Ali Kavoussi, Karin Models, MC2, and Jeffrey Epstein: What the Record Shows
Snapshot
Ali Kavoussi is a New York modeling agent and managing partner of The Lions. The record reviewed here points to a professional path through Jean Luc Brunel’s Karin Models, Scott Lipps’s One Model Management, Women Management, Gérald Marie’s Oui Management, and The Lions. Court records establish his One Model and Women Management work. A researcher identified him on an archived Karin Models agent page. UK corporate filings establish that Ali Reza Kavoussi was a director of Oui Management and that Ron Burkle was recorded as a person with significant control of that company. A former Yucaipa consultant’s résumé describes The Lions as a newly acquired Yucaipa portfolio business in 2013 to 2014.
Released records also document Epstein’s financial dealings with Brunel’s MC2 agency. Separately, a researcher reports finding four calls from a number attributed to Kavoussi to Epstein associated numbers within less than a month. The carrier records list telephone numbers, dates, and billing details, but do not name the people who placed or answered the calls. The career, corporate, address book, and telephone records warrant examination together. They do not reveal what was discussed in any call or establish that Kavoussi knew about Epstein’s abuse.
Key Takeaways
• New York court records place Kavoussi at One Model Management from 2004 to May 2008 and at Women Management afterward. The decisions concern employment agreements and agency competition.
• An Epstein researcher identified Kavoussi in Epstein’s contact book through phone number matching and reported four calls to numbers attributed to Epstein or his office in less than a month. The names and number matches are the researcher’s analysis, not names printed in the carrier records.
• Companies House records document Kavoussi’s Oui Management directorship and Burkle’s reportable control of that company from December 2016 to April 2018. A former Yucaipa consultant’s résumé and a model agent’s biography support Burkle and Yucaipa’s early connection to The Lions.
• Released records document Epstein’s financing and payments involving Brunel’s Karin and MC2 businesses. The reviewed records do not establish that Kavoussi worked for MC2 or received Epstein funds.
• Brunel faced serious allegations and a French criminal investigation. He died in custody in 2022 before trial, leaving those charges without a verdict.
Who Is Ali Kavoussi?
The Lions trademark record states first use in commerce in 2012. Kavoussi became a managing partner of the New York talent agency. Industry coverage identified him in that role when The Lions opened a Los Angeles office in 2017. A 2025 interview with Kavoussi called him the agency’s founder. The agency’s website describes its present work as talent management, branding, public relations, and creative services.
The New York Appellate Division’s 2011 decision states that Kavoussi worked for One Model under a May 2004 contract. He left in May 2008 and began working for Men Women N.Y. Model Management, doing business as Women Management. The opinion says three models moved from One Model to Women Management during the following eight months. The court reinstated a contract claim concerning notice and a restrictive covenant for further proceedings. It did not decide that Kavoussi participated in trafficking or other criminal conduct.
A 2014 New York trial court decision recounts a later employment and separation agreement dispute. It discusses a motion to disqualify attorneys and a cross motion for sanctions. These cases establish agency competition and contract disputes, not Epstein related conduct.
Karin, One Model, and Scott Lipps
An Epstein researcher’s Karin investigation identifies Kavoussi on an archived “Meet the Agents” page. The preserved page is difficult to read and does not by itself establish exact employment dates or job duties. The researcher identifies an earlier Karin job, while the surviving capture limits independent verification of those details.
The appellate court record places Kavoussi at One Model under a May 2004 contract and says he left in May 2008. Scott Lipps founded One after his own work at Karin Models under Brunel. The professional overlap is relevant background. It does not establish the precise timing of Kavoussi and Lipps working together at Karin or show that Lipps recruited Kavoussi into One.
Oui Management, Ron Burkle, and The Lions
UK Companies House filings for Oui Management Limited record Kavoussi’s directorship ending April 9, 2018. They record Ronald Burkle as a person with significant control beginning December 14, 2016, and ceasing April 11, 2018. The filings record Gérald Marie as a person with significant control beginning April 11, 2018. This formal corporate designation establishes reportable control during the stated period; it does not disclose every source or amount of company financing.
The Lions trademark record dates first use in commerce to 2012. A former interim CFO’s résumé says that while working with Yucaipa in 2013 to 2014 he revamped systems for a newly acquired business identified as The Lions modeling agency. Model agent George Gallier’s professional biography says Gallier co founded The Lions with Burkle. These sources support a Yucaipa and Burkle acquisition or financing role in the early Lions business. They do not show the amount invested or whether Burkle personally funded each later year of operations.
Industry coverage in 2017 identified Kavoussi as a managing partner. A 2025 interview called him the agency’s founder. Those accounts support an ongoing leadership role from the middle of the 2010s into the present period. They do not establish his exact ownership share.
The career sequence places Kavoussi in businesses linked to people later connected to Epstein’s modeling network and to Burkle’s investment network. It documents professional proximity and corporate relationships. Those connections do not establish that Kavoussi knew of or participated in abuse.
What the Epstein Contact Book Claim Shows
A researcher’s contact book investigation identifies Kavoussi in the directory commonly called Epstein’s little black book through phone number matching. The post also identifies his earlier Karin Models job. The researcher’s later telephone review says four calls were made to numbers attributed to Epstein’s direct line or office in less than a month. The directory identification and call attribution are the researcher’s work, rather than names printed alongside those calls in the carrier record.
An FBI email in EFTA00172145 described the seized book as an address book. The supervisor said some listed people were minors under “massage,” but that the book was not a “client list.” An entry shows that contact information was recorded. It does not establish a meeting, travel, knowledge of crimes, or participation in them.
EpsteinWiki’s black phone book article explains the directory’s scope. It is not a flight log, visitor log, or proven client list. The publicly available carrier pages do not include subscriber names. A legible original image of Kavoussi’s alleged entry and independent number matching would strengthen the attribution of the four calls.
The One Model court decision establishes that employment and its dates. The archived Karin agent page and researcher’s identification support the earlier Karin lead. The dates, title, and reporting relationship at Karin remain incompletely documented in the readable public record.
FBI produced billing file EFTA01242527 contains thousands of pages of itemized telephone records. A researcher highlighted four entries in which numbers attributed to Kavoussi called Epstein associated numbers within less than a month. The researcher identifies one destination as Epstein’s direct line and another as an office line that an accountant or secretary might have answered. The carrier rows list dates and numbers, but do not name Kavoussi, Epstein, Harry Beller, Darren Indyke, or the person who answered.
The call log analysis characterizes all four as calls by Kavoussi to Epstein or his accountants. It also says an Epstein call to Brunel followed one of them. The carrier record does not disclose conversation content, establish that a call was answered, or show that the consecutive calls concerned one another. The precise sequence requires checking the highlighted rows, call direction, dates, and time conventions.
The address book and repeated billing records together make a stronger record of contact than either source alone. They still do not prove a meeting, friendship, shared purpose, knowledge of crimes, or criminal participation.
An earlier sleuth post describes a supposed message in which Epstein asked Woody Allen’s agent to contact Kavoussi. The linked EFTA01334058 is a 2005 newspaper clipping about Epstein’s interest in modeling agencies. EFTA01209428 is a later phone or message extraction that does not establish the claimed request. Those cited files do not verify that particular account.
Karin Models and MC2: The Documented Agency Context
MC2’s 2014 immigration petition in EFTA00592763 describes the company as “formerly Karin Models” and says it established a Miami office in 1996. Jean Luc Brunel was associated with both agencies. The petition is a company submission to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, so its historical claims should be attributed to MC2.
A 2006 immigration database record in EFTA01683110, page 62, identifies “MC2 MODEL MGT DBA KARIN MODELS” as a petitioner. Brunel’s 2015 amended complaint in EFTA00599855, pages 5 to 9, described MC2 Model & Talent Miami as his agency and said it began operations in October 2005, with offices in New York, Miami, and Tel Aviv. These records use overlapping names and differing dates. They support a business connection between Karin and MC2 without establishing one uncontested incorporation date.
Maritza Vasquez’s 2010 sworn statement in EFTA01248647, pages 4 to 7, says she was hired to work for Karin in Miami in 1998 and stayed until 2003, when the business changed to MC Squared. The former bookkeeper said she later worked in New York and met Epstein once, at an MC2 opening party around 2003 or 2004. She testified that Brunel described Epstein as a friend who provided money and apartments for models. She also said money came to MC2, while acknowledging limits on what she knew about earlier funding.
In the same sworn statement, Vasquez said she had records concerning several New York apartments she understood to be Epstein’s, where models lived and paid rent. She testified that Brunel arranged housing, she coordinated cars or limousines, and MC2 staff helped prepare visa paperwork. She recalled some girls arriving at ages 13 to 15. The public testimony redacts names and does not provide a complete roster. Vasquez said she heard rumors but had no firsthand knowledge of sexual activity at Epstein’s parties. Her statements are testimony and recollection, rather than adjudicated findings about each person or stay.
Brunel and MC2’s amended complaint quoted a later Vasquez deposition in which she said Brunel had never done anything inappropriate or illegal with underage models. The complaint accused Vasquez of embezzlement and attributed press allegations to her. Those are litigants’ excerpts and allegations, not court findings. The Wall Street Journal’s 2026 reporting says Vasquez pleaded guilty to a criminal charge in 2007 and agreed to about $98,000 in restitution. This background bears on how her testimony is evaluated but does not itself disprove any specific sworn statement.
Brunel and MC2’s complaint in EFTA00599855 says Epstein provided a letter of credit at five percent interest and describes a one million dollar investment in an attempted Paris venture. A 2005 note for Epstein also discussed a letter of credit connected with Karin Models’ bank. The records support a financing and debt relationship. They do not, on their own, establish that Epstein owned MC2.
A 2011 email thread in EFTA01938180, pages 1 to 7, shows Epstein’s accountant Richard Kahn pressing MC2 over renewal of a letter of credit with a recorded balance of $784,000. MC2 partner Jeff Fuller replied with a proposed allocation of profits that included repayment against the credit line. A 2012 J.P. Morgan request in EFTA01580480 names MC2 as the beneficiary of a wire from an Epstein account. A Deutsche Bank presentation in EFTA01681865, page 29, lists three transfers to MC2 in December 2013 and January 2014 totaling $79,440.
These records establish financial dealings between Epstein and MC2. A transfer to a company does not alone establish the purpose of the payment or prove that every employee or represented model knew about Epstein’s abuse.
Allegations About Brunel and the Agencies
The EpsteinWiki Jean Luc Brunel profile details women’s allegations of sexual assault, rape, and misconduct over decades. Virginia Giuffre alleged in civil litigation that Brunel recruited and supplied girls and young women to Epstein. Brunel denied allegations of sexual misconduct. The accusations are claims made by the women and in legal records, not findings against Kavoussi.
Reuters reported in December 2020 that Brunel was placed under formal investigation in France for rape of a minor over age 15 and sexual harassment. He was also placed under assisted witness status concerning aggravated human trafficking allegations, a different procedural status. Brunel died in La Santé prison on February 19, 2022, before trial. The criminal case ended without a verdict.
Le Monde’s February 2026 reporting describes a comprehensive reanalysis of the earlier French case and new inquiries prompted by released material and complaints. The earlier investigation had closed after Brunel’s death. A renewed review can develop facts concerning others, but cannot produce a criminal verdict against Brunel after his death.
EpsteinWiki’s Jean Luc Brunel profile and Sleuth Report on the modeling network trace the agency and recruitment records. This article addresses the narrower evidence concerning Kavoussi. The history of Brunel’s agencies does not establish that every employee shared his knowledge or conduct.
Evidence Appearances
• EFTA01242527 is the FBI produced telephone billing file used in the researcher’s four call analysis. The carrier pages show numbers and billing entries, while the attribution to named people requires independent matching.
• EFTA00172145 contains the FBI description of the contact book as an address book, including the caution that it is not a client list.
• EFTA00592763 contains MC2’s immigration petition describing its Karin history. It is the company’s own account of that history.
• EFTA01683110 includes the 2006 immigration listing for MC2 doing business as Karin Models.
• EFTA01248647 contains Vasquez’s 2010 sworn account of agency operations, housing, transportation, visas, and Epstein’s financial involvement as she understood it.
• EFTA00599855 contains Brunel and MC2’s amended civil complaint, including their description of the financial relationship and their excerpts of later Vasquez testimony. It records the plaintiffs’ position, not a court finding.
• EFTA01938180 contains emails between Epstein’s accountant and MC2 personnel about a letter of credit and repayment.
• EFTA01580480 names MC2 as a beneficiary on a 2012 wire request. EFTA01681865 lists three later Deutsche Bank transfers to MC2 totaling $79,440.
None of these MC2 financial records names Kavoussi as a recipient or establishes that he worked for MC2. His direct evidentiary trail here consists of the researcher’s contact book identification, telephone number analysis, and the separate career and corporate records.
What the Documents Establish
The current public record supports several distinct conclusions:
• Court decisions establish Kavoussi’s employment at One Model and Women Management and document civil disputes over contracts, model representation, and agency competition.
• The contact book plus the telephone billing analysis support a stronger contact claim than was apparent from the directory alone. A researcher matched four call entries in under a month to numbers attributed to Kavoussi and Epstein or his office. The entries are in an FBI produced carrier record, but the names and subscriber matches are not printed in that record. Call content, answer status, and purpose are unknown.
• Companies House establishes Kavoussi as a director of Oui Management and Burkle as a person with significant control of that company during part of Kavoussi’s tenure. A former Yucaipa consultant’s résumé and model agent George Gallier’s biography support Yucaipa and Burkle’s early connection to The Lions. Together with Kavoussi’s reported earlier Karin employment and court documented One Model career, this shows a professional network around agencies and financiers later linked to Epstein’s model recruitment world.
• Released records establish that Epstein provided financial support connected to Karin and MC2, and that MC2 received payments from Epstein accounts. They also document MC2 correspondence with Epstein’s accountant and testimony about the agency’s operations.
• The sources reviewed here do not establish that Kavoussi worked for MC2, received Epstein funds, knew of Epstein’s abuse, or assisted Brunel. The call record gives evidence of repeated dialed numbers under the researcher’s attribution, but it does not prove that a call was answered or that a conversation took place.
• Brunel faced serious allegations and French criminal proceedings but died before trial. The outcome of the criminal case is unresolved because there was no verdict.
The record supports a connected professional network and the researcher’s attribution of four calls to Epstein associated numbers. It does not establish what was said in any call or support an accusation that Kavoussi participated in abuse or trafficking.
Open Questions
• Which exact four rows in EFTA01242527 support the call count, and what dates, times, originating lines, and durations do they show?
• Can an original contact book page and independent subscriber records verify the number match attributed to Kavoussi?
• What were Kavoussi’s precise employment dates and responsibilities at Karin Models, and do contemporaneous agency records identify his reporting relationship to Brunel or Lipps?
• Do any released messages, invoices, travel records, or testimony document the purpose of the reported calls?
Source List
EpsteinWiki internal sources
• HOUSE OVERSIGHT 000258: Jeffrey Epstein Black Phone Book
• Sleuth Report: Jean Luc Brunel’s Modeling Network
Epstein Data evidence files
• EFTA00172145, FBI explanation of the little black book
• EFTA00592763, MC2 immigration petition and supporting exhibits
• EFTA00599855, Brunel and MC2 amended complaint, including exhibits
• EFTA01248647, Maritza Vasquez sworn statement
• EFTA01683110, immigration database printout listing MC2 doing business as Karin Models
• EFTA01938180, MC2 and Epstein accountant email thread
• EFTA01580480, J.P. Morgan transfer request naming MC2 as beneficiary
• EFTA01681865, Deutsche Bank presentation listing payments to MC2
• EFTA01242527, FBI produced itemized telephone billing records cited in the four call analysis
• EFTA01334058, 2005 newspaper clipping cited in an earlier sleuth post
• EFTA01209428, later phone or message extraction cited in an earlier sleuth post
Court and news sources
• New York Appellate Division, 1 Model Management v. Kavoussi
• New York Supreme Court, Men Women N.Y. Model Management v. Kavoussi
• Companies House, Oui Management filing history, Kavoussi directorship and Burkle and Marie control filings
• USPTO Official Gazette record for The Lions Models LLC, trademark entry reporting first use in 2012
• Former interim CFO résumé listing Yucaipa and The Lions, describes The Lions as a newly acquired Yucaipa portfolio business in 2013 to 2014
• George Gallier biography, identifies Gallier as co founder of The Lions with Ron Burkle
• Enthusiast Report interview with Ali Kavoussi, identifies him as founder of The Lions in 2025
• Los Angeles Times coverage of The Lions expansion, identifies Kavoussi as managing partner in 2017
• The Lions official website, current agency description
• Archived Karin Models agents page cited by Epstein researcher
• Reuters, Brunel placed under investigation in France
• Wall Street Journal, Brunel, MC2, and Maritza Vasquez, reports on the 2010 statement, later deposition, and 2007 embezzlement plea
• Le Monde, French prosecutors’ 2026 review of Epstein related leads
• Associated Press, Paris prosecutors open new Epstein linked probes
Sleuth research
• Epstein researcher’s initial Ali Kavoussi investigation
• Epstein researcher’s follow up on the reported contact book entry
• Epstein researcher’s call log analysis
• Epstein researcher’s Oui Management and The Lions follow up