Les Wexner: FBI Co-Conspirator, Never Charged

Leslie Wexner, the billionaire founder of L Brands — the parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works — has emerged as one of the most significant figures in the Epstein files released under the 2025 Transparency Act. An FBI internal document dated August 15, 2019, drafted by the Criminal Investigative Division shortly after Epstein's death, labeled Wexner an 'unindicted co-conspirator' in the sex trafficking investigation, though the document noted 'limited evidence' supported the designation.

The Revelation: Named on the House Floor

The Wexner designation became public in February 2026 when the DOJ unredacted portions of the FBI document. Rep. Ro Khanna, who spent two hours reviewing unredacted files at the DOJ alongside Rep. Thomas Massie, named Wexner on the House floor as one of six men whose identities had been redacted from the Epstein files 'for no apparent reason.'

Of the six names Khanna read aloud, he later walked back four — Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonid Leonov, and Nicola Caputo were determined to be part of a photo lineup with no actual Epstein connection. Two names with documented connections remained: Wexner and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the CEO of Dubai Ports World, who is mentioned over 4,700 times in the released files.

Two Decades of Financial Entanglement

The Wexner-Epstein relationship, which lasted from approximately 1987 to 2007, was one of the most unusual partnerships in American finance. Epstein managed Wexner's estimated $15 billion fortune, operating from a Manhattan townhouse that Wexner owned and eventually transferred to Epstein. The nature of their arrangement — in which a college dropout with no formal financial credentials managed the wealth of one of America's richest men — has long puzzled investigators and financial analysts.

Wexner is referenced nearly 200 times across the released files. The documents show that Wexner accused Epstein of misappropriating funds, and the two reached a reported $100 million settlement in 2008, with Epstein paying Wexner. Despite this enormous sum and the implicit admission of financial wrongdoing, no criminal charges related to the misappropriation were ever filed.

• Wexner and Epstein's financial relationship lasted approximately 20 years (1987-2007)
• Epstein managed Wexner's estimated $15 billion fortune from a Wexner-owned townhouse
• Wexner accused Epstein of misappropriating funds; $100 million settlement reached in 2008
• FBI labeled Wexner an 'unindicted co-conspirator' in August 2019 internal document
• Referenced nearly 200 times in the released Epstein files
• An Assistant U.S. Attorney told Wexner's lawyers in 2019 he was neither a co-conspirator nor target

Congressional Deposition Looms

Wexner has been scheduled for a sworn deposition before the House Oversight Committee on February 18, 2026. Separately, a judge has also ordered Wexner to testify in an Ohio State University abuse survivors' lawsuit, a case unrelated to Epstein but part of a broader pattern of legal scrutiny surrounding the billionaire.

Wexner has never been charged with any crime related to Epstein and has consistently denied knowledge of Epstein's criminal activities. His legal team has emphasized that the 'unindicted co-conspirator' label in the FBI document was an internal classification, not a formal legal determination, and that an Assistant U.S. Attorney confirmed in 2019 that Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor a target of the investigation.

The Broader Pattern of Untouchable Patrons

The Victoria's Secret Connection

The relationship between Wexner and Epstein had direct implications for Wexner's business empire. Epstein reportedly used his connection to Wexner and Victoria's Secret as a recruiting tool, telling young women that he could help them become models for the brand. Multiple victims have described being lured with promises of modeling opportunities connected to Victoria's Secret. The extent to which Wexner knew about or facilitated this use of his brand remains a central question in the investigation.

Wexner ultimately sold Victoria's Secret in 2021 for approximately $525 million, with the Epstein association widely cited as a factor that damaged the brand's value and public image. The sale came after years of declining sales and mounting controversy, with the Epstein connection serving as a persistent cloud over the company's reputation. Internal L Brands documents and employee accounts suggest that concerns about Epstein's access to Victoria's Secret models and events had been raised within the company for years before the full scope of his crimes became public knowledge, though Wexner has denied awareness of any inappropriate conduct.

The Wexner revelations fit within a larger pattern that has defined the Epstein case: wealthy and powerful individuals who maintained close, financially complex relationships with Epstein yet faced no criminal consequences even as evidence of his crimes accumulated over decades. The gap between the FBI's internal assessment — labeling Wexner a co-conspirator — and the prosecution's decision to never pursue charges exemplifies the two-tiered justice system that Epstein's case has come to symbolize.