(NewsNation) — More documents containing names of people associated with disgraced, late financier Jeffrey Epstein are set to be unsealed soon.
Much of the coverage surrounding Epstein has mentioned two Caribbean islands once owned by him where authorities allege many of his crimes took place. Epstein died in 2019 by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Now, though, there are plans to put a “state-of-the-art, five-star, world-class luxury 25-room resort” on Great St. James and Little St. James in the United States Virgin Islands.
Investor Stephen Deckoff, founder of private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, announced in May 2023 that he bought the two islands for a combined $60 million. A news release said the resort is meant to “bolster tourism, create jobs, and spur economic development in the region.”
At the time, Deckoff told Forbes that as a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands for more than a decade, he was “tremendously pleased to be able to bring the area a world-class destination benefitting its natural grace and beauty.”
The resort is set to open in 2025, the news release said.
Epstein initially purchased Little St. James, which is more than 70 acres, for $8 million in 1998, building several structures on the property, according to Forbes. Great St. James, around 165 acres, was then bought by Epstein in 2016 for $22.5 million.
With a combined total of $60 million, the sale of both islands nearly amounted to a “buy-one-get-one-free” deal for Deckoff, the Washington Post wrote at the time, as they had both previously been listed for $55 million each, and even that had been a decrease from the original $125 million listing price.
Per a settlement agreement between the Virgin Islands and Epstein’s estate, a significant portion of the proceeds were given to the government to be used for providing services for sexual abuse victims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
