A South Florida lawyer says documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act suggest "occult activity" took place on the deceased Palm Beach financier's private island — a claim that mirrors conspiracy theories spreading online in the wake of the most recent upload.
Attorney Travis Walker, who filed a federal lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein's estate in January on behalf of a woman identified as Jane Doe, declined to provide specifics but described the purported cult as religious, "sinister" and involving sex trafficking.
"It's definitely not Christianity," he said. "It's something different."
Walker said he intends to do "a deeper dive with regards to the actual activities that were ongoing" at the island as the lawsuit proceeds. He offered to share documents supporting the cult claims but had not done so by Feb. 6.
Attorney Jack Scarola, who has represented nearly 20 Epstein survivors and spent 18 years litigating cases against the pedophile, said he's never encountered evidence of religious occult practices.
What survivors need now is "total transparency and facts," he said. "Not speculation fueled by an appetite for sensationalism."
Did Epstein run a cult? What the files say
The word "occult" appears in the Epstein files only in relation to medical testing — specifically, occult blood testing, a routine medical procedure — not spiritual or religious practices.
However, conspiracy theories about Epstein and occult practices have proliferated online since the document release. They stem largely from a 2009 document that appears to contain the word "Baal," the name of an ancient Canaanite deity historically associated with child sacrifice.
The document is a JPMorgan internal memo showing a wire transfer request for an Epstein account. On a line typically reserved for bank information, the scanned text reads "Baal.name" followed by "Wachovia Bank."
Social media users quickly claimed this was evidence that Epstein had named a bank account after Baal, suggesting occult worship. But others concluded that "baal.name" was most likely "bank name," erroneously transposed during document scanning.
Conspiracy theorists have pointed to other details in the Epstein files as evidence of the occult. One email exchange suggests Epstein had three pieces of Kiswa — the sacred black and gold cloth that covers Islam's holiest shrine in Mecca, Saudi Arabia — shipped to the him in 2017. The files don't explain why Epstein sought the items or what he did with them.
Rick Alan Ross, who has studied cults for four decades, said claims of satanic and occult practices tied to sexual abuse have frequently proven baseless, including during the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s.
"Over the past 40 years, claims that I have received concerning destructive satanic and occult practices have overwhelmingly lacked any objective evidence and instead relied upon anecdotal stories," said Ross, founder of the Cult Education Institute.
While Epstein may have used coercive control techniques to manipulate victims — including social isolation, gaslighting and control of information — Ross said he has seen no evidence Epstein ran a religious cult "though there are most probably aspects of his ongoing manipulation, which may have been 'cult like.'"
Law enforcement investigators have described Epstein's sex-trafficking operation as "cultlike" in its structure, resembling a pyramid scheme where victims were recruited and then became recruiters themselves. However, no agency has indicated Epstein ran an actual religious or ideological cult.
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Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This is what I know. Over 1000 young girls were taken by Epstein during his ongoing trafficking activities. Many have come out and told their story. The government has been slow, extremely show, in dealing with this man since, 2008 and possible before. Many of the men involved have already been identified and brought to justice in some way. NONE of those under this president has been allowed to be identified and prosecuted.
Whether or not a religious being was involved is, to me, irrelevant... We DO KNOW THAT MANY MEN WERE USING AND ABUSING YOUNG GIRLS AS BROUGHT TO THEM BY EPSTEIN AND HIS PIMP. EVIL IS EVIL AND DOES NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO HAVE A RELIGIOUS CONNECTION TO HAVE IT "CLAIMED" TO BE... AS WE HAVE SEEN UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION.
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