Columbia University announced disciplinary actions against two school officials who are alleged to have helped Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend gain acceptance into its dental school. In addition, the university signaled it would make a financial donation to support survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking, according to a statement issued February 11.
“In short, a student was admitted to the dental school through an irregular process, coinciding with fundraising solicitations by former academic and alumni leadership of the school,” the statement says.
Two former school officials -- Drs. Thomas Magnani and Letty Moss-Salentijn -- were disciplined. Magnani, the university said, hasn’t taught at the school since 2017 and was removed from the admissions review committee and volunteer positions, including his presidency of the 1852 Society, a dental school donor membership program. Magnani was also Jeffrey Epstein’s dentist, according to a New York Times article.
Moss-Salentijn remains as a faculty member, but her administrative duties were stripped, the university said.
Additionally, Columbia said it identified $210,000 in donated funds from “entities related to” Epstein. It will make two donations -- $105,000 each -- to two New York nonprofits that support survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
The university is but one organization of many engulfed in the Epstein controversy. Jeffrey Epstein was a financier who was indicted on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors but died before his trial in Manhattan. Epstein had connections with many global politicians, celebrities, social figures, and business leaders, of which many of these relationships and communications have been made public by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Files released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicate that the university’s normal admissions process was subverted in favor of Epstein’s girlfriend.
The student, whom the university did not name but who has been identified as Karyna Shuliak, initially applied to the dental school when she was 22, but her application was rejected, reports the New York Times article. When Epstein reportedly signaled his intention to donate to the school, officials apparently aided Shuliak’s admission.
According to the Times article, Magnani was the point person for Shuliak’s application. He arranged a tour of the university and assisted with her application. The dental college’s dean contacted Shuliak’s medical school in Belarus to obtain her school records. The school’s chair sent Shuliak guides and an outline of the entrance exam, and after Shuliak was admitted, Moss-Salentijn developed a customized study plan for the student. This plan, the article states, was developed because Shuliak had joined later than most transfer students.
“It is important to note that the student in question, who came to the dental school and graduated, has not, to the best of our knowledge, been found responsible for wrongdoing,” the university’s statement said.
DOJ documents indicate Epstein donated $100,000 to a health project overseen by the dental school’s then-dean, Dr. Ira Lamster, and an additional $50,000 to the dental college’s annual fund in Shuliak’s name.
Shuliak, the Times reported, was the last person Epstein spoke with before his death. Epstein paid for Shuliak’s tuition and left her $100 million in his will.
