Stacey Plaskett is facing renewed scrutiny after records revealed multiple meetings with Jeffrey Epstein at a St. Thomas office tied to a controversial tax incentive program now under legal and political examination.
Emails and court filings reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show Plaskett met Epstein at Southern Trust Company’s office in August 2014, January 2019, and May 2019 in the Virgin Islands.
The final visit occurred just two months before Epstein was charged with sex trafficking, intensifying questions as Plaskett reportedly considers launching a campaign for governor of the territory.
Virgin Islands prosecutors have alleged Southern Trust operated through a “deliberately complex network” of subsidiaries that defrauded the territory under the Economic Development Authority’s tax incentive program.
Plaskett worked for the Economic Development Authority until 2012, one year before the agency approved a 10-year tax incentive package for Southern Trust.
That package included a 90 percent exemption from income taxes, according to government filings later cited in a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate.
In 2020, the Virgin Islands attorney general sued the estate, alleging Southern Trust “did not perform” the business activities it promised while collecting fraudulent tax benefits.
Epstein’s estate settled the lawsuit in 2022 for $105 million, closing the civil dispute but leaving political questions hanging over those connected to the arrangement.
Separate reporting shows Plaskett visited Epstein at his New York home in September 2018 to solicit donations for the Democratic Party, per Trending Politics.
She sent a text message later that day referring to Epstein as her “friend,” a description that contrasted with her later statement that she never had “a friendship” with him.
Emails indicate longtime Epstein attorney Erika Kellerhals arranged and attended the August 2014 meeting and organized the May 2019 session at Southern Trust.
The 2014 meeting was initially planned for Epstein’s residence before being moved to “STC,” shorthand for Southern Trust Company in internal communications.
Kellerhals testified in 2012 in support of Southern Trust’s tax incentive application, describing the firm as a “biomedical and financial informatics” business.
Plaskett said in a 2023 deposition that Kellerhals introduced her to Epstein in 2014 “as a potential donor,” and campaign records show Epstein and his employees contributed $10,400 combined.
Social media posts show Plaskett later attended a 2021 fundraiser at Kellerhals’s home, and campaign filings list roughly $1,000 in contributions from Kellerhals that month, while questions remain about what was discussed.
