Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorneys are seeking to recast the disgraced British socialite as a devoted stepmother and a loving wife in the lead-up to sentencing for child sex abuse convictions later this month.
Central to this makeover is the portrayal in a 77-page sentencing submission of her relationships with two wealthy, successful men and their children that were ruined by the stigma of her years-long association with Jeffrey Epstein.
In the filing released late on Wednesday, attorney Bobbi Sternheim wrote that Maxwell’s “life after Epstein” in the early 2000s was that of a committed partner to Ted Waitt, the billionaire philanthropist and founder of software company Gateway.
“In 2003, Ms Maxwell began a seven-year romantic relationship with Theodore ‘Ted’ Waitt and developed a strong and loving bond with his four children, ranging in age from six to twelve,” Maxwell’s lawyers wrote.
Maxwell reportedly attended Chelsea Clinton’s 2010 wedding as Mr Waitt’s guest and later helped him obtain and renovate a luxury yacht, the Plan B.
“Her relationship with Waitt was on track for marriage and gave her what she had always hoped for and wanted most – the opportunity for a loving, stable family life and the chance to become stepmother to Waitt’s children.
“But her hopes were destroyed, as was so much of her life, by her previous association with Epstein.”
In 2007, Epstein brokered a controversial plea deal which saw him admit to charges of soliciting an underage prostitute. Maxwell was shielded from criminal prosecution, but could not escape the torrent of negative headlines.
Maxwell’s lawyer alleged that the relationship ended when Mr Waitt was blackmailed by Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein who offered to keep her name out of a civil lawsuit his law firm was preparing to file against Epstein.
The relationship “could not survive the blackmail threats”, Ms Sternheim said.
Mr Waitt, whose fortune has been estimated as high as $1.4bn, did not respond to a request for comment through his sustainable ocean charity The Waitt Foundation.
Rothstein is serving a 50-year prison term for his role in a $1.2bn Ponzi scheme and could not be reached.
Mr Waitt’s name was briefly mentioned during Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial, by defence witness Cindy Espinosa, a former executive assistant to the socialite.
In 2012, Maxwell founded The Terramar Project, an environmental non-profit dedicated to creating a “global ocean community” to help protect the world’s ocean.
Maxwell’s lawyers also said she sought to rebuild her life away from the public glare through her marriage to Scott Borgerson, the former CEO of CargoMetrics.
“In 2013, Ms Maxwell began a new relationship with the man she would later marry. She was with her husband for over seven years and became a devoted stepmother to her husband’s two youngsters, who were ages three and four-and-a-half at the start of the relationship,” her attorney wrote.
Maxwell largely disappeared from public view in 2016 after Virginia Giuffre publicly accused her and Epstein of forcing her into a sexual encounter with Prince Andrew.
Maxwell was taken to court for defamation after calling Ms Giuffre a liar, and the case was settled in 2017.
Attention on her and Epstein died down until Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K Brown published a damning expose on Epstein’s so-called “sweetheart deal” in 2007 with the Department of Justice.
Epstein was arrested on child sex-trafficking charges in July 2019 and committed suicide on 10 August while awaiting trial.
Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 at the rural New Hampshire home she purchased for $1m with Mr Borgerson.
The FBI used GPS data from her mobile phone to track her down to the remote location, and she tried to hide as agents searched the property.
“Sadly, the marriage could not survive the negative impact of this case nor a husband’s association with his dishonoured wife,” her lawyers stated.
Maxwell, 60, was held in custody and her relationship with Mr Borgerson ended sometime before her child sex trafficking trial began in New York in November 2021.
She was found guilty after a month-long trial on five charges of recruiting and grooming young girls for her “partner in crime” Epstein on 29 December.
After his death, Maxwell’s lawyers said she became a “caricature of evil” due to a “tsunami of one-sided, overwhelmingly negative coverage”.
“The Court cannot heal the wounds caused by Epstein heaping on Ms Maxwell’s shoulders the pain of every one of his victims, the outrage of society, the public scorn of the community, and then driving her out of the community forever,” Ms Sternheim wrote, calling for a lenient sentence.
The filing stated that Maxwell had tried to protect Mr Waitt’s children, her stepchildren and Terramar from the “onslaught of press and public vilification that come with having been associated with her”.
“Ms Maxwell cannot and should not bear all the punishment for which Epstein should have been held responsible. Ms Maxwell has already experienced hard time during detention under conditions far more onerous and punitive than any experienced by a typical pretrial detainee, and she is preparing to spend significantly more time behind bars,” the filing continued.
“Her life has been ruined. Since Epstein’s death, her life has been threatened and death threats continue while she is incarcerated. It would be a travesty of justice for her to face a sentence that would have been appropriate for Epstein.”
Maxwell faces a maximum of 65 years in prison when she is sentenced on 28 June.
Probation officials have recommended she receive around 20 years.
