As the Trump administration is expected to release investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein later this week, a recent New York Times investigation delves into one of the biggest mysteries about the deceased sexual predator: how the college dropout with no financial training rose through the world of finance and amassed his wealth, which enabled his abuse and insulated him from scrutiny for decades.

David Enrich, deputy investigations editor at The New York Times and lead author of the report, headlined “Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich,” says Epstein’s early success in business was due to a series of lucky breaks, lies and scams that nevertheless convinced sophisticated investors and business titans to give him their money.

This post was originally published on Democracy Now!.