Ghislaine Maxwell is losing her hair and her weight has dropped 15lbs due to 'onerous' jail conditions, claim her lawyers ahead of today's bail attempt
Ghislaine Maxwell is losing her hair and has lost 15 pounds in weight since she has been in prison, her lawyers have claimed in a new court filing.
In the letter to US District Judge Alison Nathan who is overseeing her case, attorney Bobbi Sternheim wrote: 'While her weight may currently be fairly consistent, she had lost over 15 pounds, and she is sustaining hair loss'.
It comes on the heels of the Federal Bureau of Prisons submitting a letter to Judge Nathan that insists Maxwell is being treated like all inmates at the Metropolitan Detention center in Brooklyn, despite Maxwell's repeated complaints of her conditions at the 'hell-hole' jail.
They even detailed how her weight of 134lbs only fluctuates between 2lbs.
Maxwell's lawyers have frequently complained about her 'onerous' jail conditions - including frequent strip searches, being awoken by a flashlight at night to ensure she's still alive and meals consisting of no more than bread and butter.
It comes as she will launch her second attempt to get bail today. However the judge in the case was noncommittal on whether she would even give her a hearing.
Federal court judge Nathan said the alleged madam for Jeffrey Epstein had until Tuesday to file her documents.
But the judge warned that only 'after reviewing these submissions the court will decide whether a hearing on the renewed bail motion is necessary'.
Ghislaine Maxwell is losing her hair and has lost 15 pounds in weight since she has been in prison, her lawyers have claimed in a new court filing
Judge Nathan wrote in bold that Maxwell must limit her response to 40 pages, apparently concerned her lawyers will file reams of documents to argue her case.
Maxwell's lawyers are requesting a bail hearing on December 21st with the aim of having the 58-year-old out in time for Christmas.
Maxwell has been in custody since July 14th when Judge Nathan, who sits at federal court in Manhattan ruled she was a 'substantial actual risk of flight'.
The FBI arrested her at a 156-acre property in Bradford, New Hampshire, worth $1m which she bought in cash through a company designed to shield her identity.
The British socialite is accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse and perjuring herself in a separate civil case.
She denies the allegations for which she faces up to 35 years in jail.
The alleged madam of Jeffrey Epstein has been in custody since July 14th when a judge in Manhattan ruled she was a 'substantial actual risk of flight'. The British socialite is accused of procuring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse and perjuring herself in a separate civil case
During the last five months Maxwell's lawyers and her family have begun what they call 'Operation Get Ghislaine Out' because they feel she is being treated unfairly.
But according to a letter filed on Monday by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, that is not the case.
Lawyers detail how she's fed three meals a day, receives commissary and 'has access to recreational space, social calls, television, shower, legal telephone calls, email, computers, and discovery material'.
They claim her weight has been consistent at 134bs and she is in 'good health'.
In her order Judge Nathan said that after Maxwell's application is filed the prosecution response is due by December 16th and must also be 40 pages.
Maxwell will have 10 pages to respond to that, which is due by December 18th.
If a hearing takes place it is not even clear if it will be before Christmas.
Documents previously filed to the court stated that Maxwell intends to submit documents detailing her financial affairs over the past five years prepared by an accounting firm.
She will also submit letters on behalf of family and friends including some who will act as sureties to get her out.
Maxwell faces a steep bar to getting bail and in her last attempt Judge Nathan said that the 'risks are too great' to allow her to be freed.
Judge Nathan said that 'no combination of conditions could reasonably assure her presence in court' because she had the means and the motive to flee the US.
In her ruling, she said that Maxwell 'not only has significant financial resources, but has demonstrated sophistication in hiding those resources and herself'.
Maxwell has been in custody since July 14th when a judge at federal court in Manhattan ruled she was a 'substantial actual risk of flight'
But according to a letter filed on Monday by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, that is not the case. Lawyers detail how she's fed three meals a day, receives commissary and 'has access to recreational space, social calls, television, shower, legal telephone calls, email, computers, and discovery material'
Judge Nathan dismissed Maxwell's pleadings about the danger of her getting the coronavirus and said she has not argued that her age or preexisting conditions make her 'particularly susceptible' to it.
Maxwell's lawyers had proposed releasing her on a $5m bail package tied to a property which she owns in the UK.
They said she would be willing to submit to being monitored with an ankle bracelet and would not leave the New York area.
Her lawyer Mark Cohen claimed she was being treated the same as Epstein which was unfair.
In a 25-page memo he wrote: 'Sometimes the simplest point is the most critical one: Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein'.
Prosecutors said that Maxwell had provided 'implausible' statements about her finances, including that she had no income.
In reality she had more than a dozen bank accounts either controlled by her or linked to her, the largest with more than $20m in assets.
In addition she had three passports and kept her mobile phone wrapped in tin foil in a bizarre attempt to avoid detection by the FBI.
Another bail hearing will give Maxwell's accusers a chance to give statements in court as to why she should remain in custody.
During the last hearing Annie Farmer, whose claims are part of the indictment against her, called Maxwell a 'sexual predator who groomed and abused me and countless other children and young women'.
If Maxwell's bail attempt fails she faces at least another seven months in custody before her trial begins, though that could easily be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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