The Predator’s Playbook Part 2: The Billionaire, The Prince, and The Charities That Hid It All

How Victoria’s Secret money funded a trafficking empire, how fake charities gave a predator respectability, and why a prince was arrested on his birthday.

By Latifah Ajetunmobi | Certified Parent, Teen & Life Coach | 12 min read

Published: February 2026

⚠️ Content Warning: This article discusses child trafficking, sexual exploitation, and abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

If you read Part 1 of The Predator’s Playbook CHILD SAFETY & PARENTING – Coach Latifah you already know how Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices ran one of the most calculated grooming operations in modern history  targeting vulnerable teenage girls with $200 massage offers, false promises, and hidden cameras.

But the story didn’t end there. It got worse.

In late January 2026, the Department of Justice released the most significant batch of Epstein files yet: more than three million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images. What has emerged since then has shaken governments, billion-dollar corporations, and the British monarchy to their foundations.

This article picks up where Part 1 left off. Because as a parent and teen coach, I believe you need to understand not just how predators groom teenagers — but how the powerful systems around them made it possible.

The Money Man: Les Wexner and the Victoria’s Secret Connection

Every criminal empire needs funding. And Jeffrey Epstein’s empire was bankrolled by one of the most powerful men in American retail.

Les Wexner, the 88-year-old billionaire behind L Brands — the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bath & Body Works, and more — has been named as a co-conspirator of Epstein’s in a recently uncovered FBI document from 2019. Not a witness. Not a person of interest. A co-conspirator.

Here is what we know:

In 1991, Wexner signed a document giving Epstein full power of attorney over his vast fortune. This meant Epstein could make investments, purchase property, and conduct business deals on Wexner’s behalf. He sold Epstein his Manhattan townhouse for just $20 , the same property where federal authorities later accused Epstein of sexually abusing young women and girls under 18.

Democratic lawmakers estimate that approximately $1 billion of Wexner’s wealth was transferred to Epstein. Congressman Robert Garcia put it bluntly: “There would be no Epstein island, no Epstein plane,  and no money to traffic women and girls. Mr. Epstein would not be the wealthy man he was without the support of Les Wexner.”

The Deposition: “Duped by a World-Class Con Man”

On 18 February 2026, Wexner was deposed by the House Oversight Committee at his home in Ohio. The deposition lasted nearly six hours.

His defense? He was “naïve, foolish, and gullible.” He told lawmakers he was “duped by a world-class con man” who “lived a double life.” He claimed their relationship was strictly professional and that he never even shared a cup of coffee with Epstein socially.

But lawmakers were not buying it. Congressman Stephen Lynch said, “There’s no question in my mind, given the evidence so far, that Les Wexner knew about this and failed to stop it.”

And then came the moment that captured headlines around the world: Wexner’s own lawyer was caught on a hot microphone whispering to his client to stop talking. The message was clear—even Wexner’s legal team was worried about what he might reveal.

The Victoria’s Secret Recruiter Scam

Perhaps the most disturbing detail for parents is this: executives at L Brands reported as early as the mid-1990s that Epstein was abusing his connection to Wexner by posing as a recruiter for Victoria’s Secret models.

Think about what that means. Teenage girls and young women were approached with what appeared to be a legitimate modelling opportunity with one of the most famous brands in the world. The dream of walking a Victoria’s Secret runway. It was bait and it was directly connected to a man who was trafficking children.

This is why I tell every parent: if someone approaches your daughter with an “opportunity” that seems too glamorous, too sudden, and too good to be true—investigate it. Verify it. Question it. Because the Epstein network proved that even the most recognizable brand names can be weaponized to groom teenagers.

Charity as a Mask: The Foundations That Gave a Predator Respectability

Jeffrey Epstein didn’t just hide behind wealth and powerful friends. He hid behind charity.

Epstein ran multiple charitable organizations, each one designed to make him look like a philanthropist and give him access to the corridors of power:

The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation is based on his private island, Little Saint James, in the US Virgin Islands. The “VI” stood for Virgin Islands. Through this foundation, Epstein pledged $30 million to Harvard University, though only $6.5 million was ever received. He sat on advisory committees at Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania. He served on the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Epstein-Roth Foundation—a registered 501(c)(3) charity that has virtually no publicly available financial records or transparency. It remains listed on charity databases but has never been properly evaluated.

Gratitude America Ltd.—another Epstein-controlled nonprofit, run by three close Epstein associates. Between 2015 and 2017, it distributed $1.84 million to charities. But when NBC News investigated 56 organisations listed as recipients of Epstein’s donations, 10 had no record of receiving anything. Others disputed the amounts. A Haiti-based children’s charity returned a $25,000 cheque immediately upon realizing where it came from.

Why This Matters for Every Parent

The charity angle is not just a financial scandal. It is a grooming tactic on a societal scale.

By positioning himself as a generous donor to education, science, and children’s causes, Epstein built a wall of respectability that made it almost impossible for victims to be believed. When a teenage girl from a low-income family accuses a “philanthropist” who donates to Harvard and sits on prestigious boards, who does the world believe?

This is the lesson: predators invest in their public image. They donate. They volunteer. They sponsor. They sit on boards. They make themselves indispensable to institutions so that when allegations surface, the institution protects them—not the victim. Teach your children that a person’s public reputation is not proof of their private character.

The Fall of a Prince: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Arrest

On 19 February 2026—his 66th birthday—the former Prince Andrew was arrested by Thames Valley Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office. It was the first arrest of a senior British royal in nearly 400 years.

Police officers swept into the grounds of his home at the Royal Sandringham Estate at 8am. He was taken to Aylsham Police Station in Norfolk and questioned for 12 hours before being released under investigation—meaning he has been neither charged nor exonerated. His homes at both Sandringham and the former Royal Lodge in Windsor were searched.

What Triggered the Arrest

The arrest was not directly related to the sexual abuse allegations made by the late Virginia Giuffre, though those remain under review. Instead, it centres on emails released as part of the Epstein files that appear to show Andrew sharing confidential government information with Epstein while serving as a UK trade envoy.

The documents suggest he forwarded reports on official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore and sent Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in Afghanistan. If proven, this could constitute a violation of the UK’s Official Secrets Act. Misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Timeline of a Royal Downfall

2001: Virginia Giuffre claims she was trafficked to Andrew when she was 17 years old.

2019: Andrew gives his now-infamous BBC Newsnight interview, failing to express sympathy for victims and claiming he “cannot sweat.”

2022: Andrew settles Virginia Giuffre’s civil lawsuit for approximately £16 million, according to British media reports.

October 2025: King Charles III strips Andrew of all royal titles, honors, and the style “Prince.” He becomes Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. He is evicted from Royal Lodge.

2025: Virginia Giuffre, the survivor who fought the hardest and the longest, tragically dies by suicide. She was 41.

January 2026: The DOJ releases over three million pages of Epstein files. Emails surface showing Andrew sharing state secrets with Epstein.

19 February 2026: Andrew is arrested on his 66th birthday. His brother, the King issues a statement: “The law must take its course.”

Virginia Never Got to See This Day

Virginia Giuffre fought for over a decade to hold the powerful to account. She named names when nobody else would. She took on a prince, a billionaire, and an entire system designed to silence her.

She didn’t live to see Andrew arrested. But her family did.

In a statement released after the arrest, her siblings said, “At last, today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty. On behalf of our sister, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we extend our gratitude to the UK’s Thames Valley Police for their investigation. He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.”

Survivor Maria Farmer, one of the first women to report Epstein’s abuse back in 1996, added, “Today is just the beginning of accountability and justice brought forth by Virginia Roberts Giuffre—a young mother who adored her daughter so deeply, she fought the most powerful on earth to protect her. She did this for everyone’s daughters.”

And Then There Were Two: Peter Mandelson’s Arrest

Just four days after Andrew’s arrest, the dominoes kept falling.

On 23 February 2026, Peter Mandelson—the former British Ambassador to the United States, former Cabinet Minister, and one of the most powerful political operatives in modern British history—was arrested on the same charge: misconduct in public office.

Like Andrew, Mandelson is accused of passing sensitive government information to Epstein. The emails released by the DOJ suggest he shared market-sensitive data with Epstein while he was Business Secretary under Gordon Brown between 2008 and 2010—crucially, this was after Epstein’s first conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. Mandelson maintained the friendship anyway.

In Epstein’s personal “birthday book,” Mandelson was listed as his “best pal.” An image from the files reportedly shows Mandelson standing in his underwear next to a woman whose face was redacted. He was fired as UK Ambassador by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September 2025 after the emails were made public and subsequently resigned from both the Labour Party and the House of Lords.

Reports suggest police moved quickly to arrest him because they believed he was about to flee to the Caribbean.

Mandelson’s arrest is not connected to trafficking—it is about the abuse of political office. But it reinforces the same lesson: Epstein didn’t just exploit vulnerable girls. He exploited the powerful too—or more accurately, the powerful willingly gave him access to state secrets, and nobody stopped them. The system failed at every level.

🔑 What Every Parent Must Take From These Revelations

As a certified parent and teen coach, and the author of The Phone-Free Teenager, I want to translate these revelations into what they mean for your family right now:

1. Predators Hide Behind Prestige. The Epstein case has now linked a billionaire CEO, a royal prince, charitable foundations, and one of the most famous fashion brands in history to the trafficking of children. Teach your teens that a person’s job title, wealth, or public reputation means nothing when it comes to their safety. Power is often the predator’s greatest disguise.
2. Question Every “Opportunity” That Targets Your Child. Epstein’s network used modeling scouts, massage job adverts, and scholarship promises. Now we know they even used the Victoria’s Secret brand as bait. If anyone approaches your child with an opportunity that seems too sudden, too flattering, or too private—that is a red flag, not a golden ticket.
3. Charities Are Not Automatic Proof of Good Character. Epstein ran at least three charitable organizations and claimed to donate to over 100 causes. Most of it was fabricated. Teach your children—and remind yourself—that a donation receipt is not a character reference. Abusers invest in respectability the way businesses invest in marketing.
4. The System Does Not Always Protect Children. It took decades for accountability to even begin in this case. Epstein received a sweetheart plea deal in 2008. His co-conspirators walked free for years. A prince settled out of court. The FBI had documents naming co-conspirators in 2019 and did not act. As parents, we cannot rely on institutions to protect our children. We must be the first and last line of defense.
5. Use My Communication Cascade Model™ to Keep the Conversation Going. This case is not a one-time dinner table discussion. It is an ongoing conversation about safety, boundaries, consent, and trust. My Communication Cascade Model™ teaches parents to build a culture of open dialogue so that if your child ever encounters a grooming situation, they come to you first. Not a stranger online. Not silence. You. Connection first, correction second. Always.
6. The Dominoes Are Falling
7. A billionaire has been deposed. A prince has been arrested. A former ambassador was detained to prevent him from fleeing the country. A convicted trafficker is invoking the Fifth Amendment from a prison cell in Texas. The files are still being released. And the world is finally paying attention.
8. But for the survivors—for Virginia Giuffre, who didn’t live to see this day; for Maria Farmer, who reported the abuse in 1996 and was ignored for decades; and for the hundreds of unnamed girls who were lured in with $200 and a promise—justice is still not complete.
9. As parents, we honor them by doing the work they begged the world to do: protect the next generation.
10. Talk to your children. Listen to your children. Teach them that not every smile is safe, not every opportunity is real, and not every person in a position of power deserves their trust.
11. And if you haven’t read Part 1 yet—start there. Because understanding how predators groom teenagers is the most important thing you can learn this year.
12. ➡️ Read Part 1: The Predator’s Playbook — What the Epstein Files Teach Us About Protecting Our Teens https://latifahajet.com/epstein-files-predators-playbook-protecting-teens/
13. Latifah Ajetunmobi is a certified parent, teen, and life coach, registered nurse, midwife, and the author of The Phone-Free Teenager and Beyond the Goat Pen: An African Woman’s Journey. She specialises in digital wellness and parent-teen communication through her proprietary Communication Cascade Model™. She received the Health 2.0 Conference Outstanding Leadership Award in 2023.
14. If this post resonates with you, share it. Someone in your network needs to read this today.
15. #ProtectOurTeens #ParentingAwareness #ThePhoneFreeTeenager #ChildSafety #EpsteinFiles #TeenSafety #GroomingAwareness #ParentCoach #VictoriasSecretEpstein #PrinceAndrewArrest #LesWexner #PeterMandelson #PredatorsPlaybook