Jeffrey Epstein’s 1981 SEC Testimony and Bear Stearns Exhibits
Snapshot
Record: Sworn testimony of Jeffrey Epstein before the Securities and Exchange Commission, with three sets of division exhibits.
Proceeding: In the Matter of St. Joe’s Minerals Corporation, SEC File No. NY 5395.
Date and location: April 1, 1981, at the SEC’s New York regional office, 26 Federal Plaza. The recorded session began at 4:22 p.m.
Extent: 55 numbered transcript pages in a 69 page PDF that also contains a certification, contents page, and exhibits.
Principal subjects: Trading information surrounding a proposed Seagram tender offer, Epstein’s work and departure from Bear Stearns, a loan to a customer, the firm’s disciplinary decisions, and his own account of his education and compensation.
Evidence classification: Contemporaneous sworn testimony and attached company records. Epstein’s answers establish what he said under oath. They do not independently prove every claim he made.
EFTA status: No EFTA identifier has been verified for this SEC hosted copy. The document is cited by SEC file number, transcript page, exhibit, and PDF page instead of assigning it an unsupported EFTA number.
The SEC’s published transcript and exhibits give an unusually direct view of Jeffrey Epstein’s final weeks at Bear Stearns. They also show why a single explanation for his departure misses part of the record. Epstein said his resignation was unrelated to St. Joe’s Minerals. An attached Bear Stearns memorandum describes a fine and a separate firm suspension, followed by his decision to leave. The SEC document records an investigation and a witness examination. It is not an SEC finding that Epstein committed insider trading.
Why the SEC Questioned Epstein
The transcript identifies the matter as an investigation into securities transactions involving St. Joe’s Minerals Corporation. At the beginning of the examination, SEC staff referred to the Seagram tender offer. Epstein appeared as an individual witness and was sworn before answering questions. His lawyer, Mark E. Lehman, told the staff that he represented Epstein individually and also worked as an attorney for Bear Stearns. See transcript pages 1 through 7, PDF pages 3 through 9.
The questioning covered whether Epstein had information about the proposed takeover before its public announcement and whether Bear Stearns personnel had discussed or traded in St. Joe’s securities. At the end, he denied having advance information during March 9 through March 13, 1981, and denied knowing of others who had it. Those are Epstein’s sworn denials. The transcript itself does not resolve every possible source of advance information or reproduce the entire SEC investigation. See transcript pages 34 through 41 and 54 through 55, PDF pages 36 through 43 and 56 through 57.
The broader St. Joe’s inquiry concerned suspicious trading around the tender offer. That background should not be turned into an accusation against every person questioned. EpsteinWiki’s Bear Stearns article likewise distinguishes Epstein’s documented employment and testimony from an unproven assertion that he was fired for insider trading.
What Epstein Said About His Career
Epstein identified himself as a Bear Stearns limited partner and an account executive who helped the sales force with commodities and financial futures recommendations. He said he had worked at the firm for five years and had previously taught for two years at the Dalton School. He reported graduating from Lafayette High School, attending Cooper Union without graduating, and spending time at New York University without graduating. These are useful firsthand statements about the way he described his education and employment in 1981. See transcript page 13, PDF page 15.
He also described his pay. Epstein said his previous year’s total compensation exceeded $200,000 and included a $135,000 bonus. He said he expected a further bonus after leaving, but its amount remained uncertain. He described an annual salary of $42,000 and said approximately $30,000 was tied up in his limited partnership interest. These amounts come from his testimony, not payroll records reproduced in the PDF. See transcript pages 47 through 49, PDF pages 49 through 51.
For the earlier part of his career, compare the EpsteinWiki early life and background timeline. The SEC transcript is especially valuable because it records what Epstein said at the time, rather than a biography prepared decades later.
The Loan and Bear Stearns’ Discipline
Epstein told investigators he had lent $15,000 to a close friend who was also a Bear Stearns customer, and that the money was used to buy stock. He said he had disclosed the arrangement to firm leaders when he learned it might present a regulatory problem. He testified that the loan had been repaid and disputed how the firm handled the matter. The transcript refers to a possible “Reg D” issue, with the term identified phonetically. The record should not be used to declare a specific legal violation without identifying the governing rule and an actual finding. See transcript pages 18 through 23, PDF pages 20 through 25.
The company’s March 12 memorandum included as Division Exhibit 3 adds details Epstein’s account alone cannot supply. It says the executive committee imposed a $2,500 fine related to the loan. It also says Epstein had distributed new issues in a way the firm considered contrary to its preferred procedure, although the memorandum described that activity as within the bounds of applicable law. For that separate matter, the committee imposed a 60 day firm suspension. The memo states that Epstein then advised the committee he would withdraw from the firm.
These were Bear Stearns decisions as described in its own memorandum. A firm fine and suspension are not, by themselves, an SEC penalty or a criminal judgment. The document makes clear, however, that both the loan and new issue distributions belonged in any accurate account of his departure.
Resignation Letters and Termination Notice
The March 12 resignation letter, also included in Division Exhibit 3, says Epstein was resigning as a limited partner effective immediately. During questioning, Epstein explained that he submitted this short letter first and delivered a fuller written statement to the executive committee on March 25. See transcript pages 29 and 30, PDF pages 31 and 32.
In the March 25 statement, Division Exhibit 2, Epstein credited Alan Greenberg and other Bear Stearns figures for helping his career. He said he had disclosed the loan, objected to the committee’s response, and believed the incidents had been blown out of proportion. That is his written explanation of his departure. The attached company memo provides a separate account of the sanctions imposed.
The last PDF page is a Uniform Termination Notice for the securities industry. It identifies Epstein and Bear Stearns, marks his reason for termination as voluntary, and is dated March 20, 1981. It also marks “yes” on a question asking whether the firm had reason to believe he may have violated a securities rule or engaged in conduct inconsistent with equitable principles of trade. The reproduced form does not include a completed reverse side explaining that answer. The checkbox is a documented firm disclosure, not an adjudication that he violated a law.
The exhibit’s chronology is therefore March 12 for the memo and short resignation letter, March 20 for the dated termination form, March 25 for Epstein’s longer statement, and April 1 for his SEC testimony. Do not collapse those separate records into one undated story.
Evidence Appearances and Document Map
| Item | Location in SEC PDF | What it establishes | Principal limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover and proceeding information | PDF pages 1 and 3 | SEC File No. NY 5395, witness, date, place, and subject | Cover gives no substantive testimony |
| Sworn examination | Transcript pages 1 through 55, PDF pages 3 through 57 | Questions asked and answers given on April 1, 1981 | Witness answers are not independently verified findings |
| Division Exhibit 1 | PDF pages 58 through 64 | SEC procedural notice furnished to the witness | Does not decide the St. Joe’s investigation |
| Division Exhibit 2 | PDF pages 65 and 66 | Epstein’s March 25 explanation to the executive committee | Presents Epstein’s own account |
| Division Exhibit 3, resignation | PDF page 67 | Epstein’s signed March 12 resignation as limited partner | Does not explain all reasons for departure |
| Division Exhibit 3, firm memo | PDF page 68 | Bear Stearns’ account of its fine, suspension, and Epstein’s response | Firm characterization, not an SEC finding |
| Termination notice | PDF page 69 | Firm’s checked termination and conduct disclosures | Reverse side and supporting inquiry are absent from this copy |
This SEC publication has a stable record page and complete scanned PDF. Its cover, transcript, and exhibits can be checked against the page images when searchable text misreads a name, amount, or date. The SEC lists the publication date as November 22, 2021, which is distinct from the testimony date of April 1, 1981.
Related Sleuth Research
Thomas Volscho’s LONG CON Part II compares Epstein’s sworn SEC account with Bear Stearns personnel materials and earlier biographical claims. Volscho reports that a released personnel file gives March 15, 1976, as Epstein’s Bear Stearns start date and discusses discrepancies in the educational credentials recorded on his original and amended applications. His analysis supplies leads for a separate study of Epstein’s hiring and credential checks. The 1981 SEC transcript independently supports the narrower point that Epstein said he did not graduate from Cooper Union or New York University. Volscho’s conclusions about the application should be checked against the personnel file before being presented as findings of the SEC proceeding.
Ellie Leonard’s review of the Maxwell interviews discusses a much later account of Epstein’s Bear Stearns years and departure. Leonard notes that Maxwell described matters Epstein had told her rather than events she personally witnessed at the firm. Her article is useful for tracking how the Bear Stearns story was retold decades later. It is not independent confirmation of what happened in March 1981.
What the Record Does and Does Not Prove
Established by the document: Epstein gave sworn testimony in the St. Joe’s matter. He described his Bear Stearns role and education. He acknowledged the $15,000 customer loan. The Bear Stearns memo records a $2,500 firm fine and a 60 day firm suspension over a separate new issues issue. The exhibits include two resignation documents and a termination notice.
Epstein’s account, rather than an independent finding: He said his resignation had nothing to do with St. Joe’s and denied advance knowledge of the Seagram tender offer. He said he had disclosed the loan voluntarily and thought the firm’s response excessive.
Not established here: That Epstein engaged in insider trading, that the SEC charged him in this matter, that the SEC validated every aspect of his account, or that the firm’s internal discipline was an SEC enforcement action. The scanned packet also does not supply the entire Bear Stearns personnel file or a final SEC disposition concerning Epstein.
This distinction matters because the transcript documents an early intersection of Epstein, finance, internal firm discipline, and regulatory scrutiny. It does not license a more dramatic conclusion than its pages support.
Questions for Further Research
- Where are the underlying Bear Stearns inquiry records for the loan and new issue distributions?
- Does a complete version of the termination notice contain the missing reverse side and an explanation of its checked conduct question?
- What was the final disposition of SEC File No. NY 5395, and did any final action name Epstein?
- Are there independently preserved records that confirm the compensation figures Epstein gave under oath?
- Is a copy of this exact SEC transcript included in an EFTA production, and if so, what is its verified identifier?
Sources
- SEC, Jeffrey Epstein Transcript and Exhibits, record page
- SEC, complete transcript and exhibits, 69 page PDF
- EpsteinWiki, Bear Stearns
- EpsteinWiki, Jeffrey Epstein Early Life and Background Timeline
- Thomas Volscho, LONG CON Part II, Bear Stearns personnel and SEC testimony analysis
- Ellie Leonard, The Maxwell Tapes Part 2, Show Me the Money