About this episode
On March 19, 2026, a video of Peter Simel — a retired Palm Beach real estate executive — went viral after bystanders shouted "Epstein is alive" at him. Known online as Palm Beach Pete, Simel came forward on March 20 to deny being Jeffrey Epstein. In doing so, he confirmed he attended parties where Epstein was present, though he says they never spoke.This episode uses that admission as an entry point into the documented Palm Beach social circuit Epstein maintained for decades. FBI intake records from EFTA00021171 contain a witness account of Epstein's Christmas 2000 party at his Palm Beach Island property — the witness was brought by Lisa Villeneuve, who introduced Bobby Cox as a "model scout" and immediately called him "a pimp." Jmail documents show Eva Dubin forwarding gala photos and charity invitations to Epstein between 2015 and 2016, seven years after his 2008 conviction. Emails from 2015 to 2018 show Lesley Groff coordinating Epstein's attendance at events hosted by "Peggy" — likely Peggy Siegal. A May 2017 seating chart was sent directly to jeevacation@gmail.com, suggesting Epstein remained involved in event guest planning post-conviction.Peter Simel is not Jeffrey Epstein. But the social world Epstein built in Palm Beach did not disappear after 2008. This episode documents who was in those rooms.Sources for this episode are available at: https://epsteinfiles.fm/?episode=bn18About The Epstein FilesThe Epstein Files is an AI-generated podcast analyzing the 3.5 million pages released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA). All claims are grounded in primary source documents.Produced by Island Investigation
