Before Deutsche Bank, before JPMorgan, there was Bear Stearns. DOJ documents reveal that Jeffrey Epstein maintained at least six separate accounts at Bear Stearns & Co., collectively holding over $85 million — all managed by a single broker named Ira Zicherman and routed through a Virgin Islands entity called Financial Trust Company.
$67 Million in a Single Entity: Financial Trust Company Inc.
The largest concentration of Epstein's Bear Stearns wealth sat inside an account registered to Financial Trust Company Inc., addressed at 6100 Red Hook Suite B-3, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
A December 2001 statement shows the account held a staggering portfolio:
"TOTAL VALUE OF SECURITIES THIS PERIOD 29,406,395... MONEY MARKET FUND BALANCE 37,523,003... NET EQUITY LAST STATEMENT 89,939,338"
Bear Stearns statement for Financial Trust Company Inc., December 2001
That is nearly $67 million in securities and cash equivalents in a single account — at a firm where Epstein claimed to have once worked. By December 2002, the account had shrunk to approximately $33.8 million, showing a net equity change of over $20 million in twelve months.
"TOTAL VALUE OF SECURITIES THIS PERIOD... NET EQUITY THIS PERIOD... NET EQUITY LAST STATEMENT 20,838,628"
Bear Stearns statement for Financial Trust Company Inc., December 2002
The account executive on both statements: Ira Zicherman, reachable at (212) 272-4189 at Bear Stearns' 383 Madison Avenue headquarters.
Epstein's Personal Accounts: $9.5 Million Flowing Through St. Thomas
Separate from the Financial Trust Company account, Epstein held personal brokerage accounts at Bear Stearns under his own name.
A December 2002 statement shows:
"TOTAL VALUE OF SECURITIES THIS PERIOD* 6,046,710... MONEY MARKET FUND BALANCE 3,417,795... NET EQUITY LAST STATEMENT 9,810,083"
Bear Stearns statement for Jeffrey Epstein, December 2002
The account held $9.5 million — $6 million in equities and $3.4 million in a Dreyfus Tax Exempt Cash fund. The mailing address was not Epstein's New York mansion but rather:
"JEFFREY EPSTEIN C/O FINANCIAL TRUST COMPANY ATTN JEANNE BRENAN 6100 RED HOOK QUATER B-3 ST THOMAS VI 00802"
By December 2003, the account's equity value had dropped to approximately $4 million, with account number 0398-28825 now on file.
Bear Stearns account statement for Jeffrey Epstein, December 2003
The Trust and the Foundation: Epstein Interests and International Charitable
Beyond personal and corporate accounts, Epstein used Bear Stearns to manage a family trust and a charitable foundation.
Epstein Interests, created on December 26, 1991, named three trustees:
"EPSTEIN INTERESTS OTD 12/26/91 JEFFERY E EPSTEIN & MARKL * EPSTEIN & WILLIAM ELKUS TTEES 457 MADISON AVENUE 4TH FLR NEW YORK NY 10022"
Bear Stearns statement for Epstein Interests, December 2006
Mark L. Epstein is Jeffrey's brother. William Elkus served as co-trustee. By December 2006, the trust held $634,208 — $286,058 in equities and $348,150 in cash equivalents. This account remained active even as Bear Stearns itself approached collapse.
International Charitable Interests II, created on August 30, 1994, operated as a foundation account. A December 2001 statement shows:
"TOTAL VALUE OF SECURITIES THIS PERIOD 233,750... NET CREDIT BALANCE 5,323,039... MONEY MARKET FUND BALANCE 470,372... NET EQUITY LAST STATEMENT 8,158,879"
Bear Stearns statement for International Charitable Interests II, December 2001
The foundation held $8.5 million, managed through Financial Trust Company in St. Thomas by a contact named Larry Kemp. The income summary shows dividends, corporate bond interest, and credit balance interest flowing into the account — a functioning investment vehicle dressed up as charity.
One Broker, Six Accounts, One Address
The pattern across all six documents is consistent: every account was managed by Ira Zicherman at Bear Stearns' 383 Madison Avenue office. Every account with a Virgin Islands address pointed to the same location — 6100 Red Hook Quarter, Suite B-3, St. Thomas — the office of Financial Trust Company.
This is the same Red Hook Quarter address that would later appear on Epstein's Deutsche Bank accounts. The infrastructure Epstein built at Bear Stearns — the offshore entity, the trusted broker, the layered account structure — served as the template for his banking relationships for the next two decades.
What's Still Missing
These documents raise questions the archive has not yet answered:
- What happened to these accounts when Bear Stearns collapsed in 2008? The Epstein Interests account was still active in December 2006, less than two years before Bear Stearns' emergency sale to JPMorgan Chase.
- Did Ira Zicherman continue managing Epstein's accounts at JPMorgan after the Bear Stearns acquisition?
- What was International Charitable Interests II actually funding? The $8.5 million foundation produced investment income but the documents do not show charitable disbursements.
- Who was Larry Kemp at Financial Trust Company, and what was his role in managing Epstein's offshore financial architecture?
- How did Epstein's Bear Stearns portfolio decline from $89.9 million to $33.8 million in a single year (2001-2002)? The documents show the change but not the destination of those funds.
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This analysis references publicly released documents from the Epstein case archive. All individuals mentioned are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law. Language such as “documents indicate” reflects what appears in source materials, not conclusions of guilt. Readers are encouraged to review the cited source documents directly.