Amanda Ens

Snapshot

Introduction

Amanda Ens appears in the released Epstein files as a Bank of America Merrill Lynch employee. Her emails cover trade ideas and Southern Trust Company investments. They show who took part, what was proposed, and what the trading desk reported buying or selling. The figures need care: a contract’s reference amount, its price, a quoted exit value, and sale proceeds mean different things. These records describe brokerage work. They do not show that Ens knew about or took part in Epstein’s crimes.

Key Takeaways

• Ens appears in brokerage correspondence about Southern Trust Company. The records describe a professional financial role.
• The 2018 option chain separates a $10 million notional reference amount from the $143,000 premium and later $131,000 reported sale.
• The Carvana email reports an initial purchase. A separate month end valuation lists a larger holding, but the records do not establish that the contemplated 150,000 share order was completed.
• These records do not establish that Ens knew about or took part in Epstein’s sexual crimes.

Professional Identity and the 2016 Account Discussion

Ens’s July 15, 2016 business biography identifies her as a Director in Global Equities at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. It says she joined in 2016 after working at JPMorgan. This is her own professional description in an email forwarded by Richard Kahn, rather than an independently verified employment history.

Kahn’s covering message asks Epstein whether to move business to Ens’s team and put ISDA agreements in place. These are agreements used for derivatives trading. Kahn also recounts her work with Paul Barrett and suggests checking that account with Barrett. His message documents a proposal, not a completed transfer or a bank compliance decision.

The later trade correspondence repeats her Director title and the Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated affiliation. The documents do not establish her full employment history or personal responsibility for every investment recommendation.

June 2018 Index Outperformance Option

Ens’s June 6, 2018 recap reports Southern Trust buying an option based on S&P 500 performance relative to the Russell 2000, expiring August 17. It gives a $10 million notional and 1.43 percent premium. The next page lists $143,000 as the premium payable.

The notional is a reference amount used to calculate the contract’s exposure. It is different from the price paid for the option. A recap and payment instructions also do not, by themselves, prove that funds settled.

July 2018 Unwind and Settlement

Ens’s July 25 message reports that the option sold the previous day for $131,000 and asks the recipients to agree to that amount for payment. Paul Barrett’s earlier message on page 1 had quoted a $150,000 unwind value. The later report therefore should not be described as a $150,000 sale.

The $143,000 premium and $131,000 reported proceeds differ by $12,000. That arithmetic is not a complete investment return calculation: actual settlement, fees and other adjustments still need checking.

September 2018 Carvana Shares

The September 4, 2018 email chain goes beyond an order proposal. On page 1, Ens reports buying 25,000 Carvana shares and asks whether to work the remaining 125,000. Kahn forwards the update to Epstein with a price of $64.4388 per share. Page 2 preserves the earlier instruction to buy 25,000 at the open and the contemplated 150,000 share total.

The September 30 valuation lists 125,000 Carvana shares under Southern Trust Co. Equities (Merrill), a September 4 purchase date and a cost of $8,255,075. The cash activity table on page 2 separately records 125,000 CVNA shares at a displayed 66.01 and an outflow of $8,250,750. Those two amounts should remain distinct.

Heather Ashley’s July 3, 2026 financial records report draws attention to these Carvana records. Her summary names Southern Financial LLC, but the holdings table places this position under Southern Trust Co. Equities (Merrill). The primary table’s label is used here.

The initial execution report and month end holding need reconciliation. Adding 25,000 to 125,000 would risk double counting. Neither record establishes a completed 150,000 share position, final settlement of every order or a realized profit.

Earlier Market Commentary

The September 12, 2016 email chain includes September 1 and 8 messages and discusses risk parity, bonds and hedging. Risk parity is an investment approach that balances different sources of risk. The messages are useful evidence of financial discussion, but they do not themselves confirm a completed trade.

The January 10, 2017 message recommends a Hess investment and includes earlier November 17, 2016 energy commentary. A recommendation is different from an order, a reported execution or a settled position. These messages should not be described as proof that Southern Trust purchased Hess shares.

Relationship to Epstein Financial Operations

Kahn’s forwarding email ties the Southern Trust trading discussion to Epstein. Together with the option correspondence, it documents brokerage activity for an account in Epstein’s financial network. These messages do not establish the source of every dollar, ownership of every position or whether each transaction met the bank’s compliance requirements.

The institutional questions should not be assigned to Ens personally without records showing her responsibility for particular compliance decisions, alerts or account reviews. The reviewed records support a professional brokerage role; they do not establish criminal complicity.

Chronology

• July 15, 2016: Kahn proposes moving business to Ens’s team and arranging derivatives agreements.
• September 12, 2016: Ens correspondence discusses market conditions and hedging.
• January 10, 2017: Ens sends Hess commentary that includes a November 2016 message.
• June 6, 2018: Ens sends the option purchase recap.
• July 25, 2018: Ens reports a sale on the preceding day and seeks agreement to the amount for payment.
• September 4, 2018: Ens reports the initial Carvana purchase; Kahn forwards the update.
• September 30, 2018: The valuation lists a 125,000 share Carvana holding in the Merrill section.

Evidence Appearances

• EFTA01784353: July 15, 2016 correspondence. PDF pages 1 and 2, Bates EFTA01784353 and EFTA01784354, contain Kahn’s proposal and Ens’s own biography. They do not establish a completed account transfer.
• EFTA00818577: September 12, 2016 market correspondence with earlier September 1 and 8 messages. PDF pages 1, 3, 5 and 10, Bates EFTA00818577, EFTA00818579, EFTA00818581 and EFTA00818586, document the discussion and signatures. They are not trade confirmations.
• EFTA01057018: January 10, 2017 Hess message, with November 17, 2016 correspondence on PDF page 2, Bates EFTA01057019. Investment commentary, not evidence of an executed Hess purchase.
• EFTA01006351: June and July 2018 option chain. PDF page 1 has Barrett’s earlier quote; page 2, Bates EFTA01006352, contains the sale report and purchase recap; page 3, EFTA01006353, lists the premium payable. Settlement is not independently verified.
• EFTA02625611: September 4, 2018 Carvana chain. PDF page 1 reports the initial execution; page 2, EFTA02625612, preserves the earlier order plan.
• EFTA00811897: Valuation dated September 30, 2018. PDF page 2, EFTA00811898, has cash activity; page 5, EFTA00811901, lists the Carvana holding. These are valuation entries, not a complete trade by trade ledger.

Related EpsteinWiki Articles

• Epstein Financial Network
• Jeffrey Epstein’s Business Empire
• Reading Names in the Epstein Files

Limitations and Open Questions

• The option’s notional amount, premium, indicative unwind quote and reported sale proceeds describe different things.
• The initial Carvana purchase report needs to be reconciled with the month end valuation and original account statements. The two valuation amounts are not identical.
• A full financial reconstruction would check settlement records, fees and account ownership, and avoid counting forwarded copies as separate trades.
• These selected records do not establish that Ens knew about or participated in Epstein’s sexual crimes. They are not a complete review of every account, compliance decision or legal proceeding.

Conclusion

The supported connection is a professional brokerage relationship documented through account discussions, market commentary and trade emails. The Carvana file includes a reported purchase, while the later valuation supplies a separate holdings entry. The record must be read at that level of detail, without turning a financial relationship into a finding of wrongdoing.

Questions and Answers

What role do the records identify for Amanda Ens?

Her business biography and email signatures identify her as a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Director. The reviewed correspondence concerns investment and brokerage work.

Does the $10 million figure show a $10 million payment?

No. It is the option’s notional reference amount. The recap separately states the premium payable.

Was the Carvana trade only a proposal?

No. The email includes an initial purchase report. The later valuation also lists a holding, but the selected records do not reconcile the complete order history.

Do these records establish criminal wrongdoing by Ens?

No. They document professional financial activity. That does not establish knowledge of or participation in Epstein’s crimes.

Sources

• EFTA01784353. Richard Kahn and Amanda Ens, July 15, 2016 account discussion and biography. Three page released email chain; relevant pages 1 and 2.
• EFTA00818577. Amanda Ens, September 12, 2016 risk parity and market correspondence, including September 1 and 8 messages. Eleven page released chain; relevant pages 1, 3, 5 and 10.
• EFTA01057018. Amanda Ens, January 10, 2017 Hess commentary, including November 17, 2016 correspondence. Three page released chain.
• EFTA01006351. Amanda Ens and Paul Barrett, June 6 and July 2018 option recap, quote and sale report. Four page released chain; relevant pages 1 through 3.
• EFTA02625611. Amanda Ens and Richard Kahn, September 4, 2018 Carvana correspondence. Three page released chain; relevant pages 1 and 2.
• EFTA00811897. Valuation Report, September 30, 2018. Relevant cash activity and holdings tables on PDF pages 2 and 5.
• Epstein’s Financial Web: An Extensive Report on Epstein’s Companies, Investments, Foundations, Trusts & Other Notable Businesses Connections. Heather Ashley, July 3, 2026. Carvana section used as a research lead; the account label was checked against the underlying valuation.