Jeffrey Epstein's earliest known business vehicle was Intercontinental Assets Group Inc. (IAG), a New-York-based corporate‐investigations and asset-recovery boutique he incorporated soon after leaving Bear Stearns in 1981. Contemporary press coverage and later court filings describe IAG as Epstein's springboard from equities trading into the opaque world of offshore money movements, private intelligence and tax structuring.
Incorporation & Structure
Business Model
IAG marketed itself as a "bounty-hunter" for capital: Epstein told Vanity Fair 1 (Mar 2003, "The Talented Mr Epstein") that he specialised in "recovering embezzled or improperly diverted funds" and "locating hidden assets for governments or very wealthy individuals." Typical mandate:
- Analyse brokerage records / wire trails to identify illicit transfers.
- Negotiate voluntary return or threaten enforcement/litigation.
- Collect a 20–25 % contingency fee on assets repatriated.
Sources describe a minimal head-count – essentially Epstein plus a secretary – and heavy reliance on outside investigators and lawyers.
Claimed Competitive Edges
- Fluency in securities back-office mechanics from Bear Stearns days.
- Rolodex inside US broker-dealers able to leak account data.
- Willingness to leverage "grey-area" tactics (private intelligence, offshore nominees, bluffing regulatory action).
Notable Engagements (publicly reported)
Caveat: IAG operated pre-internet; many mandates were covered by NDAs or handled verbally. Only fragments surface in later depositions and press.
Staff & Advisers
- Jeffrey E. Epstein — President & 100 % owner.
- Steven Hoffenberg — Occasional consultant (per SEC v. Hoffenberg, 1995). Hoffenberg later called IAG "Jeff's asset-chasing shop."
- Robert Meister — Insurance executive; introduced several early clients, according to 1996 New York Mag profile.
No board minutes or payroll records have survived in public archives.
Regulatory & Legal Footprint
- NY Department of State filings — Certificate of Incorporation (Aug 1981); two Biennial Statements (1983, 1985); proclamation of dissolution (Dec 1992) for failure to pay franchise tax.
- SEC links — IAG cited in 1984 correspondence produced in Stroll v. Epstein; not itself registered as an investment adviser or broker-dealer.
- IRS — No publicly available 990s; entity was for-profit C-corp.
- Litigation — Aside from Stroll, no docketed lawsuits naming IAG located in federal Pacer search 1981-1995.
Timeline Snapshot
Significance in Epstein Network
IAG was the prototype for Epstein's later entities:
- Introduced him to ultra-wealthy foreigners (Khashoggi, British, Gulf royals).
- Taught him legal arbitrage across jurisdictions.
- Yielded the capital & reputation to launch J. Epstein & Co. and later Financial Trust Co. in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Unanswered Questions
- Full list of IAG contingency-fee contracts (FOIA with NY AG pending).
- Banking relationships (Chase Manhattan? Bank Leumi?).
- Whether IAG already experimented with offshore SPVs that later re-emerged as Liquid Funding Ltd. and Southern Trust.