Epstein Island Timeline: From the 1998 Purchase to the 2023 Sale and the 2026 Files

Who owns Epstein Island now, and what this timeline covers

Who owns Epstein Island now? The short answer: on May 3, 2023 SD Investments LLC, led by Stephen Deckoff, announced it had bought Little St. James and neighboring Great St. James from the estate for US$60 million, about 52 percent below the asking price ^11,2. As of May 2026 title is held by LSJVI, LLC, a holding company associated with the buyer ^12,13.

The resort announced at the sale has not materialized ^14,15.

For location and buildings see Little St. James, the island and the map of the buildings.

The 1998 purchase and the building program of the 2000s

L.S.J. LLC paid US$7.95 million in April 1998; the seller is not identified in the sources used ^1,16. Epstein later listed the island as his primary residence on the territory's sex-offender registry ^55,21.

Around 2005 an infinity pool went in, and Epstein paid the Water and Power Authority for a submarine power and fiber cable from Cabrita Point ^56,34. In November 2007 he proposed a 16,747-square-foot addition to the 8,124-square-foot main house, including a below-ground theater; whether the full permit was granted is unclear ^57,58.

In December 2009 he applied for a sun deck, a 10,400-square-foot pool pavilion, an ATV garage and a tennis court, and in 2010 for the striped building as a music pavilion ^57,16. In March 2011 the Coastal Zone Management director wrote that major development was occurring through small applications; NBC News found no record that DPNR approved the pavilion as built ¹⁶.

In July 2019 DPNR Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol said construction had not gone by the book and that two stop-work orders had been issued on Little St. James ^16,22.

The proceedings as the courts recorded them: the 2008 plea, the 2019 indictment, Maxwell's conviction

Florida. The plea rested on a non-prosecution agreement signed on September 24, 2007 with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida under then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta ^59,17. Epstein served less than 13 months, on work release from October 2008, and on July 22, 2009 began a year of home detention ^17,60,59. In February 2019 Judge Kenneth Marra ruled that prosecutors had violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act by concealing the agreement, but did not void it ⁶¹.

New York. The 2019 indictment concerned conduct alleged between about 2002 and 2005 at residences in New York and Palm Beach, with a maximum of 45 years; bail was denied against a proposed package of about US$77 million ^24,6,62.

Ghislaine Maxwell. The 2020 indictment charged enticement and transportation counts, conspiracy counts and two counts of perjury ^30,63. Convicted on five of six counts, with judgment entered on three because two conspiracy counts were multiplicitous, she received 20 years, five years of supervised release and a US$750,000 fine in June 2022 and lost at the Second Circuit on September 17, 2024 and at the Supreme Court on October 6, 2025 ^{31,100,33,64,65}.

Status in September 2026. Maxwell was interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July 2025 under limited-use immunity and moved on August 1, 2025 to Federal Prison Camp Bryan, Texas ^66,67. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer denied her habeas corpus petition on August 25, 2026; as of September 16 no appeal, pardon or clemency had been reported, the Senate having resolved on July 29 against any pardon for her, and she remains at FPC Bryan ^54,108,109.

Estate, victims' fund and the 2022 settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands

Epstein's will of August 8, 2019 listed assets of more than US$577 million and directed everything to a trust ^68,69. Probate runs in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands ⁶⁸. An October 2025 court filing valued what was left at about US$127 million; earlier figures vary by source ^102,71.

The compensation program closed to new claims on March 25, 2021 after about 225 claims ^28,70. Individual settlements added roughly US$49 million, for about US$164 to 170 million by early 2025 ^71,72.

On February 19, 2026 the estate and its two co-executors agreed to pay up to US$35 million from Epstein's trust to settle a 2024 class action in Manhattan federal court, admitting no wrongdoing; Judge Arun Subramanian gave preliminary approval on March 3 and set the final hearing for September 16, 2026 ^52,72,101.

The territory's complaint alleged that both islands had served as bases of a trafficking enterprise ^27,9. It put the tax exemptions received by Southern Trust Co. from 2013 to 2017 at US$73.6 million ⁷³.

The settlement of November 30 and December 1, 2022 binds the estate, the two co-executors, Southern Trust Company and ten Epstein-created entities; the Attorney General called it the largest monetary settlement in the territory's history ^9,74. The Little St. James proceeds go to a trust for Virgin Islands residents who are victims of sexual assault, human trafficking, sexual misconduct and child sexual abuse; the release covers only that island, as the one on which Epstein resided and many of his crimes occurred ^9,75. The territory has received US$178.9 million in total from its settlements with the estate and with a private investor; no figure for the Little St. James share of the sale proceeds has been published ¹⁰³.

Banks paid separately: New York's Department of Financial Services fined Deutsche Bank US$150 million on July 7, 2020 ^76,77, and Judge Jed S. Rakoff approved the Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase class settlements on October 20 and November 9, 2023 ^78,79. Bank of America followed on March 27, 2026 with US$72.5 million, approved on August 27 ^110,98.

Epstein Island sold: the 2022 listing, the 2023 buyer and the resort that has not been built

The March 2022 listing at US$125 million described Little St. James, 71.6 acres, as improved with a main compound, guest villas, helipad, dock and two pools, and Great St. James, 161.3 acres, as less developed and suitable for subdivision ^1,80. Fortune reported other estimates closer to US$86 million ⁸¹.

The buyer, Stephen Deckoff, says he has lived in the territory since 2011 or 2012, per his 2023 release and July 2026 court complaint; the release said he had never met Epstein or set foot on the islands before they were marketed, and did not state the price ^11,36,104. Forbes reported US$60 million; the sources do not say how the price was split between the islands ^2,3.

In December 2025 the owner applied for a Coastal Zone Management permit for an 8,800-square-foot concrete warehouse replacing a metal-framed one; on February 5, 2026 CZM Director Marlon Hibbert called the application incomplete for lack of an environmental assessment ^82,83. Satellite imagery from 2019 to 2025 showed the main buildings unchanged ⁸⁴. On July 7, 2026 Deckoff sued the territory for a US$5.76 million refund of 2021 income tax after the IRS found he was not a bona fide resident that year; the case concerns his taxes, not the islands ^104,15.

After an alleged landing by content creators on April 28, 2026, LSJVI, LLC sued in early May for civil conspiracy, trespass and private nuisance, seeking damages and disgorgement; by August 2026 it had sued nine people over both islands, secondary reports of a Business Insider investigation say ^13,12,105. No resale, new listing or formal abandonment of the plan has been reported as of September 2026 ^83,15.

The Epstein files, 2024 to 2026: what was released, when, and how much is withheld

The civil track is a 2015 defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell in the Southern District of New York, settled in 2017 ^41,85. Judge Loretta A. Preska ordered the J. Doe references unsealed on December 18, 2023, and on July 23, 2025 the Second Circuit sent the case back for document-by-document review ^86,87.

The government track began on February 27, 2025 with a first phase that DOJ described as largely previously leaked material ⁸⁸. After an August 2025 subpoena the House Oversight Committee published 33,295 pages of DOJ records on September 2 and roughly 20,000 pages of estate documents on November 12 ^89,90. H.R. 4405 became Public Law 119-38 on November 19; it bars withholding for embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity and requires a report listing all government officials and politically exposed persons named, submitted on February 14, 2026 ^46,91.

The December 2025 batches held grand jury transcripts, police reports and FBI interview notes; CNN put the redacted or withheld total at roughly 200,000 pages at that stage ^47,48. The January 30, 2026 release added more than 2,000 videos and about 180,000 images; about 3 million pages were withheld for abuse material, victim privacy, duplicates, unrelated files and privilege, a figure DOJ later put at 2.5 million ^10,92,93.

On April 2, 2026 the President removed Attorney General Pam Bondi amid reported frustration over her leadership, including the handling of the files; Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche became acting Attorney General ⁹⁴. The DOJ Inspector General opened a compliance audit on April 23 and the Government Accountability Office accepted a second audit request on April 28 ^53,95. In a suit under the Administrative Procedure Act by an independent journalist, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered DOJ on June 25 (some outlets: June 26) to publish further material or justify each withholding and warned of civil contempt on August 13; DOJ filed a protective notice of appeal on August 24, and no contempt finding had been reported as of September 16 ^96,97,106.