The short version
- A survivor claims MC2 Model Management sent her to photoshoots at Jeffrey Epstein’s home while he was serving a sentence, arguing the agency failed its duty of care.
- Department of Justice files reveal financial ties between Epstein and model agencies, as well as communications suggesting executives were aware of his activities.
- New York lawmakers are proposing legislation to expand police powers in investigating alleged enablers, challenging previous federal statements that no further action was warranted.
A woman who says she was raped by Jeffrey Epstein has accused the president of a major model agency of putting her in danger by sending her to photoshoots at the convicted sex offender’s Florida residence. Roza, who was eighteen years old and had recently arrived in the United States from Uzbekistan, states that MC2 Model Management’s US branch arranged for her to travel to Epstein’s Palm Beach home in 2009. At that time, Epstein was serving a jail sentence for sex offenses against a minor but was permitted to work from his residence during the day.
Roza contends that the agency knew precisely where she was going and failed to protect her. She points to an expense statement indicating that Jeff Fuller, then president of MC2’s US branch and now head of The Source Models, booked her flight home after a second shoot. Fuller has previously denied knowing Roza was being abused or even aware she was visiting Epstein’s property. He has not responded to recent allegations from the BBC World Service.
The survivor describes the photoshoots as unusual, noting that there was no professional photographer or stylist present. Instead, Epstein’s girlfriend at the time, Nadia Marcinko, was behind the camera. Roza says the images were never used and believes the events were staged by Epstein and MC2 to facilitate his abuse. She later became an assistant to Epstein, a role other survivors have described as a common ruse used by the financier to recruit young women for exploitation.
Documents released by the US Department of Justice show that ten models from MC2 met or communicated with Epstein after his conviction. The files also reveal that Epstein gave $1 million to MC2 in 2005, despite agency owners telling a publication two years later that he had no involvement in their business. An email from Fuller to Epstein in 2012 highlights the close relationship between the agency and the financier, with Fuller writing that he would have fired a model months earlier had it not been for Epstein’s intervention.
Beyond MC2, investigations have raised questions about the roles of other industry figures, including former agent Ramsey Elkholy and agency director Faith Kates. DOJ files indicate Elkholy attempted to connect thirty-four women with Epstein, including an eighteen-year-old still in school. One woman described how she was introduced to Epstein through an assistant who befriended her, leading to sexual abuse at his New York townhouse when she was nineteen.
Sigrid McCawley, lead lawyer for more than one hundred of Epstein’s victims, argues that model agencies were instrumental in Epstein’s operations. She notes that scouts identified the specific type of women Epstein preferred, facilitating a high volume of victims. The dissolution of MC2’s US branch shortly after Epstein’s second arrest in 2019 and Fuller’s subsequent launch of The Source Models, which absorbed fifty former MC2 models, has drawn scrutiny.
New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie is challenging a previous DOJ statement that no evidence warranted further investigation into uncharged third parties. He has proposed new sex trafficking legislation designed to give police greater authority to investigate Epstein’s alleged enablers. Myrie argues that individuals who knew or should have known about the abuse must be held accountable.
Sara Ziff, founder of the Model Alliance, supports efforts to increase protections for models in the industry. She asserts that agencies often serve as the link between models and predatory men, highlighting systemic failures within the fashion world. As legal and legislative pressures mount, the focus remains on whether those who facilitated Epstein’s access to young women will face consequences for their actions.
Sources behind this briefing
Go to the original reporting
- BBC World↗Epstein associate who still runs model agency 'put me in danger' says abuse survivor
