On July 8, federal prosecutors charged financier Jeffrey Epstein with one count of sex trafficking of a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Per the indictment, "over the course of many years, Jeffrey Epstein, the defendant, sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations."

The document also noted that "in order to maintain and increase his supply of victims, Epstein also paid certain of his victims to recruit additional girls to be similarly abused." The prosecution alleged that he sexually assaulted girls as young as 14 years old.

Following the indictment, Epstein pleaded not guilty on both charges, and on August 10, several media outlets confirmed that Epstein had died by apparent suicide in jail, citing law enforcement sources. His death is currently under investigation.
Of the many causes to which Epstein donated, academic scientists were a notable subgroup. He apparently “dangled financing for their pet projects,” reports the New York Times, and attracted a distinguished group of acquaintances, including several Nobel laureates, to his home for parties and to scientific conferences he sponsored.

Epstein himself apparently had several scientific theories, including eugenics. The New York Times has uncovered that one ambition he discussed was to impregnate multiple women, thereby spreading his DNA. One account claimed his plan was for 20 women to bear his children, and that his ranch in New Mexico would be a base for this operation. This may have been part of his interest in transhumanism, the study of how to improve the human population through technologies like genetic engineering and artificial intelligence.