Jeffrey Epstein’s influence operation didn’t stop at billionaires and boardrooms. Newly surfaced Justice Department records reveal the disgraced financier maintained a web of direct interactions with at least six U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, raising fresh questions about how he moved so freely—and who quietly smoothed the path.

The documents, reviewed by multiple outlets, describe Epstein building what investigators saw as “cultivated relationships,” particularly around St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands—a critical gateway for Epstein’s travel to his private island—along with contacts in Florida.

According to reporting, federal authorities opened a preliminary FBI inquiry in 2019 after receiving tips about a long-term friendship between Epstein and a CBP agricultural specialist stationed at the St. Thomas airport. The paper trail includes grand jury subpoenas, interviews with CBP personnel and Epstein’s pilot, and scrutiny of whether ethical breaches or corruption-related offenses occurred. Ultimately, no CBP officers were charged in connection with the investigation.

What the files paint, however, is a pattern: Epstein allegedly offered small gifts, meals, and favors; floated financial guidance; and used friendly contacts to complain when he faced friction at checkpoints. In one account, Epstein coordinated travel around preferred personnel, and in others, officers were invited into his orbit through social visits and perks—exactly the kind of soft leverage that can dull scrutiny without leaving a clear criminal fingerprint.

Critically, the reporting emphasizes there is no public evidence that the officers knowingly facilitated Epstein’s sex-trafficking crimes. Still, the revelations land like a warning flare: the Epstein machine operated in plain sight, and government uniforms were not immune to the gravitational pull.