Julia Molchanova, one of the women Jeffrey Epstein referred to as his “assistants,” has publicly detailed her experience with the disgraced financier for the first time. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Molchanova described a system of manipulation and control that she compared to a “cult.”
Molchanova said she was 22 and living in Russia when she met Epstein in New York in 2011. She spoke little English at the time and told him she wanted to pursue fashion design. According to her account, Epstein offered to help her attend the Fashion Institute of Technology, a promise she says ultimately became the means through which he gained control over her.
How Epstein Allegedly Used Promises to Gain Control
Molchanova told the Journal that Epstein brought her back to New York in 2012, but the promised education never materialized. Instead, she says she was sexually abused and eventually became one of the women he called his assistants.
She described strict expectations surrounding her behavior, appearance and relationships. According to Molchanova, she was expected to remain cheerful, constantly thank Epstein and follow his instructions, while also being pressured to introduce other women to him.
“It was like a cult,”
she told the Journal.
The alleged control also extended to her finances and professional life. Molchanova said Epstein helped establish a company called JSC Interiors in her name, which she believed was intended to support a design career. She later discovered transactions and accounts connected to the company that she said she did not understand or authorize.
Her attorneys’ claims regarding the financial activity are part of a broader legal dispute, and attorneys for Epstein’s former lawyer Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn have denied wrongdoing. They said Molchanova appeared to be an assistant working through an interior-design LLC and that they were unaware of abuse or trafficking involving her.
Molchanova Eventually Broke Away
Molchanova said she began questioning Epstein’s control after discovering unfamiliar financial activity through a credit-monitoring service in 2019. With help from a friend, she confronted people connected to Epstein and ultimately stopped returning to him.
She later became the lead Jane Doe plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Bank of America, alleging the bank overlooked suspicious transactions connected to Epstein’s trafficking operation. A federal judge approved a $72.5 million settlement involving Epstein victims, while Bank of America maintained that it did not facilitate sex trafficking.
Molchanova has now chosen to publicly identify herself and advocate for other survivors. “I’m going forward to prove that women have a voice and the ability to rebuild themselves,” she told the Journal.