Who Is Prosper? β r/Epstein Research Thread
Source: r/Epstein post by u/cmcleaney, posted February 28, 2026. Flair: Research. Reddit URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Epstein/comments/1rgrb23/who_is_prosper/ DOJ corpus cross-reference performed 2026-02-28 against 295,843 indexed documents (3,902,282 chunks).
The Primary Source: What the Post Shows
The Reddit post is an image post containing a screenshot of an email from the released Epstein files. The email reads, in full:
From: J. Epstein \<jeeproject@yahoo.com> To: \<gmax1@mindspring.com> Date: May 13, 2006, 9:51 PM "shit" --- Gmax gmax1@mindspring.com wrote: "Prosper's no. +19177970028 forgot to tell you... Manuela works for him. :) G"
In plain language: Ghislaine Maxwell (gmax1@mindspring.com) sent Jeffrey Epstein a phone number for someone she referred to only as "Prosper," noted that a woman named Manuela worked for him, and added a smiley face. Epstein's reply was a single word β "shit" β suggesting the information was unwelcome, surprising, or alarming.
What Is Known
| Element | What the Document Shows |
|---|---|
| Sender | Ghislaine Maxwell (gmax1@mindspring.com) |
| Recipient | Jeffrey Epstein (jeeproject@yahoo.com) |
| Date | May 13, 2006, 9:51 PM |
| "Prosper" | Referred to by surname only; no first name given |
| Phone number | +1 (917) 797-0028 β New York City area code (917) |
| Manuela | Works for Prosper; Maxwell apparently knew this and was conveying it to Epstein |
| Epstein's reaction | "shit" β one-word reply indicating surprise, concern, or alarm |
The 917 area code confirms a New York City mobile number (917 was the first NYC cell-phone area code, introduced in 1992).
DOJ Corpus Search Results
The phone number +1 (917) 797-0028
Searched in every possible format. Not found in the extracted corpus.
| Format Searched | Result |
|---|---|
9177970028 (raw) |
β Not found |
917-797-0028 |
β Not found |
917.797.0028 |
β Not found |
(917) 797-0028 |
β Not found |
797-0028 / 7970028 |
β Not found |
1.917.797 / 1-917-797 |
β οΈ False positives only β all are the dollar amount $1,917,797.16 (Ghislaine Maxwell's Deutsche Bank account balance, appearing across ~25 monthly bank statements from 2018) |
The number does not appear in any of the ~296,000 extracted documents. It may be present in the approximately 2.5 million pages still withheld by DOJ, or in PDFs that failed OCR extraction.
"Manuela" in the corpus
One document is relevant: EFTA01122242 β the civil lawsuit Jean-Luc Brunel v. Jeffrey Epstein (Miami-Dade Circuit Court, filed 2014/2015).
Manuela W. Martinez appears as the Internet/Media Relations officer at Mega Partners, a Brazilian modeling agency. In an email dated October 17, 2014 (Exhibit D of the lawsuit), she wrote to Brunel:
"I'm very happy to hear you're coming to the agency with Vini so we can talk about us working with MC2 again. I don't need to remind you that the sex trafficking allegations have stopped us from working with your agency for the past 5-6 years β but as Vinicius is my friend, I will try to find a girl that already knows and trusts him to place with you."
Important caveat: This Manuela (Brazilian modeling agency, 2014) may or may not be the same Manuela referenced by Maxwell in 2006. The corpus does not contain any document linking this Manuela Martinez to a person named "Prosper," and her described role (Brazilian modeling industry contact) does not obviously connect to the NYC phone number. The connection is unconfirmed.
Who Is "Prosper"? β Theories
Theory 1: An Unidentified Individual (Most Likely)
The most honest answer from the DOJ corpus is that "Prosper" β referenced by surname only β cannot be identified from the released files. The phone number is absent from the extracted corpus. No other document in the ~296,000 indexed files uses the name "Prosper" in a context that matches this 2006 email. The identity remains open.
Theory 2: Pierre-Richard Prosper (Speculative β raised by u/Sweethomebflo)
One Reddit commenter suggested the identity might be Pierre-Richard Prosper (born September 19, 1963), a prominent Haitian-American lawyer and government official.
His profile:
- Raised in Upstate New York (Clifton Park, NY); educated at Boston College and Pepperdine Law
- Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles County (1989β1994)
- Assistant U.S. Attorney, Central District of California (1994β1996)
- Lead war crimes prosecutor, UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1996β1998) β won the first-ever genocide conviction under the 1948 Genocide Convention; secured recognition of wartime rape as a crime against humanity
- U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division (1999)
- U.S. State Department Special Counsel (1999β2001)
- 2nd U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, appointed by President George W. Bush (July 2001 β October 2005)
- Reported to Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice
- Chief U.S. negotiator for Guantanamo Bay detainee matters
- Conducted diplomatic negotiations with 60+ countries
- Currently a Partner at ArentFox Schiff LLP (Los Angeles)
- Featured in the 2015 documentary The Uncondemned about the Akayesu genocide trial
Assessment: Pierre-Richard Prosper is a high-profile figure in international law and U.S. government β exactly the profile that would make Epstein say "shit" upon learning a connection existed. The 917 area code is NYC; he was raised in Upstate New York and was based in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles during his government career. However:
- No documentary connection between Pierre-Richard Prosper and Epstein, Maxwell, or anyone in the Epstein network appears in the DOJ corpus.
- No NYC 917 number for him is documented anywhere in the files.
- His name does not appear in any of the ~296,000 indexed DOJ documents.
- The Maxwell email does not use a first name, so "Prosper" could be anyone's surname.
This theory is speculative and unverified. It cannot be confirmed or ruled out from the available evidence.
Community Responses (Reddit Thread)
| User | Comment | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| u/HarveyAug25 | "Someone in New York based on the number" | β Correct β 917 is NYC mobile |
| u/Oumuamua03 | "She was a friend of JEE. Prosper was her boss. You may try a reverse phone lookup. No other mentions of Prosper on JMAIL." | β οΈ Plausible interpretation of the email; JMAIL absence confirmed by our DOJ corpus search |
| u/Sweethomebflo | Suggested Pierre-Richard Prosper (U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes) | β οΈ Speculative β no corroborating evidence in DOJ files |
| u/dependentcooperising | "Prosper, Live Long-And" | β Star Trek reference |
| u/Civil_Locksmith_3024 | "Good question..." | β |
Key Open Questions
- Who is "Prosper"? The DOJ corpus cannot answer this from the released files. A reverse phone lookup on +1 (917) 797-0028 may yield results outside the corpus.
- Which Manuela? Is the "Manuela" in Maxwell's 2006 email the same as Manuela W. Martinez of Mega Partners (who appears in the Brunel lawsuit in 2014)? If so, "Prosper" could be someone in the Brazilian modeling industry with a NYC presence.
- Why did Epstein respond "shit"? This could indicate: (a) he didn't know Manuela worked for Prosper and this changed a relationship calculus; (b) Prosper was someone Epstein wanted to keep separate from Maxwell's knowledge; or (c) Prosper was someone whose connection to Manuela was dangerous or unexpected.
- Is this document in JMAIL? u/Oumuamua03 reports no other mentions of Prosper in JMAIL. Our DOJ corpus search confirms this β "Prosper" as a surname appears in the files only in reference to Paul Prosperi (a Palm Beach real estate figure and 1995 Clinton fundraiser organizer) and Arnold Prosperi (a Clinton-connected attorney), neither of whom match the 2006 NYC email context.