{
  "id": 6124423,
  "title": "At 22, Russian design student Julia Molchanova met Jeffrey Epstein by chance on the street. She spent years trapped in his ‘cult.’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/at-22-russian-design-student-julia-molchanova-met-jeffrey-epstein-by",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-07T09:11:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/09/07/at-22-russian-design-student-julia-molchanova-met-jeffrey-epstein-by-chance-on-the-street-she-spent-years-trapped-in-his-cult"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russian design student Julia Molchanova met Jeffrey Epstein accidentally on the street in New York in December 2011. At the age of 22, she was living in Russia and studying design when Epstein, impressed by her blue eyes, invited her for breakfast. During their meeting, Epstein promised to help her get into the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in exchange for her interest in fashion design. After moving to New York, Molchanova was sexually abused by Epstein and later fell under his control, where she was expected to act cheerful and thank him constantly, becoming a part of his \"cult\". Epstein used Molchanova as his assistant, coercing her into sexual acts and expecting her to bring in new victims. In 2014, Epstein registered a company called JSC Interiors in her name for the purpose of launching her design business, but she only performed minimal tasks while he controlled the finances. Epstein used this company to move and hide money. Bank of America held the company's account and did not raise any concerns about Epstein's activities. Molchanova eventually filed a class-action lawsuit against Bank of America, leading to a $72.5 million settlement.",
  "summary": "The Wall Street Journal has published a major new investigation into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender who died in 2019. The article’s central figure is Julia Molchanova, a 37-year-old born in Russia. She spoke to journalists for the first time about her complicated relationship with Epstein, the abuse she suffered at his hands, and her role in a class-action…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}