By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Billionaire Leslie Wexner said on Wednesday he once visited the island of late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein but denied having knowledge of his criminal activity.
Wexner, 88, said he cut all ties to Epstein nearly 20 years ago. He has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.
The U.S. Justice Department's recent release of millions of internal documents related to Epstein has shed light on his ties to many prominent people - both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl. His 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide.
"And, let me be crystal clear: I never witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein's criminal activity. I was never a participant nor co-conspirator in any of Epstein's illegal activities," Wexner said in a written testimony to U.S. lawmakers.
He was questioned for six hours behind closed doors by congressional investigators on Wednesday.
Wexner, a former CEO and founder of Victoria's Secret-owner L Brands, hired Epstein as his personal money manager starting in the 1980s. He has accused Epstein of using his money to buy properties and goods and says he severed ties around 2007, after Epstein was first criminally charged.
"To my enormous embarrassment and regret I, like many others, was duped by a world-class con man. I cannot undo that part of my personal history even as I regret ever having met him," he added.
U.S. Representative Robert Garcia, the top-ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives oversight panel, said "there was no single person that was more involved in providing Jeffrey Epstein with the financial support to commit his crimes than Les Wexner."
Wexner said he visited Epstein's island once, shortly after Epstein had purchased it, and stopped there for a "few hours" one morning with his wife and children while on a cruise on their boat.
Wexner said Epstein stole "vast sums" of money from his family. "Once I learned of his abusive conduct and theft from my family, I never spoke with Epstein again," he added.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Don Durfee and Shri Navaratnam)
