Billionaire buys Epstein’s islands

The two Caribbean islands that once belonged to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been bought by a billionaire private equity executive who plans to turn them into a luxury resort.

SD Investments LLC, an investment firm led by Stephen Deckoff, announced the acquisition of the islands of Great St. James and Little St. James on its website on Wednesday.

The islands, part of the US Virgin Islands, were on the market for over a year. They were sold for a combined total of $60 million, less than half of the original asking price of $125 million, according to Forbes. The property, which boasts a mansion, several guest villas, a helipad, and numerous pools, was allegedly used by Epstein to sexually abuse young women and traffic children for years.

“Mr. Deckoff plans to develop a state-of-the-art, five-star, world-class luxury 25-room resort that will help bolster tourism, create jobs, and spur economic development in the region, while respecting and preserving the important environment of the islands.” reads the statement from SD Investments.

Seemingly acknowledging the islands’ unsavory past, the statement adds that “a significant portion of the sale proceeds” were to be paid to the government of the Virgin Islands under a previous settlement agreement between the government and Epstein’s estate.

According to Forbes, Deckoff, a resident of the US Virgin Islands, is worth $3 billion. He is a co-founder of private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, which manages $9 billion in assets.

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein died in a Manhattan federal prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. A decade earlier he was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender. According to the prosecution, among his victims were girls possibly as young as 11 years of age.

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