WASHINGTON — The FBI confirmed Tuesday that a prison letter purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein to convicted sex offender Larry Nassar was fabricated, concluding an investigation into correspondence postmarked three days after the financier’s death in his Manhattan jail cell.
The Justice Department initially released the handwritten note overnight as part of its ongoing disclosure of files related to Epstein’s case. Hours later, after conducting further review, officials declared the document fraudulent.
“The FBI has confirmed this alleged letter from Jeffrey Epstein to Larry Nassar is FAKE,” the Department of Justice stated. “The fake letter was received by the jail, and flagged for the FBI at the time.”
The letter, which began “Dear L.N.” and was postmarked August 13, 2019—three days after Epstein’s body was discovered in his Metropolitan Correctional Center cell—attempted to suggest a connection between the two convicted pedophiles. “As you know by now, I have taken the ‘short route’ home,” the fabricated correspondence stated. “Good luck!”
FBI investigators identified multiple authentication failures that exposed the document as fraudulent. The handwriting did not match Epstein’s verified samples, officials said. The postmark originated from Northern Virginia rather than New York City, where Epstein was incarcerated. The return address lacked Epstein’s inmate number, which correctional protocols require. Additionally, the author incorrectly identified the facility as “Manhattan Correctional” rather than its proper name, Metropolitan Correctional Center.
“This fake letter serves as a reminder that just because a document is released by the Department of Justice does not make the allegations or claims within the document factual,” the DOJ wrote. “Nevertheless, the DOJ will continue to release all material required by law.”
The fabricated letter attempted to create false equivalence between the two men’s crimes, stating: “We shared one thing … our love & caring for young ladies and the hope they’d reach their full potential.”
The author then made unsubstantiated claims about President Trump without evidence: “Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls. When a young beauty walked by he loved to ‘grab s—ch,’ whereas we ended up snatching grub in the mess halls of the system.” The letter concluded with “Life is unfair” before signing off as “J. Epstein.”
Prison mail undergoes inspection by correctional staff before delivery. The correspondence was addressed to a correctional facility in Arizona but was returned to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in late September with notification that Nassar was no longer housed there. By that point, Epstein had been dead for more than seven weeks.
“When I picked up the mail from the mail room this morning there was a letter for inmate Epstein,” an unidentified MCC technician wrote. “It appeared he mailed it out and it was returned back to him. I am not sure if I should open it or should we hand it over to anyone?”
On July 31, 2020, the FBI submitted the letter for handwriting analysis to determine “if the individual who wrote the letter was Epstein or another unknown person.” The results of that analysis were not immediately available at the time, though Tuesday’s announcement confirms the conclusion reached after forensic examination.
Nassar received a sentence in January 2018 of between 40 and 175 years in prison on sexual assault charges after conviction for abusing female gymnasts under the pretense of providing medical treatment. His accusers included Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman. Nassar, now 62, was convicted on state and federal charges for sexually assaulting members of the USA gymnastics team, with allegations from at least 265 young women and girls during his 18-year tenure.
The Justice Department issued a statement Tuesday morning noting that the nearly 30,000 pages of newly released files included “untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”
“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the DOJ stated. “Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims.”
Among the released materials, an email dated January 8, 2020, sent by an unidentified assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York stated: “For your situational awareness, wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware), including during the period we would expect to charge in a Maxwell case,” WBZNEWSRADIO reported.
“In particular, he is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present,” the email continued. “He is listed as having traveled with, among others and at various times, [second wife] Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany, and his son Eric.”
“On one flight in 1993, he and Epstein are the only two listed passengers; on another, the only three passengers are Epstein, Trump, and then-20-year-old [redacted],” the email stated. “On two other flights, two of the passengers, respectively, were women who would be possible witnesses in a Maxwell case. We’ve just finished reviewing the full records (more than 100 pages of very small script) and didn’t want any of this to be a surprise down the road.”
The email provided no confirmation regarding whether Trump was aware of Epstein’s sex crimes, nor did it accuse him of any wrongdoing.
The email’s release came days after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche claimed that files related to Epstein temporarily disappearing from the Justice Department’s website “has nothing to do with President [Donald] Trump,” but rather came at the request of victim advocacy groups during an appearance on NBC News’ Meet the Press Sunday, December 21.
Blanche, who represented Trump in his New York City criminal trial and was nominated as deputy attorney general following Trump’s presidential election victory in November 2024, explained that released evidence included unredacted pictures of women, which he said “will go back up” after Justice Department officials investigate whether to make additional redactions. Fifteen images initially shared on the Justice Department’s website as part of the Epstein files’ Friday, December 19 release were suddenly removed on Saturday, December 20.
One removed file showed a photograph of a tabletop holding framed photos of Epstein with famous people, including an open drawer with printed photos of Trump and women in bathing suits.
“We don’t have perfect information,” Blanche said Sunday. “And so when, when we hear from victims-rights groups about this type of photograph, we pull it down and investigate. We’re still investigating that photo. The photo will go back up, and the only question is whether there will be redactions on the photo.”
Blanche also addressed criticism that he and others from the Trump-appointed Justice Department faced for not releasing complete Epstein files by Friday, which served as the deadline for document release in adherence with the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump last month.
“The reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that to protect victims,” Blanche said. “We’re going through a very methodical process with hundreds of lawyers looking at every single document and making sure that victims’ names and any of the information from victims is protected and redacted, which is exactly what the [Epstein Files] Transparency Act expects.”
Trump announced he signed legislation compelling the Justice Department to release files related to Epstein in a post shared on his Truth Social account on November 19 amid public scrutiny for his past relationship with the convicted pedophile. Trump’s lengthy post attempted to tie Epstein to Democrats, days after publicly urging Republicans to vote in favor of releasing full Justice Department files related to Epstein, reversing his previous stance on file disclosure.
The president called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Epstein’s ties to prominent Democratic officials and banks like JP Morgan days after his own name was mentioned in emails sent by the late convicted pedophile.
“We have released over 33,000 Epstein documents to the Hill, and we will continue to follow the law and to have maximum transparency. Also, we will always encourage all victims to come forward,” Bondi said at a November news conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and others on an unrelated issue, ABC News reported.
The fake letter incident underscores challenges the Justice Department faces in releasing comprehensive document collections while maintaining accuracy and protecting victim privacy. The department must balance competing demands: transparency requirements mandated by Congress, verification of document authenticity, protection of victim identities, and managing information that may be sensational but unverified.
The fabricated correspondence likely originated from someone seeking to create false narratives about Epstein’s connections or to embarrass figures mentioned in the letter. The timing—postmarked after Epstein’s death—suggests the author understood the letter would eventually surface during document releases and hoped to plant misinformation in the official record.
The incident also demonstrates the thoroughness of FBI forensic analysis capabilities. Handwriting examination, combined with procedural inconsistencies like incorrect facility naming and missing inmate numbers, allowed investigators to definitively establish the document’s fraudulent nature despite its appearance in official jail mail systems.
As the Justice Department continues releasing tens of thousands of pages related to Epstein’s case, additional documents may require similar forensic scrutiny to separate authentic materials from fabrications or hoaxes. The department’s commitment to releasing “all material required by law” means even fake documents may initially appear in public releases before verification processes identify them as fraudulent.
The Nassar connection, while fabricated in this instance, reflects public fascination with high-profile sex offenders and speculation about whether such criminals communicate with one another. In reality, federal prison systems typically segregate such inmates for their own protection and monitor their communications extensively, making substantive correspondence between them unlikely even if authentic interest existed.
