'He Attached a Lot of Strings': Young Artist Alleges Jeffrey Epstein Weaponized College Tuition Money to Enforce Sexual Control
A New York City artist says Jeffrey Epstein used promises of higher education to lure her into his network.
Jan. 18 2026, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
A New York City artist says Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell used the promise of higher education to draw her into their sexual abuse network, RadarOnline.com can report.
The alleged victim added to a growing body of survivor accounts describing how Epstein leveraged academic opportunities to maintain control over young women.
Epstein Victim
Rina Oh said she was 21 when she met Epstein in 2000.
Rina Oh said she was a 21-year-old art student when she met Epstein in 2000 after being introduced by Lisa Phillips, a model and Epstein survivor who has since become a prominent advocate for accountability in the sprawling sex trafficking scandal.
"He told me: 'You're really talented. I think you should be in school,'" Oh recalled.
According to Oh, Epstein invited her to sit beside him and portrayed himself as a generous benefactor with deep academic connections. "He explained that he was a philanthropist, known by so many people, a very generous man, and had sent so many young people to university, often the kids of women he'd been at school with. I completely believed him."
Oh said Epstein told her she needed a bachelor of fine arts degree to succeed and offered to pay for her education at New York's School of Visual Arts, presenting the proposal as a scholarship "with no strings attached." But she said the arrangement quickly turned coercive. "He attached a lot of strings to that scholarship. When I wouldn't do all that he wanted he took it away."
Epstein Weaponized Money
Epstein portrayed himself as a wealthy philanthropist who helped young people attend university.
Oh said she spent roughly two years in Epstein's orbit. Her account echoes those of other survivors who have said Epstein promised to help them enroll in or pay tuition at elite universities as a means of securing compliance and silence.
Similar allegations were raised last week during interviews conducted by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, as lawmakers examined the broader scope of Epstein's influence.
The disclosures also come as the US Justice Department is expected to release a potentially extensive new batch of Epstein-related documents in the coming days.
In letters sent to Columbia University and New York University, Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said Epstein used academic promises as a deliberate tool of exploitation.
"Mr Epstein repeatedly lured young women into his network by promising to help them gain admission into colleges and universities," Raskin wrote, adding that Epstein "not only lured young women who he and his co-conspirators would come to sexually abuse and rape, he also ensured his victims were indebted to him and less likely to come forward to report crimes to law enforcement."
A Lasting Impression
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Oh said she spent roughly two years within Epstein’s network.
For Oh, the experience left a lasting impression. "He was very much obsessed with infiltrating the minds of young people," she said. "He didn't just want to infiltrate for physical abuse, he wanted to infiltrate their brains because he was a cerebral beast."
Oh said the promised scholarship ultimately gave way to a handful of lessons and a painting commission. "It was an awful painting. He was obsessed with female body parts. He didn't want a whole person. He didn't want an abstract." Epstein wanted a crotch. "He just said keep it real."
