Fake stardom: How did Epstein lure his victims through "fashion scouts"?

A joint investigative investigation led by three prominent German media outlets, the public networks NDR and WDR and the newspaper Südeutsche Zeitung, has identified at least 19 European women believed to have been victims of sex crimes committed by the late American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

According to the report published by the German Channel 1 website Tagesschau on June 2, 2026, these investigations were based on an in-depth analysis of official files unveiled by the US Department of Justice, along with a package of other documents.

The results showed that the plan relied mainly on luring young women and nurturing their ambitions for a promising career in the world of fashion and fashion. Available evidence suggests that at least five people worked for Epstein on the continent under the guise of a "talent scouting" job, recruiting girls, some of whom later became victims of his sexual assaults.

Trapping mechanism: a deception that ends in a trap

The investigations revealed a repetitive and structured modus operandi of the network, which culminated in three successive stages: deception, then creation of a state of dependency, and complete sexual exploitation. Epstein's "talent scouts" were moving around Europe in search of attractive-looking young women, offering them fictitious opportunities for quick success and fame in the modeling industry.

Based on these promises, the targets would send their photos to these intermediaries, who in turn passed them directly to Epstein, often mixing their details with information including age and nationality, and if he liked the photos, he would arrange an initial acquaintance for the target, either via Skype or by inviting her to visit one of his luxury residences.

Among the victims uncovered by the investigation is a girl who goes by the pseudonym "Mara," one of the women whose journalists were able to track down and identify because some of her personal data was not adequately deleted and concealed in the US Department of Justice files.

Mara, originally from Eastern Europe, recounts that she was in her early 20s when a man named Daniel S. approached her inside a nail salon in Spain, showering her with praise and talking to her about his extensive network of relationships in the fashion community.

"When I heard him speak, I was very excited, because I had dreamed of becoming a model since I was a child," Mara recalls.

Behind the Scenes of Recruitment: Getting Hands on the "Swedish Broker"

Investigations showed that the name was "Daniel S." , a Swedish citizen based in France, has repeatedly appeared nearly 1,800 times in U.S. Department of Justice documents, where he single-handedly sent photos of at least 52 women, most of them with European citizenship, to Jeffrey Epstein.

The women were mostly between the ages of 18 and 23, and the documents show that at least one of the victims was a minor at the time of the incident.

After an introductory Skype conversation, Epstein sponsored a flight for the new recruit to Florida and finalized her visa himself, and Mara says she believed confident, until then, that the trip was for a formal modeling interview.

However, the scales were completely tipped once she met Epstein face-to-face, as he told her that working as a model might not be the right career path for her, citing his ability to provide help and support in alternative ways, and then offered her a job as his personal assistant, and according to Mara's account, what followed was  a series of repeated sexual assaults and a forced dependent relationship that lasted nearly two years.

On the other hand, Daniel S. appeared earlier through a video he posted on the "X" platform (formerly Twitter) to defend himself against the charges, denying that he had committed any legal violation, and confirmed that he was practicing his activity as a professional model scout, and that he only introduced women to Epstein as potential candidates to work in this field, and stressed that he was never aware of the crimes and criminal activities that Epstein was committing at the time. Although he later deleted the video, he reiterated the same defensive stance in statements he made to French media.

From Florida convictions to jail in New York

Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting a minor girl into prostitution, a conviction that resulted in a controversial court settlement that gave him a short, reduced prison sentence. In July 2019, he was arrested again by federal authorities to charge him with sex trafficking, assault and recruitment of minors between the cities of New York and Florida.

The trial of the controversial financier and sex offender did not go ahead, as he was found dead in his cell in a New York jail in August 2019, in an incident that the city's chief coroner reported to be classified as a suicide.

Following the release of the latest batch of Epstein files this year, the European security scene has seen an intensified movement, with several countries, including France, Poland and Latvia, setting up special criminal investigation units to combat human trafficking networks and trace the leads.

According to information from the Paris prosecutor's office, about 20 women in France have filed formal court complaints related to the Epstein case, including a German citizen who preferred to remain anonymous, and as the investigation continues, the true figures of the number of women lured with fake promises under the guise of fashion shows are still not definitively determined.