Book excerpt on Epstein's 1980s tax schemes and oil-drilling deal

FILTHY RICH Pay me fifty million dollars. Or pay the IRS seven times that amount. At first Epstein did not demand his fee up front. Instead he asked that the payment-often a substantial one-be put into escrow. If his strategy worked, he’d get paid. If not, the money bounced back to the client. In the eighties, when tax rates on the top 1 percent were much, much higher than they are today, topping out at close to 50 percent, it was an extremely effective pitch. And then there were other ways to make money. In 1982, Epstein sold his wealthy friends, his friends’ wealthy relatives, and others on an oil-drilling deal. One of the investors, Michael Stroll, had run Williams Electronics, an entertainment company known for the pinball machines it made. Stroll put $450,000 into the oil deal. But in 1984, Michael Stroll wanted his money back. Despite repeated demands and requests for a full accounting of what Epstein owed him, he got $10,000 back on his $450,000 investment. Eventually he sued Epstein in federal court for the remaining $440,000-the case went on for a number of years. In court, Epstein told the judge that the $10,000 he’d returned was actually the payment for a horse Stroll had sold him. Like many cases involving Epstein, this one was settled out of court, the terms of the final agreement kept secret. CHAPTER 26 nake all his money? tories over the years about monery characters. Sometimes, friends ly, he’d suggest he had ties to the he impression that he was doing ein really did, at this stage in his According to them, Epstein spent ith creative new ways for the rich mmission for tax-avoidance deals mber of deals Epstein was involved , as is his record of successes and del was evolving. He’d charge a flat tages. 108 109 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_009260¶