--- alias: - Andrew Farkas category: Business & Finance created: 2026-09-25 location: New York, New York relations: - fn: 1 start: 2005 type: founded with: '[[Island Global Yachting]]' - fn: 1 role: business partner in the American Yacht Harbor marina, St. Thomas start: 2006 type: partner_of with: '[[Jeffrey Epstein]]' summary: New York real estate investor who founded Island Global Yachting and brought Jeffrey Epstein into a St. Thomas marina deal months after his 2006 Florida charge. tags: - Person - AndrewFarkas - JeffreyEpstein - IslandGlobalYachting - VirginIslands - RealEstate - JPMorgan updated: 2026-09-25 --- Andrew Farkas is a New York real estate investor who founded the marina company Island Global Yachting in 2005 on [St. Thomas](/places/st-thomas/) in the [U.S. Virgin Islands](/places/us-virgin-islands/) and, months after [Jeffrey Epstein](/people/jeffrey-epstein/) was charged in [Florida](/places/florida/) in 2006, invited him into the purchase of the American Yacht Harbor marina at Red Hook. The two men exchanged nearly 2,000 emails over more than a decade, and Farkas visited Epstein in [Palm Beach](/places/palm-beach-florida/) while Epstein was serving his county jail sentence. [JPMorgan Chase](/organizations/jpmorgan-chase/)'s 2019 internal review of Epstein's correspondence listed Farkas among the people Epstein had referred to the bank. After the [Justice Department](/organizations/department-of-justice/)'s release of Epstein records on January 30, 2026, Farkas said, "I deeply regret ever associating with Jeffrey Epstein."[^1][^2] ### The Marina In 2005 Farkas, a boater, started Island Global Yachting to enter the luxury marina business, basing it on St. Thomas, where Epstein had owned the private island [Little St. James](/places/little-st-james/) since 1998. In July 2006 Epstein was charged in Florida with felony solicitation of prostitution. About four months later Farkas wrote to him: "We are now in contract to buy American Yacht Harbor, where you keep your tenders." Epstein answered, "I would like to be in on that." A later message from Farkas read: "IGY finance and tax guy are going to speak with your guys to reconcile the tax treatment for you." *[The New York Times](/organizations/new-york-times/)* reported that Epstein's Virgin Islands tax arrangements cut his tax bill by as much as 90 percent and, according to the JPMorgan litigation, saved him more than 300 million dollars.[^1] In February 2020 the Virgin Islands Daily News reported that Epstein owned 50 percent of American Yacht Harbor, where his company [Southern Trust Company](/organizations/southern-trust-company/) kept its office, and that the marina was still receiving tax breaks from the territory's [Economic Development Commission](/organizations/economic-development-commission/).[^3] Farkas sold Island Global Yachting in 2022 and later sought to buy it back. A legal filing accused him of a "bribery scheme" involving payments of up to 3 million dollars in connection with that effort; Farkas called the allegations "false and meritless."[^1] ### The Correspondence The emails released in 2026 show Farkas calling Epstein "one of the blessings" in his life and "one of the bravest men I've ever known." A New Year's note read: "You are one of the blessings in my life and I cherish our friendship." During Epstein's 2008 to 2009 jail sentence in Palm Beach County, Farkas wrote of "regular pilgrimages to Palm Beach to visit a dear friend," and in November 2008 Epstein wrote to him, "great seeing you,, sorry it was such a schlep." Farkas said, "I did not visit him inside prison."[^1] Epstein's office recorded a "2:30pm call w/Andrew Farkas" on March 15, 2019, four months before his arrest.[^4] On January 16, 2019, in a pre-dawn exchange with [Cecile de Jongh](/people/cecile-de-jongh/) about a matter involving "Albert," hurricane repairs and a septic connection on his property, Epstein wrote, "I have spent time walking back Farkas"; de Jongh replied that she would speak with [David Bornn](/people/david-bornn/), identified in the exchange as "Albert's legal counsel."[^5] ### The JPMorgan Referrals After Epstein's July 2019 arrest JPMorgan's compliance staff reviewed his emails with the bank's executives under the code name Project Jeep. In a June 7, 2023 letter motion to Judge [Jed Rakoff](/people/jed-rakoff/), the [Government of the United States Virgin Islands](/organizations/government-of-the-united-states-virgin-islands/) told the court that the review's summary set out "more than four pages of Epstein referrals to JPMorgan," including Farkas, [Boris Nikolic](/people/boris-nikolic/), [Bill Gates](/people/bill-gates/) and [Peter Mandelson](/people/peter-mandelson/), while the bank's chief executive, [Jamie Dimon](/people/jamie-dimon/), had testified, "We did not need introductions to anybody." JPMorgan's lawyers at [WilmerHale](/organizations/wilmerhale/) answered that the emails showed Epstein mentioning prominent people but did not show that he had referred them or that they became clients because of him.[^2][^6] ### Statements In 2019 Farkas told his investors that his negotiations with Epstein had begun "before he was charged with, let alone convicted of, any crime." The released emails date the marina offer to several months after the July 2006 charge. After the 2026 release he issued no denial of the friendship and said, "I deeply regret ever associating with Jeffrey Epstein," while disputing that he had been obliged to disclose the marina partnership. In a second statement he said the exchanges could "be mischaracterized" if "taken out of context or without understanding my broader communication style," and added, "At no time have I conducted myself inappropriately."[^1] [^1]: "Billionaire Called Epstein a 'Blessing' as They Made Deals," *The New York Times* (Debra Kamin), February 9, 2026, as republished by *GV Wire.* https://gvwire.com/2026/02/09/billionaire-called-epstein-a-blessing-as-they-made-deals/ [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808715, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), letter motion of Motley Rice to Judge Jed S. Rakoff seeking leave to reopen depositions, ECF No. 191, June 7, 2023 (filed June 20, 2023). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808715.pdf [^3]: Suzanne Carlson, "Epstein estate could be ordered to repay more than $144 million in tax breaks," *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 13, 2020, reproduced as Exhibit 36, ECF No. 158-36 (filed May 23, 2023), in No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/epstein-estate-could-be-ordered-to-repay-more-than-144-million-in-tax-breaks/article_b84d9710-14af-5e69-a890-bcf8265cf8f9.html [^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02278860, DataSet 11, calendar alert, "2:30pm call w/Andrew Farkas," March 15, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02278860.pdf [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01026946 and EFTA01026933, DataSet 9, email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and Cecile de Jongh, January 16, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01026946.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01026933.pdf [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808625, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), letter of John J. Butts, WilmerHale, opposing the motion to reopen depositions, ECF No. 187, June 9, 2023 (filed June 15, 2023), citing Dimon deposition transcript 395:14-21. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808625.pdf