‘Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich’: Farmer sisters were lured by promises of good college, Thailand trip and jobs
Investigative journalist Vicky Ward, in 2003, was handed a reporting assignment by her then-boss, former Editor-in-Chief of Variety Magazine Graydon Carter. He wanted her to explore the social life of Jeffrey Epstein. The millionaire financier was known as a private guy, a single, good-looking, Gatsby-like mysterious man. He used to manage billionaires' money for a living and socialized with influential people, including Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and famous academicians. There was, however, one thing distinct about Epstein in his social circles: He was always surrounded with young, beautiful women.
Ward was not certain of Epstein's dating life, but one woman was widely known to be his supposed girlfriend: Oxford-educated, witty, and funny Ghislaine Maxwell. They were seen together at most parties in New York. "She was a great connector for Jeffrey," Ward said.
As Ward began working on her assignment and started digging into the millionaire's life, she found a cesspool she had not accounted for. Red flags were beginning to pile up and there were whisperings of sexual abuse of minors. It was clear to Ward that her story was not going to be just a business piece.
Maria Farmer, a senior year student at New York Academy of Art was preparing for her graduation night in 1995. It was the night of an art show at the institute, where she would get to exhibit her Alice in Wonderland series paintings. The dean of students at the time, Eileen Guggenheim, was running the event. It was a lucky night for Maria, all three of her paintings sold, one for $14,000, and the other two for $12,000 apiece. She was exhilarated. That is when Guggenheim approached her and said that a couple was interested in buying her paintings. When she explained to Guggenheim that her paintings were already sold, the dean pressured her into telling the other clients that the paintings weren't available. Guggenheim said that the couple were "very important benefactors of the academy" and her "dearest friends." The pair was Epstein and Maxwell. Maria ultimately had to sell her paintings, with a discount of $6,000. She was disheartened, but Epstein told her: "Don't worry, we will make it worth your while."
Maria did not hear from Epstein for a month or so until one day she received a call from him. The financier had acquired a mansion on 71st street, and wanted her to work for him. He offered her a job of managing the door as decorators and visitors went in and out of the mansion. It was a well-paying job, she accepted. One day at work, Epstein asked Maria about her siblings. She told him about her two younger sisters, particularly 16-year-old Annie, who was in her junior year of college and hoped to get into an Ivy League. Epstein extended his help and told Maria that her sister should get in touch with him for any assistance to get into a good college.
Annie called Epstein, and he proposed that she should go on an international trip, likely to Thailand and Vietnam to boost her resume. The financier told the 16-year-old that it would offer her a new perspective and that he would pay for the trip. Annie felt grateful to Epstein for the offer considering the trip was expensive. she began looking forward to her first international trip that summer.
Days went by, and one day the financier suggested to Annie that she should come and meet him at his ranch in New Mexico. The teen thought there were going to be other students like her there, but eventually she found out she was alone, except for Maxwell and Epstein. Maxwell, in a conversation, asked Annie if she had ever had a professional massage. The 16-year-old had not and Maxwell urged her to get one there. She asked the teen to undress and began massaging her. "Because of the layout of the house and open doors, I knew that Epstein could see me. My breasts were exposed. It was inappropriate," Annie said.
"The scariest moment was over the weekend when he came to my bedroom in the morning and said that he would like to cuddle," she added. " He crawled into the bed with me. He was touching me, I don't remember how long it lasted." Annie took a hold of herself and made an excuse to go to the bathroom, and did not come out for a long time.
"I was very scared. I didn't even tell my closest friends, or Maria or my mother," she later said. The teen wanted to put the incident behind her and was looking forward to her Thailand trip.
A year later, with Annie in Thailand, Epstein offered to help Maria with her career. He offered her artist-in-residency at his New Albany, Ohio, mansion. The 26,000 square feet sprawling mansion was just behind billionaire Wex Lesner's house. Maria was thrilled to take the job. She began working on her paintings as soon as she arrived. she had themed her paintings on voyeuristic moments of girls, which included stills of nude women. Maria, at the time, used pictures of her two sisters as models. Some time went by, and one day Epstein and Maxwell paid her a visit there. Maria was working on her painting that night when Maxwell approached her and said Epstein would like his feet rubbed. It appeared inappropriate to Maria, but she did not want that couple to feel like she was ungrateful.
She was massaging Epstein's feet when suddenly the financier and Maxwell began touching her inappropriately. "It didn't feel right, I had some tears in my eyes," Maria said. "I had escaped my body at that moment." At some point, Maria sprung up and ran into her room, she barricaded her door with furniture and didn't come out until next morning. The pair had gone by then. When she went to her art room, she realized that three pictures of her sisters had been stolen.
"I was freaking out. I called Annie and asked her if anything had happened to her at the New Mexico ranch," Maria said. She assured the teen that she would not have to deal with Epstein anymore. The sisters, however, were particularly upset about the stolen pictures, which included one of their younger sister who was just 12 when the photos were taken.
Epstein called Maria the next day and pretended that the last night was fun for him. When she did not reciprocate her enthusiasm, he offered her money to advance her career. Maria hung up and left for New York, where she approached the New York Police Department (NYPD) and told them everything. The department, however, brushed her grievance off, saying that the incidents did not happen in their jurisdictions. They told her to approach the FBI, and she did. However, that did not work out either. An agent took detailed accounts of her complaint but never reached back.
Losing all hope, the sisters remained silent for years until 2003. They thought they could never fight back. However, when journalist Ward approached them for an interview, they agreed. After taking their account, Ward had to approach Epstein for his side of the narrative. The financier, however, brushed the sisters' claims and said that these women were infatuated with him.
And he particularly said to Ward: "Well Vicky, if I don't like this piece, it's going to be bad for you and your family," the journalist recalled. She added that she was pregnant with twins at the time, and Epstein knew. He said: "When are you giving birth? I know all the doctors and hospitals. If I don't like your piece, I'm going to have a witch doctor place a curse on your unborn children." This scared Ward.
Shortly after this the Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief found a severed cat head in his garden, and a bullet on his doorstep. Graydon Carter was scared too. And then suddenly, Ward received a call from her immediate editor, saying that the sisters' account was to be taken out of the story. Carter reportedly had said: "I believe Epstein."
"I think Vanity Fair just got bought off by Epstein," Ward said, adding that she cried a lot. She thought the bravery of the sisters had been a waste. "He was the ultimate story of abuse of power and money." It was later revealed that the Farmer sisters were just the tip of the iceberg.
Netflix's 'Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich' premieres May 27.