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Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Fund for Jeffrey Epstein Victims
Jennifer Percival admitted falsifying records and fabricated emails to secure a $750,000 payment from a JPMorgan Chase compensation fund for Epstein victims.
On Monday, Florida autism scholar Jennifer Percival pleaded guilty in New York federal court to falsifying records and securing $750,000 from a compensation fund for victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
Percival, director of Florida Atlantic University's Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, applied to the Epstein estate fund in 2020 but was rejected; she then fabricated records claiming $500,000 approval to qualify for the JPMorgan Chase fund in 2024.
Federal agents began investigating after discovering the deception; Percival brought a check for $776,031 to her plea hearing for restitution. She faces three to four years in prison under sentencing guidelines.
"The purpose of these actions was to obtain money, which gave me a sense of validation," Percival told a magistrate judge on Monday. She accepted full responsibility but did not speak about Epstein.
Percival remains free while awaiting sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. Her defense lawyer is expected to argue for leniency based on her career as an "award-winning researcher in disability studies.