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Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein paid at least $106,000 in tuition to Syracuse University on behalf of the daughter of his longtime pilot, according to bank records and emails unsealed by the Department of Justice.

Payments from Epstein covered multiple semesters for Lawrence Visoski’s daughter, Taylor Cusack, formerly Taylor Josephine Visoski. Cusack graduated in 2013 from SU’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, according to the files.

The files show bank statements from Epstein’s JPMorgan Chase account with at least five checks made payable to Syracuse University between 2009 and 2012. These include tuition payments totaling $106,654.

While testifying in Manhattan federal court during the 2021 sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Visoski confirmed that Epstein paid for both of his daughters to attend college. A spokesperson for the university confirmed to The Daily Orange that Cusack attended Newhouse from 2009 to 2013.

Most of the checks list Cusack’s former name in the memo line, including a Dec. 11, 2012, payment of $22,310 labeled “Taylor Josephine Visoski.”

Additional checks, each ranging between $19,000 and $22,000, were similarly made payable to the university’s bursar office.

Epstein, a financier who was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution, was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died in jail while awaiting trial. Investigators later ruled his death a suicide.

The D.O. reviewed references to SU in the batch of Justice Department files released Friday, many of which mention Cusack. The D.O. did not identify financial connections between Epstein and SU beyond the tuition payments and related correspondence.

Justice Department_Epstein-Visoski_SU Tuition Files by The Daily Orange

The documents were part of a broader release of Epstein-related records by the Justice Department following a law enacted last year.

These records do not indicate that Lawrence Visoski or Taylor Cusack had involvement in Epstein’s crimes. The documents show financial support and professional assistance coordinated through her father.

Cusack did not respond to multiple requests from The D.O. for comment. Visoski and Cusack’s lawyer had no immediate comment.

Visoski repeatedly sought Epstein’s help in paying for his daughters’ college tuition, according to several emails included in the files. The former pilot received a mix of checks payable to the university, loans and commission advances from Epstein.

These payments included a $21,000 personal loan request to cover Cusack’s fall 2010 tuition at SU and a subsequent $22,000 loan for her spring 2011 tuition, according to the correspondence.

The files also contain an email and a check showing Epstein assisted with tuition for Visoski’s younger daughter, who attended Millsaps College in Mississippi.

In a July 2012 exchange, Visoski proposed applying a remaining commission balance toward both daughters’ tuition and requested approval for an additional loan to cover the outstanding balance. Epstein replied “yes.”

In addition to accepting direct financial aid, Visoski also sought Epstein’s influence to advance Cusack’s academic and professional opportunities, the files show.

In 2011, Visoski asked Epstein to intervene after Cusack, a public relations major at the time, was denied an interview for an NBC internship covering the 2012 London Olympics, according to the files. In the email, Visoski described his daughter as “heartbroken.”

“My believe is the background check they did on me, to eliminate her from being giving this interview,” he wrote in an email to Epstein on April 7, 2011. “Is there any person or friend of a friend that you may know at NBC or affiliate that may look into the possibility of opening this door for her?”

Subsequent emails show Visoski forwarding his daughter’s resume and Harvard Business School application essays to Epstein for review. In one exchange, Epstein told Visoski to have his daughter complete the application and give it to him.

The files also contain a thank-you note from Cusack to Epstein.

“Dear Jeffrey, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to critique my essays for Harvard. I know your time is valuable and I sincerely appreciate all the feedback you gave me,” Cusack wrote in an email dated Jan. 7, 2013.

Epstein also allowed Cusack to stay in his Manhattan townhouse multiple times between 2011 and 2013 while she pursued internships and job interviews. An additional email confirms that Cusack stayed at the residence in September 2017.

The stays were coordinated by Epstein’s former executive assistant, Lesley Groff, according to the files. Groff appears several times in the files arranging access to Epstein’s properties.

Files show the financial relationship continued between Epstein and the Visoski family — including Cusack’s husband, Brendan Cusack — after her graduation in 2013. Brendan Cusack did not respond to The D.O.’s requests for comment.

Visoski, the first witness in Maxwell’s 2021 trial, testified that he had flown Epstein’s aircrafts, which carried high-profile passengers, from 1991 to 2019. In his testimony, Visoski said Epstein kept the cockpit door closed during flights, so he never witnessed any wrongdoing.

Other news organizations and student newspapers have reported similar tuition payments tied to Epstein in the newly-released records, including payments made to Seton Hall University, Wake Forest University and Elon University.

Multiple survivors and members of the House Judiciary Committee have separately said Epstein used promises of admission and tuition assistance as a way to exert control.

Enterprise Editor Julia Boehning and Digital Managing Editor Griffin Uribe Brown contributed reporting for this article.

Published on February 5, 2026 at 3:04 am
Contact Samantha: saolande@syr.edu