CLARKSBURG — The FBI’s National Threat Operations Center in Clarksburg investigated suspicious activity tied to one of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime bodyguards in the days following the disgraced financier’s 2019 arrest, according to newly declassified documents released as part of the Justice Department’s Epstein files.
An unclassified FBI email dated August 2, 2019, shows officials at the National Threat Operations Center, or NTOC, flagged a lead involving “suspicious activity by Epstein associate Merwin” and warned that related video surveillance footage “may need preserved” before it expired.
The message, circulated within the FBI’s crisis intake system, originated from NTOC staff operating out of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services complex in Clarksburg. The lead was logged under a crisis intake report and assigned a tracking number, indicating it was treated as a time-sensitive matter.
The document does not describe the contents of the video footage or the precise nature of the suspicious activity. It does, however, confirm that Merwin — identified in the file as an Epstein associate — was the subject of federal scrutiny during a period when authorities were racing to secure evidence connected to Epstein and his network.
Merwin has been publicly identified by journalists and witnesses as one of Epstein’s personal bodyguards. Photographer Christopher Anderson previously said Epstein sent a “massive” bodyguard named Merwin Delacruz to his studio in 2015 after Anderson photographed Epstein for a magazine profile that was canceled. Anderson said the bodyguard’s visit followed demands and threats related to control of the images and was intended to ensure no copies remained.
Epstein, a wealthy financier with ties to prominent political, business and royal figures, was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. He died the following month in a New York jail cell in what authorities called “a suicide,” though the case has continued to fuel scrutiny of his associates and the handling of evidence.
The Clarksburg-based NTOC serves as the FBI’s centralized hub for threat reporting, crisis intake and the coordination of time-sensitive investigative leads nationwide. Its involvement underscores the urgency with which federal officials treated potential evidence tied to Epstein’s associates during that period.
In addition to the FBI records, the declassified materials include a 2017 Ticketmaster email that appears to link Delacruz to a high-profile sporting event, showing he accepted a ticket transfer for three seats to a New York Knicks–Toronto Raptors game at Madison Square Garden. The email, dated February 27, 2017, confirms the transfer was completed and the sender’s copies were canceled, listing seats in Section 108 for the game held that evening in New York. While the message does not reference Epstein directly, its inclusion in the investigative files provides a documented instance of Merwin’s activities and movements, adding to the body of records reviewed by federal authorities examining Epstein’s network and associates.
Ticketmaster’s Fan Support in Charleston, WV coincidentally demonstrates another occurrence of where Epstein-related data passed through or were maintained in West Virginia, potentially triggering a local threat report.
The FBI has not publicly commented on the outcome of the Merwin-related inquiry or whether any video evidence was ultimately preserved or reviewed.
