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Hundreds of documents in the newly released Epstein files shed light on connections between the sex offender and Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm formerly led by Department of Defense Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg.
Feinberg, a billionaire who cofounded the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, is referenced by name in at least 20 documents in the Epstein files, while his company Cerberus appears in 360 files - including in emailed communications with Epstein himself. The emails raise questions regarding Feinberg's company's ties to the disgraced financier and sex criminal.
Feinberg has already come under fire over business practices at Cerberus. He stepped down from his role as CEO in 2025 in order to accept the second-highest ranking position in the Pentagon.
"Your private equity record is rife with mismanagement," Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote in a letter to Feinberg following his Pentagon nomination, in which she raised alarms about conflicts of interest and fraud. A Cerberus holding, DynCorp, has faced multiple Department of Justice lawsuits over fraud allegations in recent years.
Feinberg continues to be financially entangled with Cerberus through a contract for administrative services, including accounting and tax compliance, 2026 federal ethics filings show. "I intended to transition to an outside provider in 2026, however, I have been unable to find a company to provide the services that I need," Feinberg wrote in the filing.
Representatives from Cerberus did not respond to a request for comment.
Several emails sent and received by Jeffrey Epstein in 2009 and 2013 suggest that he maintained a business relationship with Cerberus. Further emails between Epstein and his business associate Andrew Farkas in 2015 discuss funds received from Cerberus. "It is required that we show our source of funds by monday. [sic] I need a lead. If it's not going to be your guy I need to focus efforts elsewhere. I have $200mm now from each of harvard and cerberus," Farkas wrote in a personal email to Epstein.
Christopher DiIorio, a whistleblower whose emails are also included in the Epstein files, alleges "massive fraud" by Cerberus and Feinberg enabled by the SEC, through which companies operated shell companies to funnel and obscure the transfer of money. "Money laundering clean up GUARANTEED," one email by DiIorio reads. The recipients of DiIorio's emails are fully redacted, as are entire blocks of text within the emails.
The Epstein files also include emails about Cerberus sent by higher ups from Deutsche Bank, the beleaguered financial entity which managed Epstein's investments from 2013 to 2018 and allegedly played an "essential role" in Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme. Deutsche Bank employees identified Cerberus as a "high risk" account in a July 2018 email. They indicate that six Cerberus guarantors were never identified through the Know Your Client process, a standard intended to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering laws.
Deutsche Bank is currently in the midst of a money laundering probe, for which their offices were raided by German police in January. In 2023, Deutsche Bank was fined $186 million by the Federal Reserve due to failures to prevent money laundering.
The revelations of Epstein's ties to the deputy secretary's former business follow the Justice Department's release of 3.5 million files in the Epstein case, as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The government's production of documents has faced criticism for redactions that shield the identities of people who may have aided Epstein in his sex trafficking operation, while failing to protect the identities of survivors.
The Pentagon declined to comment on Feinberg's connection to Epstein, or allegations of money laundering and fraud contained in the files. The Department of Justice has not responded to a request for comment about the nature of the redactions.
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