Text extracted via OCR from the original document. May contain errors from the scanning process.
ti
•
•
FD-302 (Rev. 10-6-95)
- 1 -
Date of transenpton 0 5/ 0 8/2002
JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN, date of birth
, social
security account number
occupation financial
consultant, business address The Villard House, 457 Madison Ave,
4th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone number
was interviewed at his office. Also present at the interview was
EPSTEIN'S attorney JEFFREY SCHANTZ. After being advised of the
identity of the interviewing agents and the nature of the
interview, EPSTEIN provided the following information:
EPSTEIN owns homes in Aspen, CO, Palm Beach, FL and the
Virgin Islands. EPSTEIN stated that LAURENCE S. ZIMMERMAN also
owns homes in Aspen and Palm Beach. EPSTEIN was introduced to
ZIMMERMAN and they occasionally met or saw each other at social
events. In approximately October 2001, ZIMMERMAN asked EPSTEIN
for a ride on EPSTEIN'S private plane from New York to Palm
Beach. EPSTEIN stated that ZIMMERMAN told him that he was
involved in various financial deals, including deals in the
telecommunications industry. ZIMMERMAN asked EPSTEIN if he could
contact him with any financial deals that he felt EPSTEIN might
have an interest. EPSTEIN told ZIMMERMAN that he could contact
him as he is always looking for opportunities to make money and
EPSTEIN was aware that many people in the Aspen area had made
significant money investing in the telecommunications industry.
In December 2001, EPSTEIN was contacted by ZIMMERMAN
about an investment that he was making in WINSTAR COMMUNICATIONS
INC. (WINSTAR). ZIMMERMAN told EPSTEIN that WINSTAR was a
publicly traded company that was presently in bankruptcy
proceedings. ZIMMERMAN was putting together a deal through his
company, WINTEL TELECOM HOLDINGS INC. (WINTEL) to acquire WINSTAR
for approximately $100 million. ZIMMERMAN stated that the assets
of WINSTAR were: worth $1 billion. ZIMMERMAN was seeking a $15
million bridge.: loan_filom_EES.TEIN-as -a-down- payment-on--the
---purChase of WINSTAR from the bankruptcy court until he was able
to secure a $100 million loan from a bank. ZIMMERMAN offered to
put up $15 million of U.S. Treasury Bonds as collateral for the
loan. In addition, ZIMMERMAN offered his personal guarantee
liwestigmknon 05/08/2002
at New York, New'
nm# 196A -MM -93577
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This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It Is the prope
e FBI and As loaned tc?yourigic
1
it and Its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
EFTA00128666
FD-302a (Rev. 10-6-95)
196A-MM-93577
Continuation of FD-302 of
.0n 05/08/2002 ,page
2
secured by his homes in Aspen and in New York. In consideration
of the $15 million bridge loan, ZIMMERMAN agreed to pay EPSTEIN
an interest rate of 15% on. the loan and a $500,000 fee. In
addition, ZIMMERMAN would give EPSTEIN 3% of the equity (stock)
of WINSTAR.
EPSTEIN questioned ZIMMERMAN as to why he didn't just
borrow against the U.S. Treasury Bonds with a bank since he could
borrow nearly dollar for dollar on this collateral. ZIMMERMAN
explained to EPSTEIN that his partner had $130 million U.S.
Treasury Bonds in an off-shore restricted account. The Bonds
could not be repatriated to the U.S. for tax reasons but could be
pledged. Due to the time constraints for making the $15 million
down payment, going to a bank for the down payment was not an
option as he needed the funds as soon as possible. Although
EPSTEIN thought the explanation concerning the bonds to be a
little unusual he was intrigued about the opportunity to make a
significant return on the bridge loan and was interested in
ZIMMERMAN'S Aspen home if the deal fell apart.
On December 12, 2001, EPSTEIN received a fax from JAMES
P. WHITTIER of LANDTEL, 600 Madison Ave, 25th Floor, New York, NY
10022, telephone numbej
. The fax included a term
sheet which formalized the conversations that EPSTEIN had with
ZIMMERMAN concerning the $15 million bridge loan. After
reviewing the term sheet, EPSTEIN noticed that there were already
current mortgages on the New York and Aspen properties that were
to be pledged as collateral. EPSTEIN performed a check of
ZIMMERMAN on the Internet and found that there had been two
instances of foreclosure on properties owned by ZIMMERMAN in the
past. EPSTEIN then contacted ZIMMERMAN and requested supporting
documentation regarding all of the loan collateral. EPSTEIN also
requested that ZIMMERMAN contact his attorney, JEFFREY SCHANTZ,
in all future dealings regarding_the_bridg?_ loan__and.-the- issue -of -- - ---
-
supporting- documentatfori-fOr the loan collateral.
On December 13, 2001, EPSTEIN received a fax from
ZIMMERMAN with a LANDTEL coversheet. The fax included a copy of
a BLOOMBERG screen printout relating to $15,514,000 of U.S.
Treasury Bonds identified with CUSIP #912827W81. EPSTEIN was a
EFTA00128667
•
maxAmmlaersm
196A-MM-93577
Continuation of FD-302 of
.0'105/08/2002
Page
3
little annoyed with ZIMMERMAN since this BLOOMBERG screen did not
provide any information to him. EPSTEIN contacted ZIMMERMAN and
told him that he was not satisfied with the collateral since it
did not provide him any information regarding the Bonds. EPSTEIN
stated that ZIMMERMAN also provided an appraisal on the New York
property that he was putting up as collateral.
On December 17, 2001, EPSTEIN received a fax from
ZIMMERMAN. The fax included an Institutional Custodial
Safekeeping Receipt, an Institutional Receipt and a Special
Addendum Institutional Custodial Safekeeping Receipt all making
reference to $20 million of U.S. Treasury Bonds. All three
documents received by EPSTEIN were on WILLIAMS MANAGEMENT AND
CAPITAL GROUP, LTD. (WMACGL) stationery. The address for WMACGL
was listed as 5721 178th Place, SW, Suite 105, Lynnwood,
Washington 98037, telephone number
. The
Beneficiary listed on the documents was CENTURY CAPITAL, S.A. and
the Assignee was listed as WINTEL TELECOM HOLDINGS, INC. All
three documents included a Bank Officer Verification and Bank
Stamp signed and stamped by KEVIN KEON, WELLS FARGO BANK, NA,
Lynnwood, WA.
Later on December 17, 2001, EPSTEIN received two more
faxes from ZIMMERMAN. One fax included WINTEL'S bank wire
instructions for the bridge loan. The second fax was a "form"
commitment letter to the Bankruptcy Court in Delaware regarding
EPSTEIN'S intent to immediately fund $15 million to WINTEL which
EPSTEIN was instructed to fill out, sign and return to ZIMMERMAN.
EPSTEIN telephonically contacted WELLS FARGO BANK, NA,
located in Lynnwood, WA and requested to speak with KEVIN KEON.
EPSTEIN was advised that there was no one by that name at that
branch. EPSTEIN was further advised that a KEVIN KEO used to
work at the branch but had moved to the Monroe_branch_of_WELLS______
FARG07
EPSTEIN- contacted KEO and was advised that it was not his
signature on the Safekeeping Receipts. ME° advised that the
safekeeping receipts with the name KEVIN KEON were not received
or reviewed by WELLS FARGO. KEO advised EPSTEIN that WMACGL was
currently under investigation by WELLS FARGO regarding other
questionable conduct.
EFTA00128668
•
•
FD-302a (Rev. 10-6-95)
196A-MM-93577
ContinuaUon of FD-302 of
.On 05/08/2002
Page
After finding out this information EPSTEIN was angry
and contacted ZIMMERMAN. EPSTEIN confronted ZIMMERMAN with the
forged Safekeeping Receipts and informed him that the deal was
off. EPSTEIN also wrote a letter to the Bankruptcy Court in
Delaware detailing the chain of events concerning the $15 million
bridge loan.
EPSTEIN stated that he never had a conversation with
ZIMMERMAN'S associates, JAY PHILLIP PARKER or JAMES P. WHITTIER.
Various faxes that were received by EPSTEIN from LANDTEL had
WHITTIER'S or PARKER'S name on them. EPSTEIN never spoke with
MARK WILLIAMS or anyone at WMACGL. All of EPSTEIN'S dealings
regarding the bridge loan were with ZIMMERMAN. Approximately two
weeks ago EPSTEIN'S secretary received a call from a JOHN MACARI.
MACARI was very aggressive and pushy on the phone and demanded
that he speak with EPSTEIN. The secretary was very upset with
MACARI'S conduct on the phone but would not connect him with
EPSTEIN. EPSTEIN has not returned the call to MACARI.and does
not intend to ever return the call.
EFTA00128669
•
•
FD-302 (Rev. 10-6-95)
- 1 -
Date of transcription 05 08 / 2 002
JEFFREY E.
STEIN, date o
social
security account number 0907.1t;3, 4_.oc,c_
.1A.
,a .
"anTria.acess
The illard House, 452, MadisorcAge,
tth-stuut, 14ew—York, NY-70'02Z- eiephone numbgr..421.2*7.54,a89.5,t
rag-rifferviewed,4t his office, _Also present at the interview was
EPTIflfrgThatf6iriey JEFFREY SCHANTZ. After being advised of the
identity of the interviewing agents and the nature of the
interview, EPSTEIN provided the following information:
EPSTEIN owns homes in Aspen, CO, Palm Beach, FL and the
Virgin Islands. EPSTEIN stated that LAURENCE S. ZIMMERMAN also
owns homes in Aspen and Palm Beach. EPSTEIN was introduced to
ZIMMERMAN and they occasionally met or saw each other at social
events. In approximately October 2001, ZIMMERMAN asked EPSTEIN
for a ride on EPSTEIN'S private plane from New York to Palm
Beach. EPSTEIN stated that ZIMMERMAN told him that he was
involved in various financial deals, including deals in the
telecommunications industry. ZIMMERMAN asked EPSTEIN if he could
contact him with any financial deals that he felt EPSTEIN might
have an interest. EPSTEIN told ZIMMERMAN that he could contact
him as he is always looking for opportunities to make money and
EPSTEIN was aware that many people in the Aspen area had made
significant money investing in the telecommunications industry.
In December 2001, EPSTEIN was con acteEl by ZIMMERMAN
about a' investment that he was making in
INC.
T
ZIMMERMAN told EPSTEIN t at WINSTAR was a
publ ly traded company that was present
in bankruptcy
proceedings. ZIMMERMAN was putting toge her a deal through his
company, WINTEL TELECOM HOLDINGS INC. (WINTEL) to acquire WINSTAR
for approximately $100 million. ZIMMERMAN stated that the assets
of WINSTAR were worth $1 billion. ZIMMERMAN was seeking a $15
million bridge_loan_from_EPSTEIN__as-a-down-payment-on-the----------------
purchase of WINSTAR from the bankruptcy court until he was able
to secure a $100 million loan from a bank. ZIMMERMAN offered to
put up $15 million of U.S. Treasury Bonds as collateral for the
loan. In addition, ZIMMERMAN offered his personal guarantee
InvesUgation on
0 5 / 0 8 / 2 0 02
at New York, New York
Datedictated 05/08/2002
01-55? ) - 1 (-(2_
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency;
it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
EFTA00128670
•
•
FD-302a (Rev. 10-6-95)
196A-MM-93577
Continuation of FD-302 of JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN
,on 05/08/2002 ,Page
2
secured by his homes in Aspen and in New York. In consideration
of the $15 million bridge loan, ZIMMERMAN agreed to pay EPSTEIN
an interest rate of 15% on the loan and a $500,000 fee. In
addition, ZIMMERMAN would give EPSTEIN 3% of the equity (stock)
of WINSTAR.
EPSTEIN questioned ZIMMERMAN as to why he didn't just
borrow against the U.S. Treasury Bonds with a bank since he could
borrow nearly dollar for dollar on this collateral. ZIMMERMAN
explained to EPSTEIN that his partner had $130 million U.S.
Treasury Bonds in an off-shore restricted account. The Bonds
could not be repatriated to the U.S. for tax reasons but could be
pledged. Due to the time constraints for making the $15 million
down payment, going to a bank for the down payment was not an
option as he needed the funds as soon as possible. Although
EPSTEIN thought the explanation concerning the bonds to be a
little unus
he was int• gued about the opportunity to make a
significa
return on
e bridge loan and was interested in
ZIMME
S Aspen ho
if the deal fell apart.
On Dece er 12, 2001, EPSTEIN received a fax from JAMES
P.
ITTIER of
allEg
DTEL,
, 25th Floor,. New Yo ;77-72
10 2, teltpho
ri
r
"TiTe'ThSciiiefUVererr'%%.4,
Id eet Which f rmalized-I e conversations that EPSTEIN had with
ZIMMERMAN co cerning the $15 million bridge loan. After
reviewing the term sheet, EPSTEIN noticed that there were already
current mortgages on the New York and Aspen properties that were
to be pledged as collateral. EPSTEIN performed a check of
ZIMMERMAN on the Internet and found that there had been two
instances of foreclosure on properties owned by ZIMMERMAN in the
past. EPSTEIN then contacted ZIMMERMAN and requested supporting
documentation regarding all of the loan collateral. EPSTEIN also
requested that ZIMMERMAN contact his attorney, JEFFREY SCHANTZ,
_ _in_alt_future_dealings_regarding_tha_bridge_loan_and_the_issue_of_______
supporting documentation for the loan collateral.
On December 13, 2001, EPSTEIN received a fax from
ZIMMERMAN with a LANDTEL coversheet. The fax included a copy of
a BLOOMBERG screen printout relating to $15,514,000 of U.S.
Treasury Bonds identified with CUSIP #912827W81. EPSTEIN was a
EFTA00128671
FD-302a (Rev. 10-6-95)
196A-MM-93577
Continuatton of FD-302 of JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN
,on 05/08/2002 .page
3
little annoyed with ZIMMERMAN since this BLOOMBERG screen did not
provide any information to him. EPSTEIN contacted ZIMMERMAN and
told him that he was not satisfied with the collateral since it
did not provide him any information regarding the Bonds. EPSTEIN
stated that ZIMMERMAN also provided an appraisal on the New York
property that he was putting up as collateral.
On December 17, 2001, EPSTEIN receive
ZIMMERMAN. The fax included an Institutional
Safekeeping Receipt, an Institutional Recei
Addendum Institutional Custodial Safekeep'
reference to $20 million
documents received by
Vamg—Trt-ecra—gl
Walgit4W0A0.31tel?pticTie ' number
Ereliciary listed on the do8aMente wa
the Assignee was listed as WINTEL TE
three documents included a Bank Off'
Stamp signed and stamped by KEVIN
Lynnwoodtar
c
f U.S. Treasu
STEIN were on
CGL) station
8th Place, SW,
COM
cer V
EON,
a fax from
ustodial
and a Special
g Receipt all making
Bonds. All three
fore-(WVACQJ
uite 105, Lynnwood,
"The
OLDINGS, INC. All
rification and Bank
and
Later on December 17, 2001, EPSTEIN received two more
faxes from ZIMMERMAN. One fax included WINTEL'S bank wire
instructions for the bridge loan. The second fax was a "form"
commitment letter to the Bankruptcy Court in Delaware regarding
EPSTEIN'S intent to immediately fund $15 million to WINTEL which
EPSTEIN was instructed to fill out, sign and return to ZIMMERMAN.
EPSTEIN telephonically contacted WELLS FARGO BANK, NA,
located in Lynnwood, WA and requested to speak with KEVIN KEON.
EPSTEIN was advised that there was no one by that name at that
branch. EPSTEIN was further advised that a KEVIN KEO used to
_
work at the branch but had moved to the Monroe branch of WELLS
FARGO. EPSTEIN contacted KEO and was advised that it was not his
signature on the Safekeeping Receipts. KEO advised that the
safekeeping receipts with the name KEVIN KEON were not received
or reviewed by WELLS FARGO. KEO advised EPSTEIN that WMACGL was
currently under investigation by WELLS FARGO regarding other
questionable conduct.
EFTA00128672
•
•
FD-302a (Rev. 10-6-95)
196A-MM-93577
Continuation of FD-30201 JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN
On 05/08/2002
,page
After finding out this information EPSTEIN was angry
and contacted ZIMMERMAN. EPSTEIN confronted ZIMMERMAN with the
forged Safekeeping Receipts and informed him that the deal was
off. EPSTEIN also wrote a letter to the Bankruptcy Court in
Delaware detailing the chain of events concerning the $15 million
bridge loan.
EPSTEIN stated that he never had a conversation with
ZIMMERMAN'S associates, JAY PHILLIP PARKER or JAMES P. WHITTIER.
Various faxes that were received by EPSTEIN from LANDTEL had
WHITTIER'S or PARKER'S name on them. EPSTEIN never spoke with
MARK WILLIAMS or anyone at WMACGL. All of EPSTEIN'S dealings
regarding the bridge loan were with ZIMMERMAN. Approximately two
weeks ago EPSTEIN'S secretary received a call from a JOHN MACARI.
MACARI was very aggressive and pushy on the phone and demanded
that he speak with EPSTEIN. The secretary was very upset with
MACARI'S conduct on the phone but would not connect him with
EPSTEIN. EPSTEIN has not returned the call to MACARI and does
not intend to ever return the call.
EFTA00128673