24-Year-Old Model Recruited Girls for Epstein
Epstein never visited Novosibirsk, but we used a neural network to imagine what his visit might have looked like.
A new trove of documents in the case of American financier Jeffrey Epstein, convicted of sexual crimes, has drawn interest from Russians for a reason. Among millions of documents are many mentions of Russian cities — including Novosibirsk. The city can rightfully be called one of the financier«s favorite places. Although Epstein himself never visited, Novosibirsk is mentioned in the materials hundreds of times. An NGS correspondent studied every document concerning our city and established all the important details. Who looked for girls for Epstein, how the logistics were arranged, and what is known about potential victims — in our report.
Epstein«s former Paris residence near the Arc de Triomphe, where butler Valdson Cotrin received girls from Novosibirsk.
Key Players
Epstein«s assistants Bella Klein and Valdson Cotrin arranged a girl»s arrival in Paris, taking her to 22 Avenue Foch.
The U.S. Department of Justice published another batch of «Epstein files» — millions of documents became publicly available. Novosibirsk is mentioned 310 times in the materials. As in all documents in the financier«s case, almost all sensitive data (names, surnames, organization names, or phone numbers) are redacted, but there are exceptions. They allow identifying the organizers of Jeffrey Epstein»s scheme for transporting girls.
Darya has worked in modeling since her teens, and according to the Epstein files, she was the financier«s main supplier of girls.
The events linked to Novosibirsk unfolded from 2017 to 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Justice materials. All documents can be divided into several main categories: flight booking information, payment data, and personal correspondence with key figures.
A fragment of correspondence between Darya B. (DB on screenshot) and Epstein shows she chats amiably while he responds dryly and to the point.
The first such figure is Leslie Groff. She is Epstein«s former personal assistant, who worked with him for over 20 years. She was part of his inner circle and was often mentioned in connection with organizing his meetings, trips, and household matters. Some victims claimed that Groff knew what was happening and helped »schedule« their meetings with Epstein, booked airline tickets, and paid out cash. She herself denies the allegations, and no case was opened against her.
A letter to Epstein describes a 20-year-old girl as cute but with an imperfect nose and needing English lessons.
The second important person in the «Novosibirsk archive» is Valdson Cotrin. He is Epstein«s former butler, driver, and cook, who worked for him at the Paris mansion for about 18 years. According to U.S. media, Cotrin was the only full-time employee at Epstein»s Paris residence and, by his own account, was responsible for all household needs. He remained loyal to his former employer and claimed to have never seen any signs of abuse of underage girls.
The girl transportation scheme from Novosibirsk to Europe was strictly organized with the same route, duration, and even airlines.
Bella Klein, Epstein«s former accountant at his New York office, is often mentioned in correspondence with Cotrin. She appears in court documents and investigations related to the deceased financier»s financial activities. Investigators were interested in her records of travel expenses, visas, and American Express card payments for alleged accomplices and victims. According to the «Novosibirsk archive,» Bella Klein handled financial matters in this case as well.
These three people were responsible for organizing the flights of girls from Novosibirsk to Europe, to Jeffrey Epstein«s residence in Paris. In almost every published document, they are mentioned either together or separately.
Dasha the Traveler
None of the people close to Jeffrey Epstein personally visited Novosibirsk, according to the documents. To avoid looking for girls personally, the scheme«s organizers found a local intermediary. That person turned out to be 24-year-old Darya B. She is a key figure in the supply of girls from Novosibirsk to Europe.
According to NGS, she lived in the town of Ob (Novosibirsk Oblast) in 2017 when she began personal correspondence with Epstein. They maintained personal contact until mid-2019. According to an NGS source, Darya B. worked at the Hilton hotel in central Novosibirsk during that period and had ties to the local modeling agency «Russian Shine.» The agency«s director told an NGS correspondent that she was not familiar with that name.
«She hasn«t been around during my time [as a model], I»ve been working since 2018,» the modeling agency director replied.
Another source clarified that Darya was a model at the agency much earlier. According to the interlocutor, the girl had been working in this field since 2008 and collaborated with many agencies, and at «Russian Shine» she was until about 2012. After 2015, Darya began posting photos from London. According to the source, such a sharp career rise is very rare.
«She had very good photos. In London, it«s very hard to break through as a model,» the source emphasized.
Also, according to NGS, Darya B. worked for a time at the Joint-Stock Company «Agency for Investment Development of Novosibirsk Oblast» (now the «Corporation for Development of Novosibirsk Oblast») as an assistant to the general director. The agency neither confirmed nor denied this information to NGS.
«The information you request relates to personal data, so we cannot provide it,» a representative of the organization responded.
At that time, the organization was headed by Alexander Zyryanov. Since summer 2024, he has been in pretrial detention on corruption charges. The court began hearing his case in July last year.
It was not possible to contact Darya B. herself. Her phone was unavailable, and today she deleted her VKontakte page. According to the documents, Darya B. maintained contact with Epstein from 2017 to 2019. The U.S. Department of Justice published many of her personal correspondences with the financier, in which she asks to book tickets for herself and says she needs money for personal needs.
The files show that Darya B. frequently traveled to Europe. According to NGS«s count, she flew to Paris 11 times and at least seven times to London. According to The Times, Epstein»s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell had a home in the British capital. She sold it in 2021 to pay for legal fees.
During the preparation of this article, someone claiming to be a close friend of Darya B. contacted the editorial office. He said he has known the girl for more than ten years and is «in touch with her 24/7.» The man stated that the information about his friend«s connection to Jeffrey Epstein is false.
«Darya does not know Jeffrey and has never had such conversations with anyone. She was never involved in escorting. This is just made-up nonsense and fabricated dialogues. I have read everything and personally had access to her phone, and I brought her coffee at work when she was allegedly having such correspondence,» he said.
According to the man, Darya indeed lived in London but returned to Novosibirsk during the coronavirus pandemic. There, she got a job at the «Corporation for Development of Novosibirsk Oblast,» the interlocutor confirmed.
«She was an ordinary office worker, doing office work with 50-year-old women as colleagues,» the person stated.
Darya«s friend demanded the removal of publications about her and then deleted the correspondence.
Candidates.docx
The girl acted as a scout — she looked for suitable candidates for the client. Those who passed the selection were also evaluated by Epstein himself and his assistants. From a published letter, it appears that they underwent a strict selection process. Attached to the message was a text file «Candidates.docx,» obviously containing a whole list of girls who could go to Europe.
«How many people can we bring to Paris this time? [...] She became much more polite after my little speech. She returned to Novosibirsk, I spoke with her again today on Skype. She admitted that she is actually 19 (not 21, as stated in her CV). She said she was afraid she wouldn«t be taken seriously. Today I checked her passport! I liked her, except that she lied in her resume and revealed the truth only when I mentioned that we would be organizing a trip to Paris,» someone reported to Epstein in August 2017 (the sender»s identity is redacted).
Most likely, Jeffrey Epstein and Darya B. met in January 2017. It was then that someone sent a link to her profile on a modeling website. The deceased financier and the girl from Siberia were introduced by mutual acquaintances. Soon, Darya and Epstein began communicating personally — their relationship was not only business. For example, the girl could complain to the businessman about financial difficulties or some troubles. He, albeit briefly, supported her.
For example, in 2019, Darya complained that she had run out of money to continue learning English in London. In addition, the new apartment had no kitchen utensils or even furniture. Darya asked to send her money and specified that everything would be ready for the arrival of a certain Arina, likely one of the girls from Novosibirsk. Epstein agreed and sent her money.
Two days earlier, Darya B. and Epstein had discussed business — the Siberian girl was urging the client to send money to obtain a visa for a girl named Katya. According to the following fragment, Katya may have been a minor.
«Hi, Jeffrey. When do you want Katya to arrive in London? If we make a student visa for her, she will need documents from school. Of course, the documents will have to be paid for. I can recommend the same agent who made the visa for me,» she wrote in late March 2019. Epstein replied that he had already sent the money.
By this point, a warm relationship had developed between the girl and Epstein. The financier sent her his photos, and Darya admired them.
«Jeffrey, you look amazing!» the Siberian girl replied.
Darya looked for candidates for trips all over the world. For example, in spring 2019, she wrote to Epstein that there were many suitable girls in Cannes. During the same period, the girl asked to help her friend with an operation, but Epstein refused.
«Medicine in Russia is good. I remember when I worked at the Hilton hotel in Novosibirsk, many people from Europe flew here for surgery. I was surprised. I«ve been living in the UK for a year and I can say that if you need medical help, it»s better to fly to Russia. I don«t know how people survive here,» Darya complained, adding that her mother works as a nurse and knows good doctors.
Sometimes Darya complained to Epstein about life problems. For example, about how she broke up with a boyfriend because he deceived her.
Who Flew Where
Notably, the communication between Darya B. and Jeffrey Epstein continued until at least the end of May 2019. By that time, the financier was already under scrutiny following the publication of the Miami Herald investigation that Epstein, thanks to connections, avoided severe punishment for sexual crimes in the early 2000s.
The last documented personal communication between Darya and Epstein was on 18 May 2019. Then the girl planned to fly to New York in June, «like last time.» Epstein replied that he was not sure and promised to check. On 6 July 2019, Epstein was arrested again in New Jersey on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
By that time, a stable scheme for transporting girls from Novosibirsk to Paris had already been established. NGS managed to identify at least four local female residents who were sent to Europe. The phone number was found for only one of the girls, but she did not respond to messages.
Novosibirsk was a steady source of passengers for European trips organized by Epstein. The girls were sent economy class, staying no more than two or three days on trips. The first documented flight was in September 2018, the last in April 2019.
Preparations for each flight were thorough — people from Epstein«s inner circle participated, and if there were any hitches, they wrote to him personally. According to the documents, all passengers were Russian citizens and flew from Novosibirsk on regular flights through Moscow to Paris. Epstein personally instructed his assistants to book tickets with Aeroflot and Air France.
All flights were arranged through American Express Centurion Travel Service — an exclusive booking and concierge service. Jeffrey Epstein had a personal manager. The tickets were given to the girls by the financier«s assistants — often Leslie Groff handled this. For money matters, requests came from Bella Klein, and the girls» accommodation and reception at the destination were often handled by Valdson Cotrin, according to the documents.
For more on Epstein, his case, and the crimes he is charged with, read our article.
