Julia Molchanova kept the details of her time around Jeffrey Epstein largely private for years. The Russian-born woman was 22 when she first met the financier in New York in 2011, speaking little English and hoping to build a career in fashion. What initially looked like an opportunity to study and establish herself in the United States eventually became, according to Molchanova, a system of manipulation, isolation and abuse that took years to escape.
Now 37, Molchanova has publicly described her experience for the first time in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Her account offers a detailed look at how Epstein allegedly presented himself as a mentor while gradually gaining control over different parts of her life. She also described how financial accounts, a company registered in her name and the label of “assistant” became part of that relationship.
Her story has also drawn renewed attention because Molchanova was the lead Jane Doe plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Bank of America connected to Epstein. A $72.5 million settlement was approved in the case, with money set to go to dozens of Epstein victims. Bank of America denied facilitating sex trafficking and said the settlement provided closure for the plaintiffs.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: A Fashion Dream Became the Starting Point
Molchanova said she met Epstein in New York in December 2011 while visiting from Russia. She was 22 at the time and was not fluent in English.
According to her account, Epstein approached her near Barneys on Madison Avenue and began talking to her. He later invited her to breakfast, where he asked about her ambitions and learned that she wanted to pursue fashion design.
That conversation became an important turning point.
Epstein offered to help her gain admission to New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. He also paid for sewing classes she took in Russia while she prepared for an FIT programme.
For Molchanova, the offer appeared to be the opportunity she needed to begin a new life in New York.
“That was the hook,” she told The Wall Street Journal.
She later returned to New York after Epstein invited her to learn more about FIT. But Molchanova said the relationship quickly moved away from education and career support.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: The Relationship Changed After She Returned to New York
Molchanova said Epstein sexually abused her for the first time in January 2012 after she returned to New York. She was staying in an apartment owned by Epstein, where other young women were also living.
When she expressed discomfort, she said Epstein tried to normalise what had happened by telling her that sexual openness was part of American culture.
The experience was followed by a period in which, according to Molchanova, Epstein increasingly inserted himself into her personal decisions.
A later trip to Paris became another important moment. Molchanova was there with her boyfriend when an argument became abusive. She contacted Epstein because she was frightened and knew he was also in Paris.
Epstein helped her leave the situation and arranged for her to return to Russia. But instead of ending the relationship, the episode helped deepen the connection between them.
Molchanova eventually moved to New York and continued following Epstein’s advice as she tried to build a career.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: The Promise of a Career Gave Way to an ‘Assistant’ Role
The fashion career Molchanova expected did not develop in the way she had hoped.
Epstein eventually began referring to her as an “assistant”. Molchanova said the title did not reflect normal employment. Instead, she described a system in which Epstein imposed rules over her behaviour, appearance and relationships.
She said he expected women around him to appear happy, remain friendly and thank him for things he arranged for them.
Molchanova also said Epstein controlled aspects of her spending and personal life. According to her account, women received credit cards but had to explain their purchases and keep photographs of receipts.
She said he also provided phones and laptops connected to his accounts and dictated details such as clothing, hairstyle, weight and even which doctors they could visit.
The restrictions extended to relationships and communication, she said.
At times, Molchanova said women were ordered to remain in rooms and not leave. She recalled being isolated for about 24 hours on one occasion and said she spent two or three days on an island under Epstein’s control.
“It was like a cult,” she said.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: ‘Assistant’ Was Allegedly a Cover for What Happened Inside the Homes
One of Molchanova’s most significant claims concerns the word “assistant”.
She said Epstein used the title when visitors arrived because it provided an apparently legitimate explanation for why young women were around him.
In her account, the women were introduced as assistants even though, she alleged, the reality inside Epstein’s properties was very different.
“This is a legal cover-up and has nothing to do with reality,” she said.
Molchanova said Epstein established control gradually rather than immediately. She described a process in which professional opportunities, financial support and personal attention created dependence before the rules became more restrictive.
She said Epstein also expected women to help bring other women into his circle.
Molchanova said she refused to recruit anyone for him. According to her, that decision angered Epstein and sometimes led to punishment or isolation.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: JSC Interiors Was Registered in Her Name
The financial side of Molchanova’s story also became important.
In 2014, Epstein’s lawyer Darren Indyke helped establish a company called JSC Interiors in Molchanova’s name, according to the reporting.
Epstein presented the company as a way for her to pursue a design career. Molchanova said she carried out some basic errands connected to the business, but she did not understand its wider financial activities.
She later learned that an account associated with the company had been used for transactions that she said she did not know about.
“I still have so many questions about what that company was, because no one ever explained it to me, and I wasn’t allowed to ask questions. It made me super scared because I couldn’t understand what I was responsible for,” she told The Wall Street Journal.
Lawyers for Indyke and Epstein accountant Richard Kahn disputed aspects of her account. They said Molchanova appeared to them to be one of Epstein’s assistants working through an LLC established for interior-design purposes and said they did not know about Epstein’s crimes at the time.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: The Credit Cards Became a Major Warning Sign
The discovery of unfamiliar financial activity eventually helped Molchanova begin breaking away.
In early 2019, she checked a credit-monitoring app and noticed credit cards and spending that she said she did not recognise.
The discovery raised questions about how Epstein had been using accounts connected to her name.
She confronted Epstein’s bookkeeper and was reportedly told that the credit report reflected the balance of Epstein’s American Express account. The bookkeeper said Molchanova would be removed from the account.
She also contacted Epstein’s accountant about JSC Interiors. Molchanova said she wanted to see her tax returns and remove herself from the company.
That financial discovery became more than a banking problem. For Molchanova, it helped reveal how deeply Epstein had inserted himself into her life.
She also later learned about other spending connected to her name, including a nearly $40,000 furniture order that appeared in documents released by the Justice Department.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: Her April 2019 Message to Epstein
By this point, Molchanova had begun preparing to leave Epstein’s orbit.
On April 4, 2019, she contacted him directly. She said she did not understand an entity that had been created in her name and wanted to regain control of her life.
“I feel uncomfortable to discuss future,” she wrote.
She also told Epstein that she wanted to “have my normal life”.
Epstein tried to persuade her to meet him in Palm Beach, but Molchanova refused.
She later described how frightened she was at that point.
“I thought for sure, at that moment, someone would find me on the bottom of his pool if I go,” she said.
That decision proved crucial. She did not return to Epstein.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: A Friend Helped Her Find a Way Out
Molchanova said she finally told a friend in early 2019 what had been happening.
The friend helped her create a plan to separate herself from Epstein and deal with the financial and legal connections that had tied her to him.
Molchanova then began confronting people who handled his accounts and the company registered in her name.
Epstein’s longtime assistant Lesley Groff also tried to contact her and encourage her to speak with him, according to the reporting. Molchanova did not respond or return to Epstein. Groff’s lawyers said she performed administrative duties and had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes while working for him.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: Why She Did Not Go to Authorities Earlier?
Molchanova also explained why she did not report the alleged abuse to authorities at the time.
She said Epstein’s wealth, influence and relationships with powerful people made her afraid.
“He was a powerful man,” she said.
She said she believed that approaching authorities could put her life at risk.
Her fear was not only about Epstein himself. Molchanova said the years of control had left her isolated and uncertain about whom she could trust.
She also described periods of depression and said Epstein refused her request to see a therapist.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: The Public Exposure Added to Her Fear
Molchanova said the situation became even more difficult after a tabloid published photographs of her with Epstein in 2016.
The publication made her fear that she would never be able to leave his world.
“I remember thinking that I’m trapped forever, and my life is over.”
She said Epstein criticised her appearance and weight and tried to control how she looked and behaved.
The experience, she said, affected both her physical and mental wellbeing.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: Epstein Was Arrested Months After She Cut Ties
Molchanova’s decision to leave came shortly before Epstein’s second arrest.
Federal authorities arrested Epstein in July 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges. He was later found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York in August 2019.
For Molchanova, however, the end of Epstein’s life did not immediately end the consequences of the years she spent under his influence.
She had to deal with the financial accounts, business connections and emotional impact that remained after she left.
Jeffrey Epstein Latest News: What Molchanova is Doing Now?
Molchanova has since rebuilt parts of her life away from Epstein’s circle.
She has started a fashion brand and plans to advocate for crime victims.
Her decision to speak publicly now marks a major change after years of keeping her experience private.
Her account also places renewed attention on the mechanisms she says Epstein used to maintain control: promises of career opportunities, financial dependence, professional titles, companies registered in women’s names and strict rules governing everyday life.
Her story is also part of a broader effort by Epstein survivors to explain how his network operated and why many women found it difficult to leave or report what they experienced.
“I’m going forward to prove that women have a voice and the ability to rebuild themselves, move forward and do good things in life.”
For Molchanova, the story is no longer only about what happened during her years with Epstein. It is also about reclaiming the identity and independence she says she lost while inside his orbit.
