Jeffrey Epstein’s former assistant Sarah Kellen alleged that she was sexually abused by star hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai, during closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
In her deposition, which was given voluntarily, she also claimed that she was abused by former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and famed fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier, who died in 2022.
Fekkai could not be reached for comment Saturday.
The House Oversight Committee took Kellen’s deposition as part of its ongoing investigation into the federal government’s handling of cases involving Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, according to published reports.
Kellen was named a co-conspirator of Epstein in the 2007 non-prosecution agreement between federal prosecutors in Florida and Epstein. She is considered a controversial witness, because there are some who believe that she was an accomplice of Epstein’s and others who believe she was a victim.
Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said that the committee would relase a transcript of her testimony as soon as possible. Some news reports indicated that could come as early as Tuesday.
French-born Fekkai opened his first salon in New York City in 1989, and was an early mover in prestige hair care with his namesake brand. Procter & Gamble bought the brand from Catterton Partners in 2007, when WWD reported it had about $100 million in sales.
In 2016, Fekkai and his wife, Shirin von Wulffen, bought Bastide, a fragrance and body care brand based in Aix en Provence, where Fekkai was born, and in 2018, he partnered with Cornell Capital to buy back his namesake hair-care brand. Sources estimated sales were around $35 million at the time.
The brand is currently sold at Ulta Beauty and Amazon, as well as its own website; Fekkai operates a salon in the Mark Hotel in New York.
