Fact Check: Did Epstein order sulfuric acid on same day FBI opened probe?
WASHINGTON, DC: On January 30, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released around 3.5 million documents related to the case of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Following this, a rumor circulated online claiming that Epstein had ordered 330 gallons of sulfuric acid on the day the FBI announced it would investigate him. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.
Claim: Epstein ordered sulfuric acid on same day FBI opened probe
An X user posted screenshots showing files related to the disgraced financier's case. The first image looked like an email noting the date the investigation started, while the second image seemed to be a wire transfer request form for sulfuric acid from the same date.
Meanwhile, the X user seemed to suggest that the alleged purchase could be evidence that Epstein had been informed about the FBI investigation and was trying to destroy evidence using the acid.
The caption of the X post read, "On the same exact day that the FBI opened a case against Epstein in 2018, he ordered half a dozen 55-gallon containers full of sulfuric acid to his private island. It could be a coincidence, but what are the odds? On the same day? Was he tipped off?"
The post was also shared on Facebook by an account.
Fact Check: True, the documents shared were authentic
The claims made in the online posts are true, as an examination of the Justice Department's repository of Epstein files revealed that the documents in the X post were among those the DOJ released in late January 2026.
However, other documents indicated Epstein's intended use for the acid was much more benign than making bodies disappear.
According to Page 93 of an FBI document included in the published files, the FBI started its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein on December 6, 2018. Meanwhile, another document in the DOJ's 'Epstein Library' showed that the first screenshot shared in the X post was authentic.
Furthermore, the documents also included the wire transfer request form to Gemini Seawater Systems, a company in Gainesville, Florida, that offered seawater reverse osmosis installations and services.
Interestingly, the wire transfer form stated that a payment of $4,373.17 would be used to acquire 'x 6 55 gal drums sulfuric acid w/fuel and insurance charge for transport; Materials for conductivity probes; Replacement pH and cable - RO [reverse osmosis] Plant.'
Moreover, a search of the DOJ's documents revealed emails between Epstein and Roy Hodges on May 8, 2013, more than five years before the sulfuric acid order in question.
