Jeffrey Epstein surrounded himself with sultans, former heads of state, British royalty and tech visionaries to cultivate the image of a high-flying financier.
But in real estate, Epstein often leaned on a down-on-his-luck New York City developer with a trail of lawsuits and an array of business ventures that ranged from a deli to a houseware retailer to boutique luxury condos: David Mitchell.
Epstein’s previously undisclosed real estate investments with Mitchell show deeper insight into Epstein’s business strategy. He invested in real estate not just for paper returns but to enhance his connections and stature, specifically turning to Mitchell to build out his ever-expanding Rolodex.
One source who knows Mitchell said that Epstein saw Mitchell — whose father was a famed NYC restaurateur — as someone who could open doors and make social connections for the outer borough-born Epstein in New York’s upper-crust society. The relationship evolved as Mitchell’s investments went south and he relied on Epstein for short-term loans and financial advice. Epstein provided at least $7 million in loans and investments in Mitchell’s projects, according to a TRD estimate based on transactions specified in the documents.
The thousands of emails exchanged between Epstein, Mitchell and Epstein’s assistants were released as part of 3.5 million pages of documents by the Department of Justice into the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. The emails suggest the relationship was mostly transactional, although they did occasionally exchange birthday and holiday messages. Epstein once asked Mitchell about an erectile dysfunction drug and Mitchell invited Epstein to a birthday party in Tel Aviv, telling him it should be “quite demonic and fun.”
Epstein provided Mitchell funding for many of his projects, including a $1.5 million loan in 2017 to cover shortfalls at the Life Hotel, Mitchell’s ambitious rebrand of the Herald Square Hotel. Epstein also invested in at least four of Mitchell’s ventures, including a six-unit condo development on the Upper East Side, according to emails released by the Department of Justice.
Mitchell, despite his blue blood bona fides, often found himself needing cash infusions from Epstein, emails show. Epstein, whose liquid assets were in the hundreds of millions for most of their relationship, seemed happy to help, providing over $2 million in loans to Mitchell.
“Don’t sweat it, life is long . No stress from me,” Epstein said in response to Mitchell trying to negotiate a repayment plan for one of the loans he had received.
Epstein did not appear to financially benefit from his relationship with Mitchell. But after the Department of Justice charged Epstein with sex trafficking dozens of underage girls in July 2019, Epstein’s attorneys sought to put assets from two individuals up for a bond package: Epstein’s brother and Mitchell, who was described by Epstein’s attorneys as a “friend.”
Between 2009 and 2019, Epstein also regularly sought connections from Mitchell. Epstein turned to the dealmaker to find a friend of Woody Allen’s son a restaurant job. Epstein asked Mitchell for a rabbi who would do a conversion for “shiksas,” or non-jewish women. And he requested Mitchell’s help with a Soho House membership.
Epstein also offered Mitchell career advice, warning him he was in too many deals.
“Try to be disciplined about deals. breaking the addiction is not easy,” said Epstein in an email to Mitchell in 2016. “As your friend i think too many… slow down, I need you around.”
Mitchell did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Two connectors
Mitchell hailed from the world Epstein always aspired to be a part of. Mitchell’s father, Jan Mitchell, revived famed New York restaurants Lüchow’s and Longchamps. He bought an estate in Southampton modeled after the Villa Medici in Rome and amassed a collection of pre-Columbian gold, donating some to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Jan’s son dabbled in real estate, focusing on retailers and small high-end condos in Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights. Among his more notable ventures was Gracious Homes, an upscale housewares chain, which filed for bankruptcy in 2016.
Epstein and Mitchell had a longstanding relationship. When Epstein’s cushy 13-month jail sentence in Palm Beach County ended for charges of soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor for prostitution in July 2009, Mitchell called Epstein’s office to offer “congratulations… or welcome back.”
“I’m just so happy for you. Give me a call when you can,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell acted as deal guy for Epstein. Over the course of their relationship, Mitchell brought a number of investment opportunities and business ideas to Epstein.
Mitchell’s pitches were often for new and off-the-beaten-path deals, getting into loansharking, buying properties in Alberta, Canada, and a self-storage property in Tampa. But Mitchell rarely seemed to have the funds to close on these investments.
After Epstein’s prison sentence in Palm Beach ended in 2009, Epstein viewed Mitchell as a trusted confidante. Epstein asked Mitchell to arrange meetings with some of his most valued contacts. In 2010, Epstein requested that Mitchell go to Dubai with an Epstein associate to meet Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the CEO of logistics giant DP World. A year later, Mitchell was asking Epstein, then a convicted sex offender, for “credibility help” in the U.K., while he attempted to make a bid on the Silverstone racing track with Guggenheim Partners. Epstein hosted a meeting at his NYC townhouse with Peter Mandelson, a member of the U.K’s House of Lords, and Mitchell. The deal fizzled out and Mitchell said he was looking for new partners and asked Epstein if he could pitch the deal to the “Sultan.”
Back in 2011, Epstein appeared to have nearly blind trust in Mitchell.
“[I’m] closing today on your deal„ with no due diligence. I am merely relying on your representations . thanks and good luck,” said Epstein in one email.
Epstein also offered to help Mitchell out when was short on capital. In 2011, Mitchell asked for Epstein to show “proof of funds” to purchase 7 million British pounds. Mitchell said he just needed a “flash.” In 2012, Mitchell once again asked Epstein to provide a “proof of funds” letter for $21 million to satisfy an “edgy” seller in another deal.
A partnership in the red
Epstein invested millions with Mitchell, in addition to loaning him money directly, according to financial documents made public by the DOJ. Many of those investments did not reap returns.
Mitchell and Epstein were partners on multiple condo developments, including an Upper East Side condo conversion project of a Beaux-Arts mansion at 320 East 82nd Street that Mitchell had purchased for $16 million in 2015. They also co-invested in a four-unit condo project in Flatiron that attracted A-listers like Chelsea Clinton, Jeff Gordon and Jennifer Lopez after launching sales in 2013.
But the Upper East Side development hardly saw any buyers, let alone celebrities, come through the door after Mitchell’s then-wife, Douglas Elliman agent Jamie Mitchell, launched sales in 2017. After pestering Mitchell for months about a project update, Epstein’s accountant Richard Kahn was dismayed at the numbers Mitchell sent over in May 2018. “This summary sheet is useless and [Mitchell] is clearly lost,” he wrote to Epstein. “It appears from sales scenario…we get back $0 on our $3,480,000 investment.”
Mitchell’s other projects were quickly unraveling, as well.
He bought the Herald Square Hotel for $40 million in 2015 and sunk $30 million into renovations and rebranding as the boutique, 98-room Life Hotel, with ground-floor dining from restaurateur Steven Hanson, who also invested in the project.
Nearly immediately, the hotel appeared to be a losing proposition. Emails from October 2017 show Mitchell asking his partner Hanson for $2,600 to cover overdraft fees, and by 2018 he was looking to sell the property but couldn’t find a bidder to make him and his investors whole, according to a lawsuit filed against Mitchell in state court.
Epstein played the role of strategic advisor and, when necessary, bridge lender. He told Mitchell he wanted “no tie to hotel.” In 2017, Epstein’s company, Financial Trust Real Estate, agreed to extend a $1.5 million loan to Mitchell for the Life Hotel. In 2023, Mitchell lost the hotel after the lender foreclosed on the underlying loan.
As Mitchell became more indebted to Epstein, Epstein provided Mitchell other ways to make some cash, like helping broker Epstein’s purchase of his neighbor, Bill Cosby’s townhome on East 71st Street. He also enlisted Mitchell to auction off a Hercules statue and another Roman statue with a projected value of $1.5 million.
Still, Mitchell continued to ask Epstein for multiple short-term loans.
In October 2018, Epstein wired Mitchell $70,000. In January 2019, Mitchell asked Epstein for $100,000 wire. Epstein’s accountant emailed Epstein, “he’s desperate.”
Epstein’s accountant was especially dubious of Mitchell’s ability to repay his debts and the whereabouts of the statues.
“Seems like he is stumbling out of control all answers noncommittal..and info he gives us is never accurate,” said Kahn.
Kahn emailed Mitchell, “quite disturbing that your story keeps changing… you should be more careful as jeffrey trusts you yet you give me bad info every day.”
Records of ledgers from Epstein’s accounts show that Mitchell and his wife made payments in increments as small as $2,200 to Epstein over the course, totaling over $600,000, ending in April 2019.
Mitchell’s money problems
After Epstein’s death in a federal detention center while awaiting charges of sex trafficking minors, Mitchell continued to face financial and legal challenges.
A New York judge found he owed over $6 million to a broker he stiffed on a land deal in Las Vegas over a decade prior. Two different law firms sued him for unpaid legal fees, he was evicted from his Midtown East co-op for failing to pay 18 months of maintenance fees and his wife filed for divorce.
In 2020, a roughly $42,000 check bounced for his children’s tuition at elite private school Columbia Grammar & Preparatory. When the school administrator was informed over email, she responded: “You did not tell me…but it does not surprise me at all.”
By 2021, he listed just $1,200 in his Chase bank account, according to a court filing.
Just last month, Mitchell was sued by an art gallery owner who collects Pre-Columbian art for an unpaid loan of $34,200.
In an email, the gallery owner offered Mitchell one last chance to pay up before commencing litigation.
“This situation has been prolonged by repeated misrepresentations and delays,” he said.