Leslie Wexner Accuses Jeffrey Epstein of Misappropriating ‘Vast Sums of Money’

For over 15 years, Jeffrey Epstein served as a close personal adviser to Leslie H. Wexner, the billionaire mogul behind Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. Now, Mr. Wexner says Mr. Epstein “misappropriated vast sums of money” from him and his family.

Mr. Wexner, the chief executive of the retail giant L Brands, included the accusation in a 564-word letter he sent Wednesday to the Wexner Foundation, giving his most detailed account yet of how his life and affairs became intertwined with Mr. Epstein, who was arrested last month and charged with sex trafficking involving girls as young as 14. read more »

JPMorgan Kept Jeffrey Epstein as a Client Despite Internal Warnings

When compliance officers at JPMorgan Chase conducted a sweep of their wealthy clients a decade ago, they recommended that the bank cut its ties to the financier Jeffrey E. Epstein because his accounts posed unacceptable legal and reputational risks.

Yet Mr. Epstein, who had been charged with sex crimes and pleaded guilty in 2008 to solicitation of prostitution, remained a JPMorgan client until 2013. read more »

#MeToo comes to the food-and-drink biz

When #MeToo hit the restaurant industry, absolutely no one who had ever worked in a restaurant or a bar was surprised. It's a perfect environment for sexual harassment and abuse to flourish: long hours, late nights, close quarters, lots of alcohol, and a culture that celebrates rowdiness in the kitchen and demands that front-of-the-house staff smooth over bad behavior with a smile, all in the name of hospitality. Most restaurants don't have the resources to maintain a human resources staff—or the inclination. It wasn't surprising that well-known chefs and owners like Mario Batali and Ken Friedman and, here in Chicago, Cosmo Goss were forced out of their restaurants after sexual harassment scandals. What was surprising was that there weren't more. read more »

48 Male Patients Say A USC Doctor Sexually Abused Them — And The University Was Warned

Year after year, for more than 20 years, young men who entered the University of Southern California student health center were sent to Dr. Dennis Kelly. Once the exam room door closed behind them, say 48 former patients who are gay or bisexual, Kelly subjected them to sexual abuse. read more »

This USC Student Got Paid To Investigate His School — And Discovered New Details About Major Sexual Misconduct Allegations

An investigative story published today by BuzzFeed News and USC's Annenberg Media details extensive new allegations of inappropriate behavior by USC men's health physician Dr. Dennis Kelly, who has now been accused by 48 men of sexually abusing them.

The story is written by a current USC student and reports, for the first time, that at least five men say they complained about Kelly to USC officials, dating back to 2009. Among their claims: Kelly made them kneel on an exam table as he conducted medically dubious rectal probes and prolonged genital exams and asked invasive questions about their sex lives. read more »

Harvey Weinstein Began Selling Property Before October 2017 Articles Detailed Flood of Sexual-Misconduct Allegations

The movie producer put three homes up for sale in early- and mid-2017 and later sold a total of seven for an estimated $22.8 million more than he paid for them. Mr. Weinstein’s spokesman says the sales were related to his divorce and legal costs. 

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein began selling off personal real estate about six months before the publication of two articles that enumerated a flood of sexual-misconduct allegations against him, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of property records and people familiar with the transactions. read more »