The origins of Jeffrey Epstein's financial empire remain a mystery to even billionaires. But the investor's former Wall Street mentor has one theory about how Epstein amassed his fortune: Fraud. In a phone interview with Observer, Steven Hoffenberg alleged Epstein participated in a Ponzi scheme the two ran together in the 1980s, before using the ill-gotten gains to launch his investment company with the help of financial loans from Deutsche Bank. "Its a very simplistic financial fraud that he concealed from everybody that gave him tainted money," said Hoffenberg.