Ghislaine Maxwell claims 29 friends cut ‘secret deals’ with DOJ, and she was the sole individual prosecuted in affiliation to allegations brought against Jeffrey Epstein

Maxwell alleges that 25 men reached undisclosed deals, while four alleged co-conspirators were known to investigators but never charged, without naming the individuals

Maxwell who is serving a 20-year sentence since 2022, following conviction for sex trafficking – recruiting and grooming underage girls abused by Jeffrey Epstein

On December 17 2025, representing herself, Maxwell filed a habeas corpus petition seeking to overturn her conviction

She is arguing that prosecutors cut deals with Epstein associates while prosecuting her, which undermined the fairness of her trial and violated her constitutional rights

Her filing for habeas corpus also includes allegations of juror misconduct and suppression of evidence

‘None of the four named co-conspirators or the 25 men with secret settlements were indicted,’ jailed sex predator Ghislaine Maxwell, [photo], has said in court filings for habeas corpus

Jailed sex predator Ghislaine Maxwell, in her habeas corpus in court filings is claiming 29 friends of Jeffrey Epstein were shielded from prosecution through ‘secret settlements’ by the Justice Department.
The disgraced socialite in a habeas corpus petition filed on December 17, is seeking to “vacate, set aside, or correct her conviction and sentence” on federal sex trafficking charges linked to a sexual exploitation scheme for Jeffrey Epstein, according to the petition.
The 64-year-old inmate is arguing that prosecutors cut deals with Epstein associates while prosecuting her as if no such agreements existed.
*Maxwell alleges that 25 men reached undisclosed deals, while four alleged co-conspirators were known to investigators but never charged. She does not name any of the individuals.
‘None of the four named co-conspirators or the 25 men with secret settlements were indicted,’ the court filing says.

Maxwell’s downward spiral began with a romantic relationship with financier, Jeffrey Epstein, [photo], lasting several years in the early 1990s.

The alleged concealment of these deals undermined the fairness of her trial and violated her constitutional rights, Maxwell’s lawyer argue.
‘New evidence reveals that there were 25 men with which the plaintiff lawyers reached secret settlements – that could equally be considered as co-conspirators,’ the legal document states.
‘None of these men have been prosecuted and none has been revealed to Petitioner; she would have called them as witnesses had she known.’
The multi-count habeas corpus argument, includes allegations of juror misconduct and suppression of evidence.

The pair remained closely associated for more than 25 years, up to August 2019, when Epstein, [photo], who was awaiting trial on sex trafficking allegations was found hanged in his jail cell – before he could be charged

Maxwell who filed her petition pro se, indicating that she is representing herself in the proceedings, is alleging that prosecutors violated the terms of Epstein’s 2007 non-prosecution agreement in Florida.
That agreement she claims, extended immunity to co-conspirators.
She is alleging that she was prosecuted for political reasons while other individuals escaped justice. 
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence at Federal Prison Camp Bryan, a minimum-security federal women’s prison in Bryan, Texas. She is scheduled scheduled to be released in July 2037.
She was convicted in New York in December 2021 of sex trafficking over her role in recruiting and grooming underage girls for abuse by Epstein between 1994 and 2004.
Prosecutors were seeking a 30 year sentence. However, on 28 June 2022, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
She has since been fighting her conviction. In September 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld all five convictions and sentence.
In April 2025, her lawyer asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal. On October 6, the Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal, leaving her conviction and sentence intact.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence at Federal Prison Camp Bryan, a minimum-security federal women’s prison in Bryan, Texas. Barring success in her habeas corpus filing, she is scheduled scheduled to be released in July 2037

Against the prospect of serving out her sentence, Maxwell appears to be hoping for lawyers describe as ‘extraordinary relief’ via a habeas corpus petition filed in the Southern District of New York.
The filing seeks to ‘vacate, set aside, or correct’ her sentence based on alleged constitutional violations.
However, according to legal experts, a habeas corpus petition is a rare ‘collateral attack’, permitted only after appeals fail and typically requiring proof of new evidence or fundamental flaws. 
Such challenges they said, succeed in exceptional cases as judges are wary to avoid endless re-litigation.