, Groff was earning $140,000 a year and had been given several bonuses, the Florida trip, and approval to buy a new car worth up to $45,000. She was able to buy, rebuild and decorate a white clapboard house in the town of new canon, Connecticut, now estimated to be worth around $5 million. Yeah, she had nothing to do with Epstein though, right? She didn't enrich herself from ill gotten gains or anything like that. Everything's on the up and up, right? She made all that money on her own though. Her emails also revealed she and Ike had to take out a large construction loan from the bank to do the work. In 2016, she emailed Ike to tell him her salary had gone up to 150,000, but plus a $7,500 bonus check. Not bad and mentioned the loan she was going to take out with Epstein makes me happy. So really what it comes down to is she's willing to turn a blind eye because she's benefiting so greatly. Now of course the problem is proving that legally and the way to do that would have been rico. But since they didn't do that, it's gonna be rough. And that, my friends, has always been part of of the bigger problem. Them controlling this story and controlling the blast radius. Groff seemed to sense limits to Epstein's generosity. He was not a cash cow, or at least the money he gave was on his terms. Ahead of a family mini break in New York, Ike suggested she asked Epstein to get them tickets for a show. The cost would mean nothing to Epstein, but Groff felt she couldn't justify and asking for $500 Hamilton seats and wondered if she could swing dear Evan Hansen instead. When Groff got her raise to $140,000 in 2014, Ike, who worked for Tourmaline Partners, a trading firm, joked that he could retire. Ha. Please don't do that, Groff replied. She was well paid, but always aware that she lived in a different economic reality to her boss. In her FBI interview, Groff, Groff recalled seeing an invoice of a carpet for his aeroplane that amounted to more than she earned in a year. Well, yeah, you're working for a guy that has billions. Oh, I know. They'll say he only had 500 million. Yeah, that you could track. Do you really think a guy like Jeffrey Epstein didn't have any kind of secret backup accounts all over the damn world? In my opinion, he most certainly did. Croft's emails were a full of celebrities and and their staff. There was Amanda, who assisted the then Duchess of York, Bill Gates, Lauren, Larry Summers, Julie, Woody Allen's Catherine and Ginny. She had to check the timing of a meeting with Naomi Campbell, who signed off her emails love and light. And it was Groff's job to figure out which car the Duke should be picked up in and what Woody Allen and Soon Yi would like for dinner. Woody would like chicken dumplings with. With cilantro piri piri chicken wings. I would love grilled asparagus gome, whatever the that is. Eggplant shishisto miso honey and shrimp tempura and seasoned vegetables, confirmed Soon Yi, whose emails from her phone were accompanied by the red balloon emoji, given each an error of minor celebration. And it kind of gives you an inside look right at just how connected Epstein was. And all these people that previously told us that they didn't know him and intimately have been outed by the emails. Privy to so much detail. The terms of Groff's job were strict. She told the FBI that when she was hired by Epstein, she had to sign a non disclosure agreement. If she ever spoke about anything she learned from people he had worked with, she would have to pay a hundred thousand dollars. Early on, Maxwell had told her she was here to work, not to chat or fraternize with anyone she met through her job and including Epstein. If, for example, she bought tickets for Epstein to see a movie, she knew not to ask him if he enjoyed the movie the next day. Yo, I can never work for somebody like that. I'm sorry the money is not enough. Imagine having a boss where you can't even ask him if he enjoyed his movie Absurd. Groff was expected to maintain the facade that she knew nothing to no one. In her first month on the job, she told the FBI she was invited to a party through work and went along with her husband, disobeying the non fraternizing rule. Epstein found out and torched her. The following Monday, he told her he was going to fire her, put her on a probation. Grof never did anything like it again. Mistakes, she learned, were not tolerated. And look, I understand that people have bills, they have responsibilities, families, kids, the whole thing. But at what point do you say enough is enough? And at what point do you realize that the person you're working for is an absolute piece of shit? Not once Grof told the FBI did she have normal conversations with Epstein. Instead, he would issue one line, decisions, yes, no, pay it burgers. And Grof would reply with a quick, chirpy confirmation, will do. Epstein knew that he could rely on her to do anything fast and well. When an employee offered a litany of excuses as to why they'd fail to ship a painting from Paris to New York, Epstein replied with a single line, give the job to Leslie. Thanks. When Leslie went on holiday, she reassured Epstein that she would have her BlackBerry with her. Well, that's pretty common. Honestly. When I was in the corporate rat race, when I got a vacation, which was very rare, I had three phones with me, I had two work phones, and then I had my personal cell phone, and I hated every minute of it. And now that I'm not beholden to that stupid ass phone, I very rarely ever answer it. So I understand that part of it. I hated it so much, it was like, attached to me. And if you didn't answer a call or you missed a call, forget it. He replied by instructing her where she needed to be on the date of her return. 71st on the 20th, meaning his house Groth. Of course, I can't wait. Over time, I began to recognize the tone of Grof's emails to Epstein. They reminded me of the kinds of messages I sent in my first jobs at the lowest level of institutions, where I still naively thought the good behavior would be noticed and rewarded. It's the tone of service, of knowing your place and being eager to please, often used by junior women to senior men. It's also the tone of a perfectionist, of someone trying to create an impression of flawlessness, where everything is possible and nothing is too much. You'll do all that is asked of you and more, running as consistently and indefeatingly as A machine. And crucially, you will never say no. Well, yeah, that's pretty much the job, right? I mean, I don't understand what she means. If you're a junior manager of any sort of, you're gonna be jumping through hoops. And I think the most thankless job in the whole entire world is middle management. You get all the blame, all the responsibility, half the pay and all the stress. The colleague who failed to ship the painting confided in Grof about Epstein. It's been tough with him. I'll bet, replied groff sympathetically. In 2014, Grof exchanged emails with a colleague who had just been on the receiving end of an Epstein email, which was worse than ever. Swearing and telling me I'm a disgrace. He literally has never been this bad, which is saying a lot. Grof tried to offer some support, then suggested that the person take the bull by the horns and go. They were grateful for her encouragement. It really helps. Groff, for some reason never followed her own advice. For some reason. How about financial reasons? That's why she didn't follow her own advice. The last thing she wanted to do was lose out on that money. And we all know people who do some wild for some dough, sell crack to their family, whatever money makes people do. All kinds of wild. Groff's emails inviting girls, her word to see Epstein all followed a particular pattern. Often the arrangement involved a negotiation around the timing of their job or classes and college. Tuesday I'm at school till 10. We have orchestra rehearsal for a concert on Friday. Groff would also receive emails from intermediaries on behalf of other girls. She can skip some classes and leave school at 1pm If Jeffrey wants her at 3:30, she can make it. Grof replied. Okay, all good to know. I'll let JE decide. Thanks. This is where Groff has a problem. These kids, these people, some of them were kids, were being managed by Grof. She was the one that was setting up the meetings. She's the one that's emailing them and leading them directly into the belly of the beast. That, my friends, is being part of the criminal enterprise. And you can say you didn't know, but being ignorant of a crime doesn't mean that you're innocent of it sometimes. Grof struggled to find someone Epstein had requested. Jeffrey thinks I should have her info, but. But I can't find any. Whose friend is she? Do you know sometimes she would try to predict her boss's requirements? What does JE want to see in Paris? Is that redacted? Do one of you know, her colleagues replied, I think possible redacted. We always see her in Paris. Once she spent the day emailing back and forth with someone in Russia, trying to fix a time for her to see Epstein before realizing that he had meant a a different person with the same name. So no worries. Talk to you next week. And here's a big problem for Grof. If the girls were coming from overseas, Grof organized their air travel visas and accommodation. That makes her part of it. Smack dab in the middle. Juliet Bryant told me, a survivor who had met Epstein in South Africa and then spent two years in New York after Epstein had promised her a modeling career. Epstein would never contact Brian directly, but Groff would ring often, say, hi, Juliet, it's Leslie, then put Epstein on the line. She seemed friendly, said Bryant, but they never spoke much more than the top of the tail of a call. She only met Groff once. Surely Brian thought Groff must have been aware that something wasn't right. If I'd been working in that office, I'd have found it odd, she said, when all the young girls coming and going look 100%. And I agree with Juliet. But how do we prove that? Remember, it's not what we know, it's what we can prove. And I think a lot of people have forgotten that. So the only way to get to the bottom of it, the only way to prove it, is to charge all of these people with rico.
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Then that gives the government the tools they need to really dig into their lives. But unfortunately, that's not going to happen. The rotating cast of girls generated another layer of administration. Grof returned their lost property. Please check for a green bikini, kind of jungle print in one of the drawers. The girl who was there last thinks she left it in the drawer. She arranged their payments in cash, usually between 550 and a thousand one specifically for time spent on the island. She would arrange appointments for them at his preferred New York dentist, Thomas Magnani, and hair salon Frederick Fakai. And sometimes for herself. In 2018, Grof had a haircut, highlights, manicure and eyebrow wax worth $825. And if you're wondering why she didn't want to leave Epstein, there it is. Who wants to give up those perks? 825 bucks? I mean, come on, it's like rent. Once, when Epstein's accountants questioned the payment to a cosmetic vein specialist and suggested a name of who the treatment should have been for, Grof responded, gosh, I really don't know. She seems too young for that. Well, that's damning. But sure, Grof had no idea. Leslie Grof just, you know, somebody at work doing her job. No idea the evil she's working with. And for does anyone really believe that Grof was not the only assistant to arrange these appointments? Rinna O, an Epstein survivor, told me that different secretaries communicated with certain girls, but they always followed the same script. Mr. Epstein would like to make an appointment to see you. He's going to be in New York on such and such dates. Are you available to see him at 2pm Then I would have to confirm. And then she would write it in the calendar. Grof's emails to girls on Epstein's behalf were typically formal and careful in their language and brightened tone. But the reply she received could be unpredictable. On May 5, 2014, an email arrived from a girl who told her that her friend would not be available to see Jeffrey on May 8th. But I can bring another girl if Jeffrey want to let me know. Grof sent the email to Epstein below from redacted. Please advise literally setting it up, literally culpable, at least in my opinion. And I think the evidence is right here. The emails, that paper trail of emails that lead directly back to Leslie Grof setting up these girls with Jeffrey Epstein. That's a big problem. Or should be if we had a real investigation. Sometimes the emails came with photographs attached. On April 8, 2012, someone emailed apologizing for a delay and sent pictures of two friends, both Russians. No worries. Thanks, replied Grof. On May 1, 2012, a person emailed to check if Grof had received a new photo. Grof hadn't, so they sent it again with the subject line redacted from Ukraine. Darling, here's the picture of a new girl. She's 21, very sweet and lovely. Let me know you received them, please. I took them from her portfolio. So maybe the quality is not so good, but I think you can still see everything. Grof sent the email to Epstein without comment. And look, people will say she was of age, that's true, but does that mean she couldn't be trafficked? I think people need to understand that even if you're an adult, you can be manipulated and trafficked. Now, it's a lot harder to prove without a doubt, but to act like it can't happen or doesn't happen is completely ridiculous. Groff also fielded the girl's questions and concerns. After arranging an appointment with a girl and her friend to see Epstein on the evening of 21st October 2011, she received the following email from the girl at 3:45pm that day. Hey, Leslie, my friend just got back and I spoke to her about tonight. She has never done anything of this sort before and is a little nervous about the whole thing. I don't know what Jeffrey has planned for tonight, but is it okay if they just met this time? She would really feel more comfortable that way. If Jeffrey would rather not, it's okay, let me know. Groff responded you. He says of course you can just stop by. So what exactly did Leslie Grof think was going down? Did she think they were coming over to talk about the stock market or get advice on their tax planning, like Leon Black? Because I have to tell you, the optics here are not good. And when it comes to Leslie Grof and her narrative of not knowing, I find that harder to believe by the day. Because when you look at the emails and you look at all of the evidence that has been produced and, and what everybody has said about who's invited them to Epstein's house, who managed it, in my opinion, I don't know, is not good enough. And hopefully when Leslie Groff is speaking in front of Congress, they drill down a little bit and try to get to the bottom of it. All right, folks, we're going to wrap up this episode right here and in the next episode, we're going to pick up where we left off. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.