ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands _ Among his many possessions, Jeffrey Epstein owned a secluded, 72-acre island in the Caribbean called Little St. James, a sumptuous tropical hideaway most anyone would envy. For him, it wasn't enough.
Epstein set his sights on the body of land across the channel, Great St. James Cay, deciding that it should be his as well. The only problem was, its owner was determined not to deal with Epstein, a registered sex offender who had narrowly wriggled out of a federal trafficking case in 2008.
The multimillionaire financial adviser was undeterred. According to records examined by the Miami Herald and McClatchy, and interviews, Epstein set up an opaque limited liability company, or LLC, making it appear in the negotiations that the true owner was one Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, a wealthy Dubai businessman with connections to the royal family. A $22.5 million deal was worked out.
