Who is Scott Borgerson, the rumoured husband of Epstein girlfriend and alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell?
In 2020, Ms Maxwell transferred all of her assets into a trust controlled by Mr Borgerson, though she denies that he is her husband.
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Your support makes all the difference.The trial of Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend and alleged pimp, Ghislaine Maxwell, has uncovered a surprising detail about the British socialite's personal life; apparently she is married.
Rumours have circulated for years that Ms Maxwell, who faces accusations that she groomed and recruited young girls for Epstein to sexually abuse, was secretly married. She has denied all the charges against her.
Ms Maxwell's husband is reportedly millionaire tech CEO and former US Coast Guard officer Scott Borgerson, 44, who is said to be "very connected" to the former Trump administration. Details of their marriage emerged last year when Ms Maxwell told court clerks she tried filing for a divorce to spare her husband from being dragged into the proceedings.
The British socialite has kept the identity of her husband a secret and Mr Borgerson has denied dating Ms Maxwell, insisting that they are just old friends and that she is a "wonderful and loving" person with no hand in Epstein's crimes. However, in 2020, Ms Maxwell filed court papers as part of a bail application indicating she had transferred all of her assets into a trust that Mr Borgerson controls.
Rumours that the two are actually married were supported by friends of Ms Maxwell who spoke with The New York Times on the condition of anonymity.
According to the friends, the pair met while working on ocean preservation projects and began an affair. Mr Borgerson was still married at the time, resulting in a split when his wife allegedly caught him spending time with Ms Maxwell in Miami. He allegedly told her he was flying to London when he was caught with her.
After the split, Mr Borgerson and Ms Maxwell reportedly began sharing a 6,000-square-foot home in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, where Mr Borgerson was frequently spotted walking Ms Maxwell's dog.
Mr Borgerson recently stepped down from the company he founded, CargoMetrics, which is based in Boston and analyses data for maritime trade and shipping companies. He resigned to "ensure his presence would not become a distraction for the work he believes in so deeply."
The documentary Epstein's Shadow suggested that Mr Borgerson had connections to the Trump administration, but those allegations have yet to be confirmed.
In addition to his ocean preservation work, Mr Borgerson was also reportedly a fellow in residence at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, where he wrote about ocean issues.
Mr Borgerson grew up in southeast Missouri, the son of a US Marine infantry officer and a high school French and Spanish teacher. He was a youth elder at his church and later became an Eagle Scout. According to a profile in Institutional Investor, Mr Borgerson originally considered becoming a Presbyterian priest before he decided to join the US Coast Guard Academy and enter the military.
After his graduation, Mr Borgerson taught US history, foreign policy and political geography, and maritime studies at the Coast Guard Academy.
After leaving the academy he became a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. It was during his work on ocean preservation that he reportedly met Ms Maxwell.
In 2019, Ms Maxwell reportedly bought a $1.07m mansion in Bedford, New Hampshire, which is about an hour away from the home she is said to have shared with Mr Borgerson. It is unclear if that move was an indication that there were issues between the couple. Ms Maxwell was arrested at the residence in July of 2020.
Mr Borgerson was recently spotted with another woman, who may be his new girlfriend. She is reportedly Kris McGinn, a 49-year-old journalist at the local newspaper, the Manchester Cricket.
The tech millionaire has refused to answer questions from reporters about his alleged relationship with Ms Maxwell. His rumoured new girlfriend, Ms McGinn, has also refused to comment or confirm that she is dating Mr Borgerson.
In the few comments Mr Borgerson has made about Ms Maxwell, he has denied her involvement with any of Epstein's sexual abuse crimes.
“I have never witnessed anything close to inappropriate with Ghislaine,” he said. “The Ghislaine I know is a wonderful and loving person. I believe Ghislaine had nothing to do with Epstein’s crimes.”