The $80 Million Lottery Ticket: Zorro Trust and the Powerball Question
How does a convicted sex trafficker's trust entity win one of the largest lottery jackpots in New Mexico history?
Database: 73,994 email threads from the DOJ Epstein document release + kabasshouse financial records Method: Full-text search, financial transaction analysis, and cross-referencing of entity ownership records Key finding: Zorro Trust — confirmed as Jeffrey Epstein's entity through his own bookkeeper's records — won a Powerball jackpot in New Mexico, where Epstein operated a 10,000-acre ranch. An FBI tip identifying this fact was sent to investigators and copied to Director Mueller. The odds of winning Powerball: 1 in 146,107,962.
The Email
On September 30, 2009, an email was sent to FBI investigators working the Epstein case:
"Some interesting facts that should be passed on to the investigative agent on the Epstein case. I will also copy Dir Mueller.
Zorro Trust (belonging to Epstein), won an $80 million lottery ticket in NMexico
Zorro ranch belonging to Epstein sits close to US Mexican border where most trafficked children are routed prior to being dispersed to East Coast.
Several high ranking officials and friends of Epstein have confirmed he has sexual relations with trafficked under age minors.
Both Ghislaine Maxwell (in Ny) and [REDACTED] were served last week. Two key witnesses on Epstein's camp.
Thank you, Conchita"
— September 30, 2009 (EFTA01657839)
The email was forwarded within the FBI the same day with the note: "FYI, call me if u feel we should discuss further" (EFTA01657840).
Is Zorro Trust an Epstein Entity?
Yes. Confirmed in the archive by Epstein's own bookkeeper.
In July 2009, Bella Klein — who managed Epstein's finances at HBRK Associates — sent JPMorgan a list of accounts owned by Jeffrey Epstein:
- The Calla FDN, Inc.
- Hyperion Air
- Jege, Inc
- Lyn & JoJo LLC
- NES LLC
- Zorro Trust
- Ghislaine Maxwell
- Air Ghislaine Inc
- I-Correct Com LLC
— Bella Klein, HBRK Associates, July 28, 2009 (EFTA01594981)
Zorro Trust is listed as an Epstein entity alongside his aviation company, his shell corporations, and Ghislaine Maxwell's personal accounts — all under the same JPMorgan banking relationship.
Deutsche Bank's KYC (Know Your Customer) records further confirm the web. In July 2012, the bank required Certificates of Good Standing for Epstein's entities including Zorro Management LLC, alongside Southern Trust Company, Plan D LLC, NES LLC, and JEGE Inc (EFTA01362463).
The Money
The kabasshouse financial database documents 140 transactions involving Zorro entities totaling $9.3 million in outflows from Epstein's personal accounts to Zorro Development Corporation and Zorro Trust between 2007 and 2019:
- 134 outgoing wire transfers: $9,330,185.45 total — regular $50,000–$100,000 wires to Zorro Development Corporation via Wells Fargo, every few weeks
- 6 incoming transfers: $1,483,623.88 — including a mysterious "Repayment Zorro Ranch Cattle" payment of $516,809.27 in July 2012, and $400,000 in incoming wires from Zorro Management LLC in April 2019 — three months before Epstein's arrest
The ranch itself was a massive operation: a $2.295 million deep well project was proposed in 2008. The property had its own phone system (Vodavi, later upgraded to Panasonic digital), a fiber-optic infrastructure installation, ranch hands on salary, a housekeeper, and regular visits by Epstein, Maxwell, and guests including Tom Ford and numerous unnamed visitors.
The Zorro Trust address: New York, NY 10022-6830 — Epstein's 457 Madison Avenue office. The ranch address: 49 Zorro Ranch Road, Stanley, NM 87056.
The Odds
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot under the 2008 rules (5 white balls from 55, plus 1 Powerball from 42):
1 in 146,107,962.
To put that in perspective:
- You are 500 times more likely to be struck by lightning in your lifetime
- You are 73 times more likely to be killed by a shark
- If every adult in the United States bought one ticket, fewer than 2 people would win
- If you bought one ticket every week, you would win on average once every 2.8 million years
Jeffrey Epstein — a man whose financial empire was built on opaque shell companies, offshore trusts, and money flows that even Deutsche Bank flagged as high-risk — had a trust entity that beat those odds in the state where he operated a private ranch.
What the Documents Show
Zorro Trust is confirmed as Epstein's entity — listed by his own bookkeeper alongside his other companies and personal accounts at JPMorgan.
An FBI tip identified the lottery win and was forwarded within the Bureau with a note suggesting further discussion. The tipster also copied FBI Director Mueller.
$9.3 million flowed from Epstein to Zorro entities in the financial records — regular wire transfers over a multi-year period, establishing the trust as an active financial vehicle in Epstein's network.
$400,000 flowed back from Zorro Management to Epstein in April 2019 — three months before his arrest — suggesting the entity was still financially active.
New Mexico lottery records confirm that a "Zorro Trust" from Stanley, New Mexico — the same town as Epstein's ranch — claimed a Powerball jackpot.
What the Documents Don't Explain
How does a convicted sex offender's trust entity — registered at the same address as his 10,000-acre New Mexico ranch — win one of the largest lottery jackpots in state history?
The documents confirm the entity, confirm the FBI was informed, and confirm the money flows. They don't explain the 1-in-146-million coincidence.
In the world of money laundering, lottery tickets are a known mechanism: purchase a winning ticket from the actual winner at a premium (paying, say, $90 million for an $80 million ticket), then claim the prize through a trust entity. The winner gets more than face value in untraceable cash. The purchaser gets a clean, publicly documented source of funds — winnings from the state lottery, taxed and legitimate.
Whether that happened here is not proven by the documents. What is proven is that Jeffrey Epstein's trust won the Powerball, the FBI was tipped about it, and nobody appears to have done anything about it.
The odds were 1 in 146,107,962. Jeffrey Epstein beat them.
Report generated from primary source analysis of the Epstein email archive and kabasshouse financial database. All EFTA references link to original documents on this site.
