The Netflix True Crime Series Leaving Viewers Shocked
The true crime documentary miniseries Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is available to stream on Netflix. Consisting of four episodes, the show is based on the 2016 book Filthy Rich: A Powerful Billionaire, the Sex Scandal that Undid Him, and All the Justice that Money Can Buy: The Shocking True Story of Jeffrey Epstein written by James Patterson with assistance from John Connolly and Tim Malloy.
Released in May 2020, Filthy Rich examines the life, crimes, and legal actions taken against wealthy financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to a single charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor and served a brief jail sentence. However, his legal troubles didn’t end there. In 2019, Epstein was arrested again on federal sex trafficking charges involving minors.
The testimony of his victims in Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is enough to dispel any idea that Epstein was anything but a monster.
Before he could stand trial, Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell in August 2019, leading to a plethora of conspiracy theories. Filthy Rich features interviews with several survivors, such as Virginia Giuffre and Maria Farmer. It also features insights from former staff members and the former Police Chief Michael Reiter, a pivotal figure in the first criminal case against Epstein.
Filthy Rich also reveals how money was able to corrupt and influence the US justice system, particularly with regard to Epstein’s initial conviction and joke of a jail sentence in 2008. He served the sentence by spending 12 hours a day, six days a week outside of prison, and continuing as if nothing had happened before his early release and flagrant violation of parole.
The footage presented from depositions in which he knowingly smirked, pleaded the fifth, and refused to answer questions comes off as sickening and deeply unsettling for anyone watching the documentary.
Several figures involved in the Epstein scandal are noticeably absent from Filthy Rich, in particular his main alleged procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell, and many of his wealthy, high-profile associates like Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, former US President Donald Trump and former US attorney and cabinet member Alex Acosta, who negotiated Epstein’s 2008 plea deal.
However, Filthy Rich does touch on the role of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate, in recruiting and grooming young girls for sexual exploitation. The former socialite was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offenses in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is streaming on Netflix.
But the testimony of his victims in Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is enough to dispel any idea that Epstein was anything but a monster. The footage presented from depositions in which he knowingly smirked, pleaded the fifth, and refused to answer questions comes off as sickening and deeply unsettling for anyone watching the documentary.
Produced by veteran true-crime documentarian Joe Berlinger and executive produced by Patterson, a former Palm Beach neighbor of Epstein’s, Filthy Rich is not for the faint-hearted. It delivers on its opening warning that it includes graphic depictions of sexual abuse involving minors that may be disturbing for some viewers.
Whether Epstein killed himself in prison or whether he was removed by an unseen power remains unknown. However, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich perfectly illustrates the idea that extreme wealth and power have the ability to sway and corrupt, leaving terrifying shadows and broken souls in their wake.
