BBC News
Ramsey Elkholy and Jeffrey Epstein corresponded for nearly a decade concerning models.
According to emails, Ramsey Elkholy, a model agent based in the United States, introduced women as young as 18 to Jeffrey Epstein and implored him to engage in sexual activities with one model he was familiar with.
Over the span of nearly ten years, Elkholy sent Epstein hundreds of messages discussing the bodies and sexual attitudes of various women and suggested that both he and Epstein could connect with more women by investing in fashion and modeling enterprises in Brazil.
In a 2011 email, Elkholy referred to a woman in her twenties who was "desperate for cash," stating: "Dear Jeffrey PLEASE just try her in bed."
In an interview with the BBC, Elkholy expressed regret over the language used in some of his emails and his connection with Epstein, asserting that he was unaware of Epstein's abusive actions toward women.
Currently identifying as an anthropologist and musician, Elkholy is the founder of the band Monotronic. However, during the 2010s, he was active as a model agent.
Recent files released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicate that his correspondence with Epstein extended from at least 2009 until shortly before Epstein's death in 2019, much of which centered on gaining access to female models.
These emails reveal further details on Epstein's development of extensive networks within the international modeling industry, some of which he exploited to access women and minors. It is estimated by the FBI that Epstein abused approximately 1,000 women and girls.
In the messages, Elkholy appeared to facilitate meetings between models and Epstein's contacts within the fashion industry, which included the lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret, at that time owned by Epstein's primary client, Les Wexner, as well as the Vera Wang brand.
The documents further suggest that Elkholy communicated with French model agent Jean-Luc Brunel, another associate of Epstein who has been accused by Brazilian women, speaking to the BBC, of recruiting girls for sexual exploitation by Epstein. Brunel was found deceased in his Paris prison cell in 2022 while under investigation for alleged minor rape and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
'You're a solid person Jeffrey'
Elkholy informed the BBC that he was not a member of Epstein's closest circle. A search for Elkholy’s surname on the DOJ website yields over 2,000 results; however, many of these are duplicates. Elkholy stated that the files indicate he only met with Epstein approximately 10 to 12 times over a decade.
In a 2009 email, just months after Epstein was released from incarceration for soliciting prostitution from a minor, Elkholy wrote: "I don't need to tell you that I also value your friendship. The reason I never ask for anything in return for introducing you to models is because I consider it more of a favor and I know that you are also good for favors."
He added, "You're a solid person Jeffrey and that means the world to me."
Two days after discussing the "cash-desperate" woman, Elkholy expressed to Epstein his hope that the financier was deriving some benefit from the woman’s circumstances "being all alone" in New York.
Epstein responded with a curt "zero," and a few days later, Elkholy sent another message: "Jeffrey PLEASE just try her in bed... I really need that so I can feel whole about all this because she's such a pain in the ass. I also think it would be good to get her to know what it is like to get really [expletive]."
Elkholy asserts that he had the woman's permission to send this email.
The BBC has not found any mentions of girls under the age of 18 connected to Elkholy.
In a message from 2010, Elkholy suggested that Epstein meet an attractive 18-year-old Russian college student he encountered in a store. "I think you will like her," he wrote. Epstein's assistant indicated that he was interested in meeting her.
Elkholy later clarified to the BBC that he introduced the young woman to Epstein in hopes that he would aid her in securing modeling opportunities.
Other women Elkholy discussed were also 19 years old.
Elkholy appeared to acknowledge Epstein's preference for younger women. A 2009 email from Elkholy mentioned a "very hot blonde," wherein he stated: "I know 23 is on the old side for you." At the time, Epstein was 56.
Numerous Elkholy messages directed to Epstein scrutinized women's physical appearances and sexual attitudes. One woman was characterized as a "business-minded sex machine."
In 2010, Elkholy noted about a woman who was "19 but a hardcore Christian, so I don't think that will work, which is a shame, she's a 5'11 blonde Barbie doll."
The emails also imply that Elkholy represented the well-known Kazakhstani model Ruslana Korshunova, who visited Epstein's Caribbean island in 2006 when she was only 18, as noted in published flight logs.
She tragically fell to her death from a ninth-floor balcony in New York in 2008, an incident ruled a suicide by authorities.
Elkholy informed Epstein in 2009 that he was in Luxembourg managing documentation related to "Ruslana's Estate."
'Fly these girls to wherever'
Elkholy maintained a routine of travel, sending emails to Epstein from various locations including Thailand, Latvia, Prague, and Miami. In 2016, he traveled to Brazil and suggested multiple potential investments to Epstein, including modeling agencies, magazines, and competitions.
In proposing an investment in one particular agency, he indicated that he assumed Epstein was "more interested in the access" to women, substituting an emoji in place of the word "women."
For one modeling contest, he proposed that "200,000 girls" would participate across various cities over the course of nine months.
He expressed his belief that this concept would appeal to Epstein, suggesting the winner would likely be "another overlooked girl" who could be "flown to whatever" locations in the U.S., Paris, or the Caribbean.
In the same year, Elkholy alerted Epstein regarding a Brazilian fashion magazine that was for sale and suggested they could consider purchasing it jointly.
"You could easily have 20-30 girls trying for the cover each month. Just an idea," Elkholy wrote in an email.
Epstein expressed disinterest and advised Elkholy against investing in the U.S. launch of a French magazine.
In response, Elkholy lamented "all the girls" he could have had sexual relations with had they proceeded with the launch. He suggested that instead, he would acquire the Brazilian edition "for a couple hundred k" to ensure "a steady stream" of women, using a derogatory slang term to reference them.
Elkholy’s correspondence with Epstein persisted until 2019, coinciding with a time when legal scrutiny was intensifying around Epstein for the final time. In their last exchanges documented in the files, the two continued to discuss the prospect of bringing a Russian woman to the U.S.
"She will be in London if you want to import her," Elkholy wrote. Epstein noted the difficulty in obtaining a U.S. visa.
Elkholy proposed: "maybe she can try for some kind of student visa?" Epstein advised attempting Dubai.
Three months later, Epstein faced his second arrest.
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