Brad Wechsler**, chairman of IMAX Corporation, held power of attorney over a JPMorgan account belonging to billionaire **Leon Black** — and coordinated the arrangement directly through Jeffrey Epstein, according to documents released by federal prosecutors.
The emails, dated May 2015, place Wechsler at the center of a financial structure designed to give Black deniability over his own accounts. Get the full documents delivered to your inbox — subscribe to the InvArchives newsletter.
The Power of Attorney Arrangement
In a May 1, 2015 email to Epstein's personal account, Wechsler outlined the structure of Leon Black's JPMorgan account setup:
"We did jpm as individual account for leon with bjw poa once apollo 'solved' our compliance issue. We're using the same structure as rowan and harris, ie, leon can't know what's going until after the fact and I have to so attest."
"bjw poa" refers to Brad J. Wechsler as power of attorney. The document, filed as vol00009-efta00857674-pdf in the federal archive, shows Wechsler reporting directly to Epstein on the account's structure — not to Black's own attorneys or compliance officers.
The same email noted: "We are processing the $750k IFI check" — a payment routed through the same financial network.
Deutsche Bank and the UK Escrow Account
Wechsler's May 2015 update to Epstein covered multiple financial fronts simultaneously. He noted the team was still waiting for "clean" paperwork from Deutsche Bank — the same institution that would later face regulatory scrutiny over its Epstein relationship.
Wechsler also flagged an amended FBAR filing:
"We are going to file an amended fbar referencing the uk escrow acct once we 100% confirm there is no unreported income issue."
FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report) filings are required by U.S. law for foreign accounts exceeding $10,000. An amended FBAR referencing a UK escrow account — filed after the original — suggests a prior omission that was being corrected while Epstein remained involved in the process.
The Apollo Family Office Hire
Wechsler's role extended beyond account management. Documents show he served as a direct intermediary in recruiting Richard Joslin to Leon Black's family office — with Epstein copied on key negotiations.
A February 13, 2016 email chain, document vol00011-efta02704101-pdf, shows Wechsler discussing Joslin's employment terms:
"You will have a two year contract at the salary of 400k/yr. We will continue to make charitable contributions of 60k/yr to your son's school. If you are terminated without cause we will payout the remaining term on the contract, but in no event will your payout be less than 12 mos."
Both Wechsler and Epstein were copied as the $400K contract was finalized. Joslin would go on to manage financial operations for the Black family office.
The 9 West Account
A March 25, 2015 email, document vol00011-efta02714754-pdf, sent from Wechsler's official IMAX corporate account, detailed coordination between the family office and Epstein:
"Leon spoke to Melanie and we/the office shld get 'appropriate' visibility into the 9 west acct shortly."
"9 west" refers to 9 West 57th Street — the address of Apollo Global Management's New York headquarters. "Melanie" refers to Melanie Spinella, an Epstein associate who appeared frequently in financial coordination emails.
Tax Strategy and Aircraft Depreciation
By September 2015, Wechsler was coordinating tax strategy for an entity called "Avioneta" alongside John Castrucci — Epstein's longtime financial COO — and Epstein himself. Document vol00011-efta02718223-pdf shows the group reviewing accelerated aircraft depreciation claims:
"I want clear, cogent back-up" for the depreciation position, Wechsler wrote, with Epstein copied on the reply chain.
The 2,194 documents referencing Brad Wechsler in the federal archive span from 2013 through 2016 — a period during which Epstein remained under a secret non-prosecution agreement from his 2008 Florida conviction.
Conclusion
The documents place Wechsler — a sitting public company chairman — inside Epstein's financial coordination network for some of Leon Black's most sensitive account arrangements. The structure, where Black "can't know what's going until after the fact," raises questions about the oversight of major institutional funds during a period when Epstein's legal status was already known.
Leon Black resigned as Apollo Global Management CEO in 2021, citing a review that found he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning services between 2012 and 2017.
All individuals mentioned are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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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.