A Morgan State University math professor offered Jeffrey Epstein a chance to improve his reputation in the Black community for $5 million in 2019. The university said it did not participate in the solicitation and is investigating the matter.
Jonathan Farley, a Morgan State associate professor of mathematics since 2013, contacted Epstein in prison with a July 30, 2019, email, according to files acquired by VICE’s Motherboard through a Freedom of Information Act request. Farley suggested that Epstein grant money to him and to endow a Morgan State chair, writing, “Our accepting your $5 million will show the world you are not a pariah and may help you avoid a conviction like Bill Cosby,” according to VICE.
Epstein was arrested for federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges in July 2019. He ended his life on Aug. 10, 2019.
A Morgan State spokesperson said in a statement that Farley acted “of his own volition and without the expressive knowledge and/or permission of Morgan State University.” The university is investigating the matter, the spokesperson said.
“At no time has Morgan State University sought out and/or solicited Jeffrey Epstein for contributions or donations of any kind,” the statement reads. “Nor has the University empowered any of its employees or agents of the University to solicit contributions or donations from Jeffrey Epstein on its behalf. Morgan State University is opposed to receiving support of any kind from any individual or entity not aligned with the University’s values.”
Farley wrote in an email to The Baltimore Sun that Epstein called him in 2017 and later Skyped with him. Farley did not share the reason behind their correspondence years prior.
He said there is no evidence Epstein received or read his 2019 email, which he said he wrote as an individual, not a representative of the historically Black university.
“There is a time-honored Christian tradition of giving people second chances: robber barons like Carnegie and J. P. Morgan tried to burnish their images through their philanthropy,” Farley wrote to The Sun. “Harvard University received and kept $6 million from Epstein, so it would be strange to say that Harvard can keep $6 million, but it is bad for anyone else to even think of asking for a donation.”
