Stepping furtively through the streets of Paris, her face mysteriously shrouded, the figure in the heavy shawl was bound to attract attention – and so it proved.
It was months following the suicide attempt of Jeffrey Epstein. And the woman who seemed so anxious to avoid attention bore a remarkable resemblance to Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell – now the most hunted woman on the planet. Did she flee from America for France?
Epstein died in New York’s cell on August 19, 2019. Since then, the attention of the world turned to Ghislaine (a longtime friend), even though Epstein had never been charged for any crime. Victims of Epstein accused her of being a ‘madam’ – claims she vehemently denies and will vigorously contest in court when her trial begins later this month.
Victims of Jeffrey Epstein accused Ghislaine Maxwell (Pictured) of being a ‘madam’ – claims she vehemently denies and will vigorously contest in court when her trial begins later this month
A Ghislaine and brother Kevin lookalike (pictured) in Paris to dupe the world’s media and help her keep a low profile
Today, for the first time, we can reveal the lengths that Ghislaine went to in order to keep a low profile – which included the extraordinary tactic of hiring ‘lookalikes’ to stroll through Paris to dupe the world’s media.
In an exclusive interview, British security expert Matt Hellyer, a decorated former Paratrooper who headed the crack security team staffed with ex-SAS members that guarded the heiress for a year, said: ‘We went to an agency in France. An agency that collaborates with security. We were able to find two individuals who looked like Ghislaine or her brother Kevin.
‘They strolled in Paris for a couple of days and we leaked it to a newspaper. This is how the public was distracted from Ghislaine. She was always in America.
‘Ghislaine was not running from the authorities, she was running from the media.
‘And, you know, many people don’t believe Epstein killed himself. So we were also hired to protect her from a potential killer.’
The astonishing details of Ghislaine Maxwell’s year-long cat and mouse ‘game’ can be revealed for the first time today.
She insists that, far from ‘being on the run’ as many have accused her of being, she was, in fact, available at all times to the American authorities had they wished to question her.
Instead, she says, the FBI staged a dramatic early-morning raid on her final hideaway – an £800,000 estate in New Hampshire – to gain maximum publicity and paint her in the worst light possible.
Mr Hellyer, a friend of Ghislaine’s brother Kevin, was hired within hours of Epstein’s death.
A friend of Ghislaine’s brother Kevin (pictured) Mr Hellyer, was hired within hours of Epstein’s death to ‘get her out of her home’
At the time, Ghislaine was living in a secluded £3 million ocean-front property in Manchester-by-Sea, Massachusets, with her husband Scott Borgerson, the couple’s dogs and Scott’s two children.
In his first interview for a new documentary Ghislaine, which will air in the UK and US after her November 29 trial ends, Mr Hellyer said: ‘Our assignment was to get her out of her home within 12 hours of Epstein’s death. She was worried about Scott’s kids. She didn’t want the cameras around them or anything to happen that could affect their lives. I suggested that we fly her to another country as soon as possible. She refused.’
Ghislaine was denied bail this week for the fourth consecutive time. She claims that she did not intend to leave the US. Why would she leave the US? Her youngest alleged victim was just 14 years old. She claims she’s innocent of the charges that she procured young women for Epstein as well as of sexually assaulting them. The alleged youngest victim she allegedly assaulted was only 14.
Ghislaine opted to remain in the States despite having US, French, UK and UK passports. This is something that her supporters and she insist proves she doesn’t have anything to hide.
But she was constantly on the move, from one ‘safe house’ to another, as she tried to outrun the media.
Mr Hellyer recalled: ‘Scott felt he could protect her but we convinced him she had to go. From then on, it was, “Where in the world is Ghislaine?” Everyone was speculating.
‘We did not hide her from the authorities. They knew that at any point if they wanted to talk to Ghislaine we would bring her safely to them.’
Indeed, Ghislaine’s legal team claim they reached out to the FBI – but never heard back.
Some media outlets offered readers lucrative ‘bounties’ for the first pictures of the elusive heiress.
Ghislaine was photographed at one point outside an In-N-Out Burger joint in Los Angeles. It was bizarre that she was actually reading The Book of Honour: The Secret Lives & Deaths of CIA Operatives.
According to reports at the time, a stunned fellow diner asked: ‘Are you who I think you are?’ to which she replied: ‘Yes, I am.’
Some claimed the photograph was fake, while others said it was because of a poster at a bus station behind her that had been taken long before the photo was published. According to the bus stop hoarding agency, the posters were removed years ago.
Yet Ghislaine really was in Los Angeles – staying at the home of an old friend. Was it really a stunt?
Mr Hellyer says not, adding: ‘We had to move her immediately after that photo came out.’
Ghislaine was still on the move, despite speculations to her location reaching fever pitch.
Everybody had a theory. Each one was wilder than others. The New York Post reported that she could have been on an Israeli submarine or in Israel (she is qualified to pilot submersible boats). There were rumours she was with Epstein’s friend, former model agent Jean-Luc Brunel, in Brazil.
Is she an agent of Mossad? Mossad was the Israeli intelligence agency connected to Robert Maxwell (a disgraced newspaper owner). Is it possible that Israeli agents had seen her being taken away at night by Israeli agents.
There were theories that she was holed up in a private villa in the South of France, had been ‘hidden’ by South African supporters deep in the bush, and even that she was in an underground bunker owned by rich and powerful friends who were terrified of the secrets she might ‘spill’ if she chose to tell all.
There were sightings in New Zealand, the Caribbean, London… and, yes, Paris.
The Sun reported she had been there. She claimed to be able to identify herself from her distinctive signet rings.
‘She rarely went out, but when she did, she wore a large patterned blanket which she pulled tightly around her face and draped across her shoulders,’ it said.
‘She clearly didn’t want to be recognised and was able to blend in.’
This was not a clever ruse. Epstein lived in an apartment on Avenue Foch near the Arc de Triomphe. It is now on the market for £10 million. Ghislaine’s mother is French and Ghislaine was born in France and has French citizenship.
‘Everyone loved the Paris sighting,’ said a source close to the case. ‘Sometimes it’s a matter of giving the people what they want. Everyone was happy for awhile, but the sighting sent dogs running down the wrong path. She never left America.’
Ghislaine, in reality, would go from one safe home to another, but always with darkness.
To avoid being tracked, she changed her mobile phone frequently and only spoke to those closest to her.
She bought everything she required with cash. But by early last year, she was tired of being, in effect, ‘homeless’.
Mr Hellyer said: ‘She missed her family. She was tired. She needed a home.’
Ghislaine told her security team: ‘Enough running!’ A refuge was found in the sleepy town of Bradford, New Hampshire, an hour’s drive away from the home she shared with her husband and stepchildren.
It was a peaceful spot in rural woods that she could relax, and it allowed her to stop running.
Mr Hellyer said: ‘She and Scott and the kids reunited at weekend. The family and her pets were brought to our home. They were able to be a real, loving family.’
All that was changed in the wee hours of July 2, 2020.
Ghislaine, her guards and others heard an aircraft fly directly above the property just before 5 a.m.
Mr Hellyer recalled: ‘I immediately knew it was the authorities. The pandemic lockdown was in effect. What small plane could it be unless it was the authorities?’
He insists Ghislaine was trained to go to a ‘safe room’ and did not try to flee as FBI agents broke through the door, as authorities claimed in a press conference later that day.
FBI assistant director William Sweeney told assembled reporters: ‘She is one of the villains… who slithered away to a gorgeous property where she was continuing to live a life of privilege while her victims live with the trauma inflicted upon them years ago.’
But Mr Hellyer claimed: ‘She did exactly what she was told by us. She didn’t flee from authorities, as some claim.
‘The moment we identified it was the authorities, she cooperated.
‘She was not handcuffed.
‘She asked to say goodbye to her beloved animals.’
Ghislaine’s brother Ian added: ‘The authorities knew at all times where my sister was, so to have this “big show”, the aeroplanes, the press conference. They knew what they wanted. Clearly.’
The FBI has denied the charge. In court filings agents claimed they tracked her via her mobile, which she opened in the name of ‘G Max’ and used to call her sister Isabel.
Ghislaine spent each night behind bars since that time. Within weeks, a jury will decide if she will walk free – or remain locked up for ever.