Leslie Wexner Lawsuit by Jeffrey Epstein Accusers Voluntarily Dropped Amid Contentious Court Battle: Documents

In a sudden reversal, the accusers of Jeffrey Epstein have abruptly dropped their high-profile civil lawsuit against billionaire retail mogul Leslie Wexner and The Wexner Foundation.

The plaintiffs moved to dismiss the consolidated cases following a highly contentious, escalating legal battle over whether the litigation should take place in state or federal court.

Wexner was accused of financing and enabling Epstein’s s-- trafficking ring by providing him with the immense wealth, credibility and physical resources necessary to carry out his crimes.

Plaintiffs alleged Wexner transferred at least $200 million to Epstein over 20 years.

The lawsuits claimed Wexner gave his Manhattan mansion (located at 9 E. 71st St.) to Epstein specifically to provide a premises where gender-motivated violence and abuse against women and children could take place.

The lawsuits alleged Wexner provided Epstein with private planes and other corporate assets from his retail empire, L Brands, which Epstein used to transport victims.

Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre previously alleged in court documents that she was trafficked to Wexner, though she later retracted that specific claim, stating she had confused him with someone else. Another survivor reported being assaulted and held against her will at a property associated with Wexner.

Lawmakers and victims alleged that Wexner gave Epstein widespread credibility and professional power, which included allowing Epstein to claim close involvement with Victoria's Secret operations and use fraudulent modeling scouts to target young girls.

Wexner has fiercely denied all allegations of wrongdoing, maintaining he was completely unaware of Epstein’s criminal activities.

In a congressional deposition, he testified that he was "conned" by Epstein, who served as his financial advisor and allegedly misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars of Wexner's personal fortune before they completely cut ties. Wexner was never charged with a crime.

Jewelry designer Andrea Sterling was one of the 11 in the lawsuit. Her specific involvement became the central battleground, ultimately leading to the abrupt dismissal of the entire case on September 1.

Sterling, along with 10 other plaintiffs, sued under New York City's Gender-Motivated Violence Act. They alleged that Epstein sexually abused them at his Manhattan mansion (located at 9 East 71st Street) and that Wexner and his entities directly enabled the abuse by providing the cash, properties and infrastructure required to run the operation.

After the lawsuits were consolidated in federal court, a bitter procedural battle emerged over where the case should be heard.

She and her legal team asserted that she had been living in Tulum, Mexico, since August 2025, which would support a transfer of the case from federal court.

Wexner's defense and the Nine East 71st Street Corporation aggressively challenged this claim. They produced evidence showing her LinkedIn, Facebook and Backstage talent profiles still listed her location as Miami, Fla.

Defense lawyers highlighted a video interview from December 2025 in which Sterling explicitly stated, "I live in Miami.”

On August 31, the defense filed a motion opposing the state-court transfer and demanded limited discovery into Sterling's actual living situation to prove she had misrepresented her residence.

Hours after that filing, rather than allowing the court to investigate Sterling's residency claims, the plaintiffs' counsel filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, withdrawing the entire lawsuit against Wexner without prejudice.

His representative stated that the legal complaint "fails to state any factual basis for asserting a claim against Mr. Wexner."