Ghislaine Maxwell wrapped her phone in tin foil

Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite charged earlier this month for reportedly plotting with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually assault underage children, attempted to get away from FBI investigators until she was taken into custody and rolled her mobile phone in tin foil to prevent capture, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Documents were cited in legal records during the proceedings about Maxwell ‘s bid for a $5 million bail while awaiting trial. The bond will be backed by six co-signors and properties worth $3.75 million in the United Kingdom.

The prosecutors argued against Maxwell ‘s release, arguing that she poses a flight risk and is “able to stay in secret,” citing her money, lack of substantive relations with the New York region and French citizenship. France will not extradite its people to the United States under French rule.

The court documents outlined some of the incidents that took place after Maxwell ‘s July 2 detention in her house worth $1 million in New Hampshire. Once the FBI agents entered, they opened the front gate and told Maxwell to open the front door to the main building, the prosecutors said.

“From a doorway, the investigators saw the defendant follow the way to open the door and then attempt to run to another room in the house and immediately close the door behind it,” the papers read.

Agents were forced to smash the front door to the home and found Maxwell inside the house, the prosecutors said. Police found a mobile phone covered in tin foil on a desk as police searched the house, officials said.

“We also found a mobile phone covered in tin foil on top of a desk, a seemingly ill-advised move to prevent capture, not by the newspaper or the media, who, of course, would have no power to track down her phone or monitor her messages, but by law enforcement,” the court papers state.

A security guard told investigators that Maxwell ‘s brother had employed a protection firm made up of retired veterans of the British Army to secure New Hampshire properties.

Maxwell, 58 years old, faced six charges for conspiring with Epstein in a multi-state child trafficking scheme involving three unidentified minors between 1991 and 1997. A hearing is set for Monday, where a judge determines whether to free her from federal detention.

Many of Epstein ‘s victims named Maxwell as their principal enabler in exploiting underage girls for sexual assault. The prosecutors said they intend “one or more victims” to appear at the trial on Tuesday.

Ghislaine Maxwell has been transferred to NYC jail to face child assault charges.
“The allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell derive from her critical role in sexual abuse, which has done significant and long-lasting injury to helpless women,” the lawyer argued. “For years before her conviction in this case , the defendant actually felt that she had gone away from her crimes. The dream has now been broken, and it has a host of new excuses to use its vast wealth to escape.
Maxwell’s attorneys have cited coronavirus in their request for admission to home confinement. They filed a petition last week about the government’s motion for arrest, arguing that the health threats involved with COVID-19 and the $5 million are adequate to guarantee that they appear at court.

The prosecutors argued that Maxwell did not give any justification that it should be handled differently from other federal prisoners in pre-trial custody.