Epstein files mention Francine LeFrak, names of Barnard trustees’ families and alumni

The Barnard Bulletin found that the Department of Justice’s Epstein Library contains multiple mentions of prominent Barnard College affiliates, including the LeFrak and Blankfein families.

Photo by Haley Scull/The Barnard Bulletin

By Ava Glicksberg, Jaya Shankar, Karissa Song, and Kimberly Wing

February 1, 2026

Updated February 1, 2026 at 10:40 p.m.

Editor’s Note: This article mentions sensitive topics, including sexual assault and human trafficking. The mention of individuals within the files does not signify participation in illegal activity. All information cited in this article is publicly accessible. 

The names of various Barnard affiliates, including an applicant admitted in 2011, two alumni, and the families of two current trustees, can be found in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) “Epstein Library,” a collection of messages, images, and emails between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.

Among 3.5 million files released between November 2025 and January 2026, multiple documents reveal that Epstein had connections with Barnard College affiliates, including the LeFrak and Blankfein families, members of whom currently sit on the Barnard Board of Trustees. The Milstein family, who have donated over $100 million to the College and Columbia University, also appears in the files.

Francine LeFrak is the founder and president of The Francine A. LeFrak Foundation, which financed Barnard’s Center for Well-Being, which opened in October 2024. A College press release described the LeFrak family as “longtime members and supporters of the Barnard community,” with Francine LeFrak’s mother, Ethel Stone LeFrak (BC ’41), previously on the Board of Trustees for “many years.” 

In addition, Francine LeFrak is currently serving as a Barnard trustee, but the date of her appointment to the board is unclear, as the College does not publicly disclose a roster of its trustees.

In the DOJ’s Epstein Library, the surname “LeFrak” yielded a total of 58 search results, with Francine LeFrak’s name appearing 15 times.

In an email sent to Epstein on September 10, 2010, an individual identified as “Jonathan” wrote that Francine LeFrak “asked [Jonathan] what [they were] doing for the holidays.”

“I said I was going to you,” Jonathan continued, “She and her husband Rick [Friedberg] would love to stop by [sic] would that be okay.” The email does not specify a location where LeFrak and Friedberg, or Jonathan, may have visited Epstein.

Epstein wrote “of course” in response.

Peggy Siegal, a publicist and close associate of Epstein, also repeatedly mentioned the LeFrak family in her emails with him. In response to a 2013 email from Epstein asking for “[sic] newss,” Siegal noted that Francine LeFrak was among the attendees of actress Grace Hightower’s birthday party. Later that year, Siegal invited Epstein to her own birthday celebration, sending him a guest list that included Richard and Karen LeFrak, the brother and sister-in-law of Francine LeFrak. 

Francine LeFrak has also been associated with United States President Donald Trump, who maintained a close friendship with Epstein. Epstein once called himself “Don’s best friend.”

Correspondences reveal that the LeFraks were invited to and attended parties at Mar-a-Lago, a private luxury resort in Florida owned by President Trump, including a “LeFrak dinner … at [sic] Maralogo,” as Siegal wrote in a 2010 email to Epstein. More recently, Francine LeFrak attended a 2017 New Year’s party at the resort and in November 2025 was recorded there shaking hands with President Trump.

Philip Milstein (CC ’71), husband of Cheryl Glicker Milstein (BC ’82), also appears in the Epstein files.

Glicker Milstein served on the Barnard Board of Trustees for almost three decades and as chair for eight years until July of 2025. With her husband, she has financed many Barnard projects, including the Glicker-Milstein theater and their $25 million contribution towards the construction of the Milstein Center. As of 2019, all of their contributions to Barnard and Columbia totaled over $100 million.

In a 2013 email, Philip Milstein, along with Stan Bergman and John Paulson, invited Epstein to join them in attendance as Matthew Bronfman accepts the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Avraham Harman Leadership Award, even offering for Epstein “to be included in our Tribute Committee for Matthew Bronfman.” 

They concluded the email with “we wish you a year of peace, good health and happiness.”

The Epstein files also mentioned Lloyd Blankfein, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs. He is also the husband of Laura Blankfein (BC ’75), who succeeded Cheryl Milstein as Barnard’s chair of the Board of Trustees last July. 

In 2010, Nili Priel, the wife of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, wrote to Epstein that “Ehud suggested that ... you could invite Lloyd Blankfein” to an undisclosed event. An hour later, Epstein’s assistant, Lesley Groff, wrote that she had “spoken to Michelle, Blankfein’s assistant, and emailed her [regarding] the dinner for Barak.” 

Groff emailed Epstein again shortly after, stating that Michelle had informed her of Blankfein’s “long standing client commitment that she knows can not be changed” but “was sure he would be disappointed” that he could not attend dinner with Epstein and Barak. It is unclear whether a meeting between Epstein, Blankfein, and Barak ever took place, though numerous files point to a “close” relationship between Barak and Epstein spanning over a decade. 

Available records do not indicate that Francine LeFrak, Cheryl Milstein, or Laura Blankfein directly contacted Epstein.

On June 29, 2011, Epstein contacted Ehud Barak’s daughter, Anat Barak, to introduce “Tali,” an 18-year-old newly admitted Barnard student, who wanted to serve “in one of the elite units in the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces].”

“Upon her return to the United States for college, she would be a fantastic ambassador for Israel on one of the more important college campuses in the country - Columbia,” Epstein wrote.

Anat Barak introduced herself to Tali and CC’d Epstein in an email sent an hour later. 

“Jeffrey Epstein told me about you and about your plans to join the IDF this summer,” Anat Barak wrote. “I would love to speak with you.”

A 2022 investigation by The New York Times found that Epstein purchased a “rare cello” for “a young Israeli man named Yoed Nir,” who introduced his wife, Anat, as the daughter of former Israeli Prime Minister Barak. Ehud Barak reportedly “confirmed that Yoed and Anat Nir are his son-in-law and daughter.”

The resumes of Donna Redel (BC ’74) and Sharon Bilar (BC ’98), two other Barnard alumni, are also among the Epstein files. Epstein’s relationships to Redel and Bilar are unclear.

Numerous survivors of Epstein's trafficking ring testified that Epstein “maintained close ties to multiple academic institutions” and “repeatedly lured young women into his network by promising to help them gain admission into colleges and universities," including Columbia University. 

While Epstein donated to Columbia University and its College of Dental Medicine from 2010 to 2012, survivors have not named Barnard College as a recipient of his money. The names of current members of Barnard’s administration were not found in the Epstein Library.

The Bulletin has reached out to the College for a comment regarding the names of the LeFrak, Milstein, and Blankfein families appearing in the Epstein files but has not heard back yet.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include information on the Milstein family’s appearance in the Epstein files.

This is a developing story.