COLUMBUS – The board of Columbus-based L Brands has hired an outside law firm to review any role financier Jeffrey Epstein may have played at the retail company.
The decision regarding the financier was announced Thursday.
Epstein has been charged with sex trafficking and has pleaded not guilty.
The company called Epstein’s alleged crimes “abhorrent.” It said in a statement that Epstein’s business association with its founder and CEO Leslie Wexner ended nearly 12 years ago but that it took the matter seriously and so ordered a thorough review.
The company, which operates brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, says it doesn’t believe that it ever employed Epstein or that he ever served as its authorized representative.
Wexner has said he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes during the time the financier was Wexner’s financial adviser.
Meanwhile, Epstein was found injured on the floor of his cell in the federal jail where he is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, a person familiar with the episode tells The Associated Press.
The person said Thursday that it wasn’t clear whether bruising on his neck was self-inflicted or from an assault.
The financier was treated and remains in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.