Brussels modelling agency named in Epstein emails, manager denies link
The name of the Brussels modelling agency Casting Factory Models has appeared in recently released documents relating to the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Emails dating from 2010 show that the agency forwarded details of a model to MC2 Model Management, the agency run by Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel.
In an exclusive statement to Belga News Agency, the agency’s manager, Nina Duchêne, denied any personal connection. “The very idea gives me shivers.”
In an email dated 4 May 2010, Duchêne shared the measurements and profile of a model identified as “Kelly C.” with a contact at MC2. “She has a pleasant temperament, is independent, and used to travelling,” the message states. Brunel, who died in prison in 2022, was accused of recruiting models for Epstein through MC2. The email was forwarded to Epstein himself, who replied, asking about her current schedule.
Responding to questions from Belga, Duchêne described the exchange as routine professional activity and said she had no knowledge of any wrongdoing. “The purpose of a modelling agency is to represent models and find them assignments,” she said, noting that agencies regularly share portfolios internationally. “The email you're referring to is a response to a request from a booker for information about a model. If we worked with that specific agency, it was the same as with any other agency.”
She added that she did not know Brunel or Epstein personally. “I Googled him to see who he was,” she said, denying any involvement in Epstein’s activities.
Casting Factory Models operated from an address near Avenue Louise in central Brussels before ceasing activities in 2012. Duchêne now lives in Miami, where she works in real estate, among other ventures.
Epstein's other Belgian connections
The newly released documents also highlight Epstein’s wider links to Belgium. He relied for years on legal services provided by Brussels-based lawyer Marie-Joseph Experton, a specialist in French law. Emails indicate that from Belgium, she assisted in coordinating financial transactions, luxury purchases and art-related dealings, and that Epstein continued to use Belgian legal representation until at least 2018.
A report from The Brussels Times found financial records show that Epstein transferred significant sums to Belgium, converting dollars into euros. In April 2019, months before his arrest on federal charges in the United States and his death in a New York prison cell, he transferred 39,000 euros from an account in the US Virgin Islands to an account in Belgium. Documents also show repeated payments of 7,000 euros to Belgium between 2016 and 2017.
Belgium also featured in Epstein’s activities on the European art market. In 2016, a Giacometti sculpture was shipped through Liège airport en route to Paris, while in 2018, trustees acting on his behalf sought to finalise the sale of a 1.25 million dollar statue of Hercules to two Belgian buyers.
Printed copies of documents released by the U.S. Justice Department in connection with court cases involving the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Taken in Brussels, Belgium, on 8 February 2026.© PHOTO JONATHAN RAA / SIPA USA
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