A former aide to Jeffrey Epstein has alleged that the disgraced financier used cash payments and Disney tickets to secure special treatment while in jail.
The fresh claims, made years after Epstein's death, have renewed scrutiny of the extraordinary privileges he reportedly enjoyed behind bars and raised fresh questions about whether prison officials helped him evade the restrictions faced by other inmates.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Jeffrey Epstein's former right-hand woman, Sarah Kellen, has linked the disgraced sex trafficker's unusually lenient custody conditions at the Palm Beach County jail to illicit financial payouts directed at local sheriff's deputies.
Allegations of Jailhouse Bribery
During a congressional hearing before the House Oversight Committee last month, lawmakers pressed Kellen on the illicit privileges Epstein enjoyed whilst serving his 2008 to 2009 sentence at the Palm Beach County Stockade.
She recounted making multiple visits to the facility, noting that on one occasion Epstein even managed to contact her at home via Skype using a prison computer.
In a striking admission, Kellen testified that the serial abuser used the jail computer to pressure her into stripping on camera while he remained locked inside the facility.
Florida Democrat Max Frost, who represents the Orlando district, then pressed Kellen on whether she was aware of alternative avenues through which Epstein managed to engineer his preferential treatment behind bars.
According to a transcript of the proceedings, Kellen recalled that Epstein arranged for cash and 'Disneyland tickets' to be delivered to a specific official, though she remained uncertain about what he received in return.
'I know that he arranged to have cash and, like, Disneyland tickets, taken to one of the officers in the jail and I'm not sure what he received with that,' Kellen said.
She subsequently named Palm Beach sheriff's deputy Michael Fox as the recipient of the alleged bribes.
When questioned about how she discovered Fox's involvement, Kellen explained that the arrangement came to light when Epstein's paralegal, Story Cowles, grumbled about having to travel a significant distance to hand-deliver the money and theme park passes on behalf of their employer.
Sheriff's Office Denies Misconduct
A representative for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Fox stepped down from his role at the department in 2020.
Palm Beach Sheriff's Office representative Therese Barbera said the allegations never came to light during the initial inquiry into the financier.
'The Epstein investigation did not reveal these allegations, and they were never investigated in connection with that case.'
Barbera also pointed to a 2021 inquiry by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which cleared all agency personnel of misconduct.
'After an extensive investigation, FDLE determined that there was NO inappropriate or criminal activity on the part of any PBSO member with respect to their participation in Epstein's work release or the permit detail.'
She concluded that the department has no intention of revisiting the matter following that review.
'The investigation is complete.'
The Mechanics of Work Release
Long-standing questions have surrounded the mechanism by which Epstein, a convicted sex offender, secured a work-release arrangement that permitted him to leave the facility for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week, to visit his private office.
Defending the decision, Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who has held the county's top law enforcement post for more than 40 years, maintained that the financier fully satisfied the eligibility criteria governing the programme at the time.
Former deputy sheriff Michael Gauger, the official overseeing the facility during Epstein's incarceration, admitted to the Herald that he had harboured deep concerns regarding the potential vulnerability of his staff, given the financier's well-established track record of exploiting wealth and status to manipulate his circumstances.
He said he had been 'concerned' that deputies could fall under the billionaire's sway.
Reacting to Kellen's claims regarding Fox, Gauger admitted: 'I was afraid that that would happen. [Epstein] was so smooth. He was trying to hook me in, and that wasn't going to happen.'
The former supervisor noted that the financier's deceptive nature made the allegation highly plausible, adding: 'It wouldn't surprise me at all because of how manipulative he was.'
Whilst maintaining that he was entirely unaware of whether the alleged bribery attempts bore fruit at the time, he emphasised the severe institutional consequences of such a breach.
'If that had come out, he would have been put in isolation and lost his privileges.'
Gauger explained that the department ultimately granted the work-release privilege because its own legal team warned that Epstein's lawyers would easily win a lawsuit to secure it.
The former supervisor recalled the internal panic over a potential legal battle, stating: 'Our lawyers said, "We are going to lose this." Our attorneys told Bradshaw we aren't going to win this.'
Internal Influence and Manipulation
Justice Department records reveal that in 2009, Epstein used his sex therapist, Dr Stephen Alexander, to contact Gauger mid-sentence.
Under a federal plea deal, the financier avoided heavier charges by pleading guilty to two state-level solicitation counts, resulting in an 18-month term at the Palm Beach facility.
In exchange, Epstein secured federal immunity for his sex-trafficking crimes.
He served just 13 months, spending the vast majority of that time on work release at his West Palm Beach office and residing in a private wing of the county stockade rather than in the general jail population.
Gauger said Epstein earned gain time for 'good behaviour' and denied any known favouritism from staff.
Still, records show Epstein's business, the Florida Science Foundation, paid the department roughly $130,000 (£96,874.05) to cover overtime costs for about 90 deputies assigned to monitor his work release.
According to department records, those deputies were instructed to wear suits and address Epstein as their 'client'.
Gauger frequently rotated the assigned staff to prevent the financier from gaining undue influence over any single individual.
Gauger also admitted that the financier successfully persuaded him — then second-in-command — to meet for lunch and attend a dinner at his mansion in September 2009 while Epstein was on post-release house arrest.
Gauger justified the meetings by claiming Epstein offered intelligence regarding potential guard misconduct at the jail.
However, Gauger noted that nothing came of the tip and said he could not recall any other details of their conversations.
