Ghislaine Maxwell ‘secretly married,’ won’t name spouse

A prosecutor has revealed in court Ghislaine Maxwell is married, amid speculation he’s a tech millionaire in Massachusetts.

Scott Borgeson, left, alleged partner and possible husband of Ghislaine Maxwell. They apparently met through a shared interest in ocean preservation.

Ghislaine Maxwell is secretly married but has refused to identify her spouse to court officials after her arrest this month, it has been alleged.

Ms Maxwell, 58, was arrested in New Hampshire on July 2 and charged with conspiring to groom minors for sexual abuse by her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.

She was denied bail this week after pleading not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutor Alison Moe revealed the existence of a spouse while arguing against allowing bail on the basis that Ms Maxwell had failed to provide full details of her financial or personal circumstances.

“In addition to failing to describe in any way the absence of proposed cosigners of a bond, the defendant also makes no mention whatsoever about the financial circumstances or assets of her spouse whose identity she declined to provide to Pretrial Services,” Ms Moe told the New York court. “There’s no information about who will be co-signing this bond or their assets, and no details whatsoever.”

Ms Moe also revealed that before buying her mansion in Bradford, New Hampshire – where she was later arrested – Ms Maxwell had toured the property with an unknown man, both using an alias.

A real estate agent told the FBI that when the couple visited in November 2019, they gave their names as Scott and Janet or Jen Marshall.

“Both had British accents,” said Ms Moe. “Scott Marshall told her he was retired from the British military and was currently working on a book. Janet Marshall described herself as a journalist.”

Earlier this year, after Epstein’s death in a New York jail cell, US media tracked Ms Maxwell to a $2m home in Manchester-by-the-Sea in Massachusetts, owned by tech mogul Scott Borgerson. Mr Borgerson told reporters Ms Maxwell was a “former girlfriend,” and denied that she was at his home.

However The Times reports that Ghislaine’s sister Christine was spotted picking up bags nearby and several neighbours thought they had seen Ms Maxwell’s dog.

According to The Daily Mail, Mr Borgerson is believed to have met Ms Maxwell six years ago through a mutual interest in ocean preservation. They were pictured speaking at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik in 2014.

It is unclear whether the ex-military man ‘Scott Marshall’ who toured the New Hampshire house was Mr Borgerson, whose shipping technology firm, Cargometrics was valued at more than $100m according to the Financial Times. Mr Borgerson, 43, is a former US Coast Guard commanding officer

In court filings on Tuesday, Ms Maxwell’s lawyers did not mention a spouse but suggested her two sisters and two other unnamed people, “all of whom have strong ties to Ms Maxwell,” could co-sign a bond.

In the bail hearing, which was held via video conference, her lawyer Mark Cohen told Judge Alison Nathan that he was not identifying the co-signers for their own safety. “People have received physical threats,” he said, adding that some had lost their jobs because of their association with his client.

In their court filing, prosecutors said agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who moved in to arrest Ms Maxwell encountered a locked gate and private security guards from a company staffed by former British military. Approaching the entrance to the main house, the agents announced themselves and told Ms Maxwell to open the door. Through a window, agents saw Ms Maxwell “try to flee to another room in the house, quickly shutting a door behind her,” prosecutors wrote.

Judge Nathan ordered Ms Maxwell detained in federal custody while she awaits trial. The judge said “the risks are simply too great” to allow Ms Maxwell to remain free, holding that no set of conditions could guarantee she wouldn’t flee.

A trial date has been set for July 12, 2021.