Overview
In addition to his East 71st Street townhouse, Jeffrey Epstein maintained a discreet office presence in Midtown Manhattan, typically operating from 457 Madison Avenue (also associated at different points with variations of his financial firm). The office served as the formal business address for his financial operations and the point at which he met clients, associates, and institutional contacts who required a conventional business setting.
457 Madison Avenue
The building at 457 Madison Avenue is a mid-century office tower in Midtown Manhattan’s corporate corridor, near Grand Central Terminal and a few blocks from many major financial institutions. The address provided Epstein with a respectable Midtown address for business correspondence and client meetings.
Unlike his townhousewhich was used for private social functions and where his more notorious activities occurredthe Madison Avenue office was presented as the above-board face of his financial operations.
Business Functions
The office served several functions:
- Client communication: Formal correspondence and meetings with financial clients
- Staff presence: His financial staff (accountants, assistants managing his investment activities) worked from this location
- Lesley Groff operated as his executive assistant from the Manhattan office, managing his schedule and communications
- Regulatory address: Filings connected to J. Epstein & Co. and related entities listed Madison Avenue as the business address
Lesley Groff
Lesley Groff served as Epstein’s primary executive assistant in New York for years. In 2022, she pleaded guilty to a single federal charge relating to her facilitation of parts of his trafficking operationspecifically, arranging travel for minors and managing logistics for their visits. She was sentenced to time served plus supervised release, having cooperated with prosecutors.
The Office and the Investigation
When federal investigators searched Epstein’s properties in 2019, the Madison Avenue office was not among the primary search locations reported. Most physical evidence was obtained from the townhouse. However, financial records and communications obtained from the office facility formed part of the documentary record in civil proceedings.