Towers Financial Corporation
Towers Financial Corporation was a debt collection and health care company run by Steven Hoffenberg. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, it operated as a Ponzi scheme, defrauding approximately 300,000 investors of approximately million.
Epstein as Consultant
Jeffrey Epstein served as a consultant to Towers Financial and was closely involved with Hoffenberg. Court documents and Hoffenberg’s own later statements described Epstein as a co-architect of the fraud.
Hoffenberg’s Conviction
Steven Hoffenberg was convicted of securities fraud in 1993 and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. He served 18 years.
Epstein’s Escape
Despite Hoffenberg’s description of Epstein as a central figure in the scheme, Epstein was not charged. Hoffenberg, in interviews given many years later, expressed deep bitterness about Epstein escaping prosecution while he served two decades.
Pattern Recognition
The Towers Financial period established a pattern that would recur: Epstein was in proximity to serious financial crime, was identified by authorities as significantly involved, and escaped without legal consequences.
Hoffenberg’s Death
Steven Hoffenberg died in 2022. In the period before his death, he gave multiple interviews describing the Epstein relationship and expressing his belief that Epstein had been protected by someone with significant governmental connections.