The Model and the Morgue: How the Man Who Handled Ruslana Korshunova's Estate Became Epstein's Chief Procurer

On June 28, 2008, Ruslana Korshunova fell from the ninth floor of 130 Water Street in Manhattan's Financial District. She was 20 years old. Police ruled it a suicide. There was no note. No drugs or alcohol in her system. No history of mental illness. She had just returned from a modeling job in Paris and was scheduled for another in Texas that same week. Friends said she was planning her 21st birthday party.

Two years before she died, at age 18, Korshunova boarded Jeffrey Epstein's private jet in New York, bound for his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Flight logs confirm the trip. She traveled with Sarah Kellen, a bodyguard, a chef, and a former UFC fighter.

The man who would later notarize Korshunova's estate documents at the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg went on to spend nearly a decade sending Jeffrey Epstein a steady supply of young women, described in his own words as "a gift," "a genetic masterpiece," and a woman with "a body built for carnal pleasures." His name is Ramsey Elkholy, and he appears in 3,026 documents in the DOJ's Epstein files. No mainstream outlet has connected these threads into the story they tell.

The Dead Model's Boyfriend Finds a New Girlfriend

On November 27, 2009, seventeen months after Korshunova's death, Epstein sent Elkholy a Thanksgiving greeting with a pointed question: "is reginas boyfriend the same as ruslanas?"

He was asking whether a model named Regina, whom Elkholy was managing, was dating the same man who had been Korshunova's boyfriend. The answer was yes. Mark Kaminski, a luxury car dealer from Staten Island, had dated Korshunova before her death and was now with Regina Feoktistova, another young model in Elkholy's roster.

Epstein's question reveals something that has not been reported: he was tracking the romantic relationships of models in Elkholy's stable and understood that a single man connected two women in his orbit, one of whom was dead.

Elkholy later told Epstein that he met Kaminski only after Korshunova died, through someone named "Kira" while making arrangements for the wake. Yet by January 2011, the business relationship between Elkholy and Kaminski had deepened to the point that Kaminski had introduced Regina to Elkholy for professional management, and Elkholy was drafting a formal release letter to terminate her contract.

"Hes Dangerous"

When Regina Feoktistova asked for a copy of her contract in January 2011, Elkholy panicked. He emailed Epstein: "they are trying to squeeze me for money, not sure what to do. regina asked for a copy of her contract yesterday, not sure where this is going. any suggestions?"

Epstein's reply was two words: "hes dangerous." He meant Kaminski.

Over the next several days, the email chain escalated. Elkholy asked Epstein to mediate. He proposed bribing Regina with a Vera Wang connection. He asked Epstein to deploy "your russian girl" to show Regina around and rebuild trust. When none of it worked, Elkholy shifted to character assassination. On January 6, 2011, Epstein wrote: "regina is heavily involved with drugs.. serious problem, out of control.. my friend wants to stay far away as posssible."

In that same email thread, Elkholy pivoted without missing a beat: "this is Vendy, an 18 yr old Czech girl, 5'11."

The replacement was already lined up.

The formal release letter, attached to an email with the filename "feoktistova release letter.docx," invoked Korshunova's death directly. It stated that Kaminski had originally introduced Regina to the agency, and that had Elkholy known about Regina's involvement "in the Ruslana Korshunova situation via your relationship with Mark Kaminski," he would never have agreed to represent her. The letter warned of "the potential for another tragic situation."

Two years later, when someone asked Epstein if he knew "the model girl w name Regina Feoktistova," his reply was: "Yes, she is very very bad stay away."

The Estate Executor

On October 28, 2009, Elkholy emailed Epstein: "I've been in Luxenbourg all day at the US Embassy having some legal docs notarized (Ruslana's Estate, final accounting)."

This detail has never been reported. A man who claims to have met Korshunova's boyfriend only at her wake was, sixteen months later, handling the final accounting of her estate at a U.S. Embassy in a European tax haven. The email also contains this line: "The reason I never ask for anything in return for introducing." The sentence trails off, but the implication is clear. Elkholy understood their relationship as transactional. He introduced women to Epstein and expected nothing in return because the arrangement itself was the currency.

"Old Ruslana or a New One?"

In July 2013, five years after Korshunova's death, Elkholy sent Epstein a photograph. The exchange that followed has not been published by any outlet.

Epstein: "nice photo. who?"

Elkholy: "The pic I gave u? Ruslana..."

Epstein: "old ruslana? or a new one?"

Elkholy: "Its Ruslana."

The question "old ruslana or a new one" suggests one of two things, both disturbing. Either Epstein had encountered multiple women by that name in the intervening years, or "Ruslana" had become a type, a shorthand for the kind of woman Elkholy supplied. In either case, Epstein was casually referencing a dead 20-year-old model who had visited his island, and Elkholy was still circulating her photographs half a decade later.

Separately, Epstein told someone in a July 2010 email that Korshunova "died, mainly as a result of her boyfriends' belief in alternative medicine. vs real medicine." This is a reference to the Rose of the World, a psychological training center in Moscow based on the Lifespring ideology, a cult-like organization that charged $1,000 for three-day courses requiring participants to relive their worst experiences. Korshunova attended for three months. Another model who attended, Anastasia Drozdova, died the following year in Kiev after falling from a building. Both deaths were ruled suicides. Friends of both women reported personality changes after their involvement with the group.

Epstein knew the details of the cult connection. He knew the boyfriend. He knew the circumstances. And his chief supplier of models was executing the dead woman's estate.

"A Body Built for Carnal Pleasures"

Elkholy's procurement operation for Epstein spanned from at least 2009 through 2017 and touched three continents. The emails leave nothing to interpretation.

On July 4, 2011, Elkholy wrote to Epstein: "welcome back...I have this girl flying in from Oklahoma City tomorrow evening, 22 yrs old, 5'11, body built for carnal pleasures." Epstein replied: "amazing."

On June 23, 2011, Elkholy asked Epstein to send a woman to New York to be his "love slave," adding that he could rent her an apartment and that she was "also a great scout...fearless." In the same message, he noted that another woman staying with him kept saying "I can't figure Jeffrey out" and that he was "working on her" regarding lingerie, noting she was "still kinda conservative."

On November 15, 2013, Lesley Groff, Epstein's executive assistant, called Elkholy to confirm: "he has emailed you the names of the girls coming friday and that 7pm will be great." That same evening, Epstein's calendar showed a meeting with Ehud Barak and Leon Botstein.

On August 8, 2016, Elkholy texted: "Jeffrey are you home? I'm meeting 2 Russian girls in Central Park in a bit, one is cute haven't seen her friend yet." Epstein responded: "home." Elkholy: "Concert started at 7 so we can come by for 2 min I have an idea :)"

On January 24, 2014, Epstein asked Elkholy: "where are you, I will be in paris next week. anyone there?" Elkholy responded with a model's name and added: "Working on another girl who was in Paris, but may be back in Slovakia now." Epstein replied: "david blaine is also with me there. we can invite these girls to a fun dinner."

When Epstein once noted that a woman was 29, his response was: "29 is very late twenties."

The Brazilian Pipeline

By late 2016, Elkholy was pitching Epstein on an industrial-scale expansion. He proposed acquiring Joy Models in Sao Paulo and using it to buy satellite modeling agencies across Eastern Europe. The pitch, laid out in a November 28, 2016 email, was explicit: acquire agencies in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland "so that there's always a steady stream of fresh new faces."

Simultaneously, Elkholy was pursuing a 50% stake in L'Officiel Brazil, a fashion magazine group spanning seven titles. He asked Epstein whether he should buy the shares "as myself, my LLC, or under another name or entity altogether (offshore company)?"

When Epstein told him to back off L'Officiel, Elkholy responded: "maybe just buy Brazil for a couple hundred k, that will insure a steady stream of punani."

A January 2017 email showed Elkholy heading to Brazil to meet Joy Models' owners, telling Epstein that the co-owner "will probably try to impress you Brazilian style (over-stating/inflating everything), but the girls are there and they're trying to network in Eastern Europe, so if you get involved for that reason."

The girls are there. That was the selling point.

Irina Shayk at 71st Street

On February 12, 2012, Elkholy emailed Epstein: "Any interest in meeting Irina Shayk one day this week?"

Shayk was one of the most famous models in the world, a Sports Illustrated cover star and the girlfriend of Cristiano Ronaldo. Epstein expressed immediate interest. Lesley Groff scheduled the meeting for Valentine's Day at Epstein's 9 East 71st Street mansion. Groff emailed Elkholy the address and available times. The appointment appeared on Epstein's internal calendar as "Appt w/Irina Shayk (Ramsey's friend)."

Inside Edition and other outlets reported that Epstein had an appointment with Shayk but did not confirm the location. The EFTA documents confirm it was scheduled at his residence.

In the same email thread discussing Shayk, Elkholy casually mentioned moving models between agencies: "I know her through a mutual friend and most recently poached her from Marilyn (dont get along w them, Ruslana, Regina, etc.)." Korshunova and Feoktistova, referenced as footnotes in a sentence about agency politics. One dead, one driven out, both reduced to shorthand.

What No One Has Connected

Ramsey Elkholy appears in 3,026 documents in the EFTA release. He exchanged over 1,400 direct emails with Epstein across eight years. The Wall Street Journal identified him as someone who introduced models to Epstein at his Manhattan townhouse after the 2008 conviction. Digital Music News published portions of the more explicit emails.

But no outlet has connected the full thread: the same man who handled a dead model's estate documents in Luxembourg went on to manage the dead woman's boyfriend's next girlfriend, smeared that girlfriend when she tried to leave, and spent the better part of a decade sending Epstein young women from Oklahoma, Slovakia, Russia, Brazil, and Latvia while pitching a multinational modeling agency acquisition designed to provide, in his own words, "a steady stream of fresh new faces."

Ruslana Korshunova visited Jeffrey Epstein's island at 18 and was dead at 20. Ramsey Elkholy executed her estate, then built a pipeline that ran for nearly a decade after her death. The 3,026 documents are there. The connection has been there all along.