Billionaire Leslie Wexner on Wednesday accused his former money manager Jeffrey Epstein of misappropriating millions of his fortune.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Wexner, the billionaire behind Victoria’s Secret, issued a statement to members of the Wexner Foundation, alleging that more than $46 million of his family’s fortune was uncovered after the L Brands CEO decided to cut ties with Epstein in 2007.
The Journal reported that Wexner began severing ties with Epstein after allegations emerged involving Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls.
{mosads}“We discovered that he had misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family,” Wexner told the foundation Wednesday, according to the Journal. “This was, frankly, a tremendous shock, even though it clearly pales in comparison to the unthinkable allegations against him now.”
“All of that money — every dollar of it — was originally Wexner family money,” he said, according to the Journal.
According to tax records reviewed by the Journal, Epstein reportedly transferred $46 million worth of investments to a Wexner charitable fund in January 2008. Wexner said the transfer was only a fraction of the funds Epstein allegedly “misappropriated.”
Wexner’s net worth is currently estimated to be $4.6 billion, according to Forbes.
Epstein pleaded not guilty last month to charges of sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors allege that Epstein was involved in a scheme spanning years to traffic and sexually abuse dozens of underage girls.
Epstein, who is in federal custody, faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.