Private flight and immigration records reviewed by The Dallas Express reveal that Eastern European models associated with Jean-Luc Brunel frequently traveled with Jeffrey Epstein from the Caribbean to the mainland United States.
This raises new questions about the potential misuse of the H-1B visa program within his network.
Epstein’s Private Flights: Eastern European Models from Little St. James to the U.S.
Flight logs and immigration documents released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the latest batch of “Epstein Files” reveal that several non-U.S. women from Eastern Europe were frequently flown on aircraft associated with Jeffrey Epstein during the mid-2000s. These flights often departed from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, near Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, and landed at various destinations across the United States.
Several of the women are connected to modeling agencies tied to Jean-Luc Brunel, the late French model scout accused by multiple women of misconduct, including sex trafficking, and alleged by accusers to have worked with Epstein.
The flight logs list passengers’ nationalities but not their visa categories. Other immigration documents compiled in the same file by the DOJ and reviewed by The Dallas Express show that Brunel-associated agencies — including MC2 Model Management, Karin Models, and Next Management — sponsored Eastern European fashion models under the H-1B category.
The H-1B visa allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign nationals to live and work in the United States in specialty occupations, including fashion modeling, and requires the worker to remain tied to the sponsoring employer, according to the Department of Homeland Security website.
Flight records from September and November 2005 show Epstein traveling with passengers identified only by nationality — including Slovakia, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Russia — alongside Brunel and Epstein associates. In several cases, passenger names are fully redacted, with only nationality listed.
One September 2005 flight from St. Thomas to Palm Beach lists Epstein, several named American and Russian associates, a Belarusian national with a redacted name, and a Polish national with a redacted name.
H-1B Visas in the Spotlight: Brunel-Linked Agencies Sponsored Foreign Models
Another flight that summer from St. Thomas to Teterboro lists Epstein, a Slovak national with a redacted name, and Sarah Kellen — also known as Sarah Kensington — later reportedly described by a federal judge as “criminally responsible” in connection with Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
H-1B records reviewed for this report show at least one Slovak model and one Belarusian model sponsored by Brunel-linked agencies during the same period.
The filings indicate limited formal education and reported annual compensation of approximately $100,000 each.
Other heavily redacted records imply there may have been more than two H-1B workers aboard these flights.
The documents suggest Epstein’s aircraft was repeatedly used to transport foreign models on H-1B records into the United States, though the records do not state the purpose of the travel.
Brunel, who ran Karin Models and later reportedly founded MC2 with financial backing from Epstein, faced decades of allegations from former models who said they were assaulted or coerced while under his professional control. He denied wrongdoing and was never put on trial.
French prosecutors charged him with rape of minors in 2020; he died by suicide in jail in February 2022 before trial, The Guardian reported.
In a sworn statement in a separate legal matter, a former MC2 bookkeeper previously alleged that Epstein directly paid for visas for models brought to the United States to work for the agency, a claim Brunel and MC2 denied at the time, according to the same outlet.
The new findings follow recently unsealed immigration records showing that Epstein himself sponsored Ghislaine Maxwell’s entry into the United States through the H-1B program in 1992, providing her long-term legal status years before their criminal exposure, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Modeling Industry Vulnerabilities and Ongoing Probes
Human trafficking watchdogs have long warned that the international modeling industry is vulnerable to abuse, particularly involving young women recruited from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet bloc.
Anti-trafficking organization Stop The Traffik has identified Russia as a nation where sex trafficking is particularly prevalent in the modeling industry.
Authorities outside the United States are now scrutinizing related disclosures.
Lithuanian prosecutors announced on February 3 that they opened a human trafficking investigation after Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department referenced prominent figures in the country, according to a Reuters report.
None of the flight records or visa filings reviewed explicitly alleges criminal conduct. However, the convergence of immigration sponsorship, opaque travel manifests, repeated flights from Epstein’s Caribbean base, and agencies led by an accused model scout underscores how lawful visa programs and private aviation operated in close proximity to Epstein’s now-documented abuse network.
Epstein died in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence following her 2021 conviction. No other Epstein associate has been convicted in connection with the trafficking operation.
