The lawsuit says the Ohio billionaire’s money, Manhattan townhouse and business authority helped Jeffrey Epstein carry out years of abuse.
NEW YORK, NY — Eleven women who say Jeffrey Epstein abused them have sued billionaire Leslie Wexner, the Wexner Foundation and a company tied to a Manhattan townhouse, alleging they enabled acts of gender-motivated violence carried out by the late financier.
The civil complaint, filed in New York in early March, pushes one of the broadest legal claims yet against Wexner, long one of Epstein’s most important patrons. The plaintiffs argue that Wexner’s money, authority and property helped Epstein build and run the network he used to recruit, transport and abuse women and girls. The case also tests New York City’s reopened law allowing survivors to sue not only alleged attackers, but people or institutions accused of enabling gender-motivated violence that happened years ago.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs include 10 women named in the filing and one Jane Doe from New York, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They say Epstein committed violence against them in New York City and elsewhere over a span of years, and that Wexner and related entities made that abuse possible. The filing says Wexner gave Epstein roughly $200 million over about two decades, appointed him to powerful roles over his finances and nonprofit interests, and let him operate from places tied to Wexner’s business empire. The suit says that support gave Epstein the money, access and legitimacy he needed to expand what the complaint calls an international sex-trafficking ring. The defendants have not been found liable, and the allegations have not been tested in court.
The complaint centers on several pieces of alleged support. It says Wexner transferred control of the Upper East Side mansion at 9 E. 71st St. to Epstein and that the property became one of the main places where abuse occurred. It also says Epstein was given broad power of attorney over Wexner’s fortune and access to foundation and corporate structures that allowed him to move money and present himself as a trusted adviser to a major retail billionaire. The plaintiffs further allege that Epstein used his ties to Wexner, including access to Victoria’s Secret and other elite social circles, to recruit and groom victims. The filing says Wexner knew or should have known Epstein was abusing women and girls and did nothing to stop it. What the complaint does not establish on its own is what Wexner personally knew at specific moments, which is likely to become a central fight if the case moves forward.
The lawsuit lands after months of renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s wealthy associates. Wexner, the founder of L Brands, has faced questions for years because Epstein rose to prominence while managing parts of his finances and lifestyle. Public records and prior reporting have shown that Epstein once held sweeping authority over Wexner’s affairs and lived in the Manhattan townhouse later tied to abuse allegations. In February, Wexner gave closed-door testimony to the House Oversight Committee and denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes while they were associated. He said he had been tricked by a “world-class con man” and had cut ties with Epstein after learning he had stolen from him. Wexner has not been criminally charged in connection with Epstein’s abuse, and he has denied participating in it.
The legal route used in this case is also part of why it was filed now. The women sued under New York City’s gender-motivated violence law, which city lawmakers recently reopened for older claims involving violence that happened before Jan. 9, 2022. The amendment created an 18-month window for claims against people or institutions accused of committing, directing, enabling, participating in or conspiring in gender-motivated violence. That reopened path has already drawn attention from lawyers representing survivors in other abuse cases because it gives plaintiffs another chance to bring civil claims that otherwise may have been too old under earlier deadlines. Wexner’s case is likely to be watched closely because it targets not just an alleged abuser’s estate or former associates, but a billionaire former patron whose money and status were central to Epstein’s rise.
For the women who filed the case, the complaint describes long-term harm that it says came from abuse carried out under Epstein’s system and sustained by powerful adults around him. The filing seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and injunctive and declaratory relief. It names Leslie H. Wexner, the Wexner Foundation and Nine East 71st Street Corp. as defendants. The lawsuit says the defendants enabled violence by funding Epstein, employing him, giving him authority over financial matters and providing locations and institutional cover. Lawyers for the plaintiffs have framed the case as an effort to move responsibility beyond Epstein himself and toward people and entities they say made his crimes possible. Any defense from Wexner in this civil case is still expected to come through court filings, and the early next steps will likely include motions over jurisdiction, timing and whether the complaint states legally valid claims under the city law.
The case now puts fresh pressure on Wexner as courts, lawmakers and survivors continue to revisit how Epstein built influence around some of the country’s richest and most connected people. Where the lawsuit goes next will depend on the defendants’ response and the court’s reading of New York City’s revived claims window.
Author note: Last updated April 3, 2026.