Epstein plea deal mechanics, alleged journal sale, and related fraud cases

prosecute him (with the possibility of a 10-year sentence) and various friends, associates, and lovers, or offers what seems to be unprecedented deal in which Epstein’s lawyers (not federal prosecutors, but Epstein’s lawyers, in some ultimate act of self incrimination) have to go to the Palm Beach authorities and convince them to up the charges to an offense that will send him to jail and get him a sex offender status. Except that a solicitation charge won’t produce that result. Therefore he has to agree to a procurement or pimping charge (even though he has paid money, not received it—the sine qua non of pimping). What’s more, in a unique, if not unprecedented arrangement, he has to agree to pay the legal fees of any of the girls who want to sue him—and, not to defend himself from their suits—forcing him to settle with each of the girls for what are reportedly high 6-figure sums or more. He’s sentence to jail in 2008 for 18 months and serves 13 (while Epstein is now frequently accused of somehow managing to cut short his sentence, almost all Florida prisoners serve only 70% of their officially sentenced time). Jail hardly ends the legal catch all. Epstein's butler, Alfredo Rodriguez, steals and tries to sell an alleged journal or calendar with Epstein’s activities—but he tries to sell it to an undercover agent. Rodriguez is sentenced to 18 months in jail on a charge of theft and of withholding evidence (it is not so much a journal as a list of phone numbers, which were apparently collected or saved by Rod Rodriguez; all of this material was subsequently included in a court filing by Edwards). Scott Rothstein, a lawyer whose firm represented additional girls in their suits against Epstein, also goes to jail for recruiting investors to pay for these suits on the fraudulent basis that settlements had already been reached. It’s the largest fraud in Florida history and Rothstein receives a 50-year sentence. Then, Brad Edwards, Rothstein’s former partner, sues the federal government in 2008 for abridging the rights of two of the original complainants under the Crime Victim Rights Act (giving victims the right to be consulted about the disposition of their cases) regarding the Justice Departments agreement not to prosecute in favor of the state action. In 2014, Edwards tries to ad [REDACTED], another of the original complainants, who has previously settled with Epstein, to the long-running suit. Roberts who was paid a settlement under the original terms of Epstein’s agreement— that he would pay attorney’s fees and not oppose any law suits against him—is now trying to overturn the agreement under which she was paid, and, with Edwards, further suing Epstein for $50,000,000. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_022763