A prison guard at the centre of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal is facing renewed scrutiny after it was revealed she made a mysterious $5,000 (£3,730) cash deposit
One of Jeffrey Epstein’s prison guards made a mysterious $5,000 (around £3,730) cash deposit just days before the disgraced financier’s death, it is claimed. Tova Noel, 37, also Googled Epstein less than an hour before he was found dead in his cell, documents state.
She was one of two Metropolitan Correctional Center staffers accused of faking records to cover up their failure to check on Epstein the night he died and was sacked after the scandal broke. Criminal charges against both guards were later dropped.
According to FBI records, Noel searched for “latest on Epstein in jail” at 5:42am and again at 5:52am.
This was less than 40 minutes before her colleague Michael Thomas found Epstein hanged at 6:30am, the New York Post reported.
Earlier that shift, Noel was shopping for furniture online and reportedly snoozed on the job, while Thomas browsed for motorcycles, prosecutors say.
The FBI highlighted Noel’s late-night Epstein search in a 66-page forensic report on prison computer activity, calling it the only search of note. However, when grilled by the DOJ in 2021, Noel insisted: “I don’t remember doing that,” and claimed the FBI records were not “accurate.
“I don’t recall looking him up.” Noel, now facing a lawsuit for alleged assault at her new job as a medical office assistant, also told investigators that skipping rounds and faking records was standard practice at the Manhattan lockup, as per the New York Post.
“I’ve never worked in the Special Housing Unit and actually done rounds every 30 minutes,” she admitted.
Moreover, Chase Bank, the consumer banking division of American bank JPMorgan Chase & Co, flagged a series of suspicious cash deposits into Noel’s account. This included the $5,000 (approximately £3,730), the largest, made just days before Epstein’s death.
In total, seven deposits amounting to $11,880 (£9,500) were reportedly made since December 2018. Noel began working in Epstein’s Special Housing Unit on July 7, 2019, according to the New York Post.
Despite driving a $62,000 (£49,600) 2019 Land Rover Range Rover, Noel was never questioned about the cash during her DOJ interview. An internal FBI briefing identified Noel as the likely “mysterious orange shape” seen on CCTV near Epstein’s cell at 10:40pm, shortly before his death by hanging with strips of orange cloth.
In her statement, Noel insisted she “never gave out linen, ever” and last saw Epstein alive “somewhere around after 10”. The “orange blob” in the footage has fuelled conspiracy theories, with the latest FBI files naming Noel for the first time.
Noel denied knowing why Epstein had extra linen and revealed her fellow guard was asleep during critical hours. Entering Epstein’s area alone would have violated prison policy.
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