(COLUMBUS, OHIO) -- Newly released Department of Justice records show convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein made regular payments to the longtime head of obstetrics and gynecology at Ohio State University in the early 2000s.
Documents reviewed by NBC4 in Columbus show Mark Landon, who chaired Ohio State's OB-GYN department, received quarterly payments from Epstein between 2001 and 2005. In some cases, the payments totaled as much as $25,000 every few months.
Landon told reporters the money was for consulting work tied to potential biotechnology investments and said he was unaware of Epstein's criminal conduct at the time. He said he did not provide medical care to Epstein or to any of Epstein's victims.
The records also show Epstein mailed at least 10 packages to Landon's Columbus home during the same period, though the contents were not specified. Emails included in the files reference the payments and indicate Epstein's company billed retail executive Les Wexner and his wife, Abigail, in advance for the consulting fees.
At the time, Wexner was Epstein's only publicly known client. Wexner severed ties with Epstein in 2007 after discovering financial misconduct and as allegations of sexual abuse surfaced. Wexner has repeatedly said he had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes.
Landon remains employed by Ohio State University and was recently honored with a visitor lounge named after him at the Wexner Medical Center. While the released records include emails in which Epstein discussed arranging gynecological appointments for victims, Landon was not identified in those references.
The U.S. House has recently subpoenaed Wexner as part of a broader congressional investigation into Epstein's activities. Wexner's attorneys say he will cooperate fully and is not a target of the investigation.