Epstein Transparency Act Files: Unverified Correspondent Sent Ominous Warnings to Mark Epstein, Citing Chinese Intelligence Threats, Days After Death

Two days after Epstein died, an unverified sender claiming intelligence background sent warnings about "PRC China involvement" and surveillance.

WASHINGTON — Among the millions of pages released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a newly surfaced document stands out not for what it proves about Epstein’s activities, but for what it reveals about the chaotic and dangerous atmosphere surrounding his inner circle in the immediate aftermath of his death in August 2019.

Two days after Epstein died in his Manhattan jail cell, his brother Mark received a lengthy email from someone claiming to be a former U.S. intelligence officer.

The message made explosive claims about Epstein’s alleged connections to Chinese intelligence, North Korean agents, and international arms dealers—while warning Mark that he might also be in danger. “When the #1 target was a risk factor to a certain already mentioned person and their allies, you were safe,” the sender wrote. “Until he was out of the equation. Now they can work down the list.”

The sender added an ominous note about Ghislaine Maxwell: “I am not sure if GM is on it or their ally, she thinks she is but allies have ways of falling out. Or falling down dark stairs, despite her power.”

What makes this exchange interesting is not the claims themselves, which remain unverified and could represent a false effort to coerce Mark Epstein, among other possibilities.

But rather than dismissing the correspondence outright as disinformation, Mark engaged substantively, asking specific questions about a surveillance van and maintaining dialogue with the sender, who references prior anonymous phone contact between them. The email chain offers a window into the fears, threats, and intrigue that surrounded Epstein’s inner circle in the shocking days following his death.

The correspondence begins with a detailed message dated August 12, 2019, from someone identifying as “Melvyn Kohn,” who claims to have worked in intelligence with family members holding top secret clearances.

The email references prior phone contact between them, telling Mark: “Not to be taken personally, but we were talking on a listening device, and listening devices, like walls, have ears.”

The sender writes that “years ago Jeffrey had some exposure to North Korean/Chinese agents, and was in the proximity of arms dealers who sold to these nations and on behalf of them.” The email names specific historical figures—Gerald Bull and Dr. Herman Erben—both deceased. Bull, a Canadian artillery expert, was assassinated in 1990 after working on long-range artillery projects for Iraq. Erben was an Austrian physician and wartime intelligence figure linked to German military intelligence, with reported connections to multiple spy networks in the postwar era.

The email also contains a specific operational claim: “A green van with NY plates, possibly a Ford, seems to be in your area a lot, I cannot presume it is up to anything bad, but what little info I have you are welcome to.”

Mark Epstein’s response is substantive. On August 15, 2019, he replies simply: “Was the van by Vandam or Spring?” This brief question reveals Mark taking the communication seriously enough to engage, or perhaps testing the sender’s actual knowledge.

The sender replies on August 19: “Both. But it has checked out so it’s off the list. Sorry for any false alarm.” Then adds: “If you do recall anything that you think might be of use, however small, please stay in touch. Again, a focus is PRC China involvement.” The exchange ends with a Yiddish/German sign-off: “Sei gesund” (Be healthy/well).

Most provocatively, the email directly addresses intelligence allegations with an unusual twist. Rather than claiming Epstein worked for Mossad, as many conspiracy theories suggest, the sender argues something more complex: that “non Jews used Jeffrey” as a cutout to make it appear as though Israel was involved, thereby “making Israel weaker.”

The sender writes: “His poor choice of companions, and his poor choice of activities, has done harm not only to him, but to all Jews. This is in fact part of what some foreign intel agencies want to happen, masking their own presence and making Israel weaker. I complicate this, my apologies, but it is a complex equation of using cutouts to do intel work and then letting others take the blame. In this case, non Jews used Jeffrey.”

What makes this anonymous correspondent’s focus on “PRC China involvement” relevant is previous correspondence disclosed under the Epstein Transparency Act that revealed Jeffrey Epstein’s own documented concerns about dangerous Chinese networks.

In confirmed email exchanges between Epstein and Steve Bannon, Epstein explicitly warned Bannon to be careful of Miles Kwok (also known as Guo Wengui), the exiled Chinese businessman who became a prominent figure in conservative media circles. Kwok, who lived in a New York penthouse, was later convicted in 2024 of defrauding his followers of over $1 billion. Epstein's warnings to Bannon referenced dangerous Chinese networks and advised caution in dealings with Kwok, suggesting intimate knowledge of Chinese power networks and their operations.

The newly released files also include a July 2015 email from Epstein to a Russian contact regarding a Russian woman allegedly running a blackmail operation against powerful businessmen in New York.

“I need a favor, there is a russian girl from moscow, she is attempting to blackmail a group of powerful biznessman in New York, it is bad for business for everyone involved,” Epstein wrote. He noted the woman had “arrived new york saturday of last week staying at the Four Seasons on 57 street” and asked for “Suggestions?”

In sum, the newly released files show documented connections to Russian, Israeli, Middle Eastern, and Chinese power networks, alongside Epstein’s well-known ties to multiple U.S. presidents, tech and academic elites, and British royalty.

The picture that is emerging suggests Epstein was neither simply a criminal nor a dedicated asset of a single intelligence service, but rather operated as a fixer and connector at the intersection of multiple international power networks, facilitating introductions, managing problematic situations, providing advice and services to various actors, and profiting personally while maintaining relationships across competing power centers.

As such, he could be called a “multi-network broker and facilitator of elites”—a hypothesis that seems to better explain Epstein’s unexplained wealth, his extraordinary access, his geopolitical knowledge, and his connections across competing power centers, than a theory that he was working for any particular domestic or foreign government or intelligence service.

It is important to understand what this new document represents and what it does not. It is a real email exchange that occurred over multiple days between Mark Epstein and an unidentified correspondent, evidence that Mark took the communication seriously enough to ask specific questions about surveillance, reference to prior phone contact between the parties, and whether the correspondent knew certain of Epstein’s contacts.

But it is not verified intelligence from a confirmed government source, proof that any of the specific claims about Chinese agents or arms dealers are accurate, evidence that definitively establishes facts about Jeffrey Epstein’s intelligence connections, or confirmation of the sender’s claimed intelligence background.

It is merely one more puzzle piece among millions that the American public has asked for, and received, with little guidance on how to interpret the context.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated the email was sent "ten days after Epstein died." The initial email was sent two days after his death on August 12, 2019. The exchange continued through August 19, 2019.

The full document is available in the Justice Department’s Epstein Library at justice.gov/epstein as part of the ongoing data release under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.