The federal jail guards are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on inmates in his unit every half hour, when they actually were not, AP reported Tuesday, citing a source who was not authorized to disclose information and spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to AP, citing the source, a surveillance video reviewed after the death showed guards never made some of the checks noted in the log.
The Saturday death by hanging has been reportedly met with suspicion as Epstein, who is linked to many famous and powerful people, including US Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, was inexplicably taken off suicide watch, despite reportedly trying to kill himself just weeks earlier.
The US Justice Department said that Attorney General William Barr had directed the Bureau of Prisons to temporarily assign the warden of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, pending the outcome of an FBI and Office of the Inspector General investigation into Epstein's death.
The FBI and other federal agencies went to Epstein’s island in the US Virgin Islands on Monday evening to seek evidence to implicate his inner circle, several US-based media outlets reported, citing unnamed sources.
Police have been investigating Epstein for nearly two decades and arrested him in 2005 for molesting an underage girl. A convicted sex offender and pedophile, Epstein served a sentence of just 13 months.
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested a second time for trafficking minor girls at his mansion for sex. Some of the charges date back to the 2000s.
Epstein pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, but faced up to 45 years in prison had he been convicted.