Ghislaine Maxwell’s neighbors were so disgusted when they discovered an accused sex trafficker was living among them that they tried to harass her into leaving, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively.
It led to a court case where Maxwell’s 14-years-younger lover Scott Borgerson successfully fought the neighbors’ decision to prevent them from using paths and a beach near their Massachusetts oceanfront property, part of the 40-acre estate shared by other owners.
But the decision was not handed down until after Maxwell, 58, had already left for her new life of seclusion in neighboring New Hampshire.
The small-town dispute involving the woman who was among the most-wanted in America, all played out in quaint Manchester-by-the-Sea, a well-to-do town 30 miles north of Boston where Maxwell was holed up with wealthy tech CEO Borgerson.
But in February 2019 neighbors learned the quiet, well-dressed woman in their midst had been accused of procuring young girls for pedophile Jeffrey Epstein — and they decided to act.
‘They were absolutely appalled to learn who they were allowing to have the run of their property,’ one resident told DailyMail.com.
‘The second they learned she was involved with Epstein they decided to try to limit how much they could use their land.’
Ghislaine Maxwell and Scott Borgerson’s neighbors were so disgusted when they discovered an accused sex trafficker was living among them that they tried to harass her into leaving. Borgerson is believed to have met Maxwell six years ago through speaking engagements connected to ocean preservation, a subject on which they share a passion. They were both pictured speaking at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2014 (left and right)
It led to a court case where Maxwell’s lover Scott Borgerson successfully fought the neighbors’ decision to prevent them from using paths and a beach near their Massachusetts oceanfront property. Borgerson, 44, bought the Phippin House (pictured), a 7-bedroom property, for $2.4M in June 2016, using a limited liability company called Tidewood
Borgerson’s house was part of a 40-acre estate called Sharksmouth and had been sold a quarter of a century earlier to a couple named Devereux and Jilda Barker. The other five houses on the estate — which overlooks the site where the USS New Hampshire caught fire and sunk in 1922 — is owned by the Shelving Rock Trust, made up of descendants of former owners. Pictured: A view of the Sharksmouth property
In April 2019, Boregerson’s LLC Tidewood took the three trustees, John Appel, Kathrine Rive and Curtis Hollingsworth, to an obscure judicial branch — the Massachusetts Land Court — where Borgerson successfully argued that the privileges allowed the Barkers were transferable, court papers uncovered exclusively by DailyMail.com show (pictured)
Borgerson, 44, bought the Phippin House, a seven-bedroom property, for $2.4 million in June 2016, using a limited liability company called Tidewood.
The house, built in the early 18th century and shipped up from Salem by barge, was part of a 40-acre estate called Sharksmouth and had been sold a quarter of a century earlier to a couple named Devereux and Jilda Barker.
The other five houses on the estate — which overlooks the site where the USS New Hampshire caught fire and sunk in 1922 — is owned by the Shelving Rock Trust, made up of descendants of former owners.
The Trust had allowed the Barkers to use the whole property pretty-much at will and when Borgerson moved in he assumed he could too.
The Trust took no action for nearly three years — until they discovered the woman living with him was notorious for her dealings with Epstein.
‘Someone told one of the trustees that they should look into her background and as soon as they did they decided to act.
‘Until then they had thought they were a nice couple. They would often see them jogging together on the paths. They were allowed to use the tennis courts and gather firewood and use the beach. Ghislaine would often jog in town.
‘But when they realized who Maxwell was, the trustees were revolted,’ said the Manchester resident.
‘They wanted to ostracize them as much as possible and make them feel they weren’t welcome on Sharksmouth or in Manchester.
‘They felt sex trafficking and pedophilia are the most disgusting things in the world and they wanted them off the property.’
In April 2019 Borgerson’s LLC Tidewood took the three trustees, John Appel, Kathrine Rive and Curtis Hollingsworth, to an obscure judicial branch — the Massachusetts Land Court — where Borgerson argued the privileges allowed the Barkers were transferable, court papers uncovered exclusively by DailyMail.com show.
The Trust had allowed the Barkers to use the whole property pretty-much at will and when Borgerson moved in he assumed he could too. The Trust took no action for nearly three years — until they discovered the woman living with him was notorious for her dealings with Epstein
‘Someone told one of the trustees that they should look into her background and as soon as they did they decided to act. ‘Until then they had thought they were a nice couple. They would often see them jogging together on the paths. They were allowed to use the tennis courts and gather firewood and use the beach. Ghislaine would often jog in town. But when they realized who Maxwell was, the trustees were revolted,’ said the Manchester resident
Townsfolk in Manchester describe Borgerson and Maxwell as ‘challenging’ neighbors. ‘They had three very violent dogs, which would run up to people barking and baring their teeth,’ said one
Initially Borgerson and the trustees had gotten on well. Two months after buying the Phippin House he sent them an email (pictured) saying how he wanted to be a good neighbor and hoped they would be able to come round for drinks once improvements to the house were completed
‘What started as a serendipitous winter rental of your Red Cottage transformed into my desire to remain permanently at this beautiful location,’ he wrote in the email that was submitted into evidence in court. He even asked about the possibility of buying a second property on the estate and signed off the letter: ‘I look forward to being a good neighbor for decades to come!’
The trustees countersued, naming Borgerson and Maxwell as third-party defendants.
The trustees lost on every count.
Another resident who has met both Borgerson and Maxwell on numerous occasions told DailyMail.com that Borgerson often talked about his dream of becoming President of the United States. ‘His relationship with Ghislaine has pretty much scuppered that — and I’m glad,’ he said.
‘He is personable, very bright and intelligent, but he is an extreme narcissist, totally in love with himself, money and power.’
Borgerson, a former US Coast Guard lieutenant-commander, is believed to have met Maxwell six years ago through speaking engagements connected to ocean preservation, a subject on which they share a passion. They were both pictured speaking at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2014.
He and his wife Rebecca were still married at the time. Their divorce was finalized in December 2015. They have two children, a 12-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl.
He did not respond to DailyMail.com’s requests for comment.
Rebecca discovered their affair when he told her he was going to give a speech in London but she discovered he was in Miami with Maxwell.
Rebecca, a devout Christian, is understood to have made efforts to befriend Maxwell, as she felt it better to forgive than carry anger around with her. ‘She feels that the Bible teaches us to be kind. They met on several occasions,’ one friend said. ‘They were very cordial to each other.’
Last August when DailyMail.com first revealed that Maxwell was living with father-of-two Borgerson in Manchester, he said: ‘Ghislaine Maxwell is not at my home and I don’t know where she is.’
But, in fact, she lived there for nearly a year, only moving out in December last year when she bought her ultra-secluded home, Tuckedaway, a two-hour drive away in Bradford, New Hampshire. FBI agents arrested at that house in an early-morning raid on July 2.
At Maxwell’s bail hearing on Tuesday, US prosecutor Alison Moe claimed Maxwell had a spouse, later revealing Maxwell had toured her hideaway under the alias of Janet/Jen Marshall along with a man who gave his name as Scott Marshall before purchasing it in November 2019 . The real estate agent described the pair as a couple, though it is unknown if Scott Marshall is Scott Borgerson
Last August when DailyMail.com first revealed that Maxwell was living with father-of-two Borgerson in Manchester, he said: ‘Ghislaine Maxwell is not at my home and I don’t know where she is.’ Pictured: Borgerson last summer in Boston
At Maxwell’s bail hearing on Tuesday, US prosecutor Alison Moe claimed Maxwell had a spouse, later revealing Maxwell had toured her hideaway under the alias of Janet/Jen Marshall along with a man who gave his name as Scott Marshall before purchasing it in November 2019.
The real estate agent described the pair as a couple, though it is unknown if Scott Marshall is Scott Borgerson.
Records revealed Maxwell’s $1 million home was purchased by a company that reportedly has ties to Borgerson.
The buyer is listed as Granite Reality LLC – a mysterious corporation that was set up just weeks prior the purchase.
The Sun reports that Granite Reality LLC is managed by Boston lawyer, Jeffrey W. Roberts, who is also the registered agent of a second company, Hopely Yealton.
Curiously, the publication reports that the manager of Hopely Yealton is Borgerson.
Maxwell now faces at least the next year inside the notoriously tough Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges that carry a maximum 35-year prison term. She pleaded not guilty to all charges when she appeared before a judge on Tuesday.
Land Court Judge Howard Speicher only made his ruling on March 11 this year, three months after Maxwell had left Sharksmouth for good.
Just like Borgerson, Maxwell used an LLC — Granite Reality — to hide behind her $1 million mountain-top home’s purchase. She even used the same attorney, Boston-based Jeffrey Roberts.
Borgerson used another trust, Angara, to buy his second home close to his office in Boston. Maxwell’s sister Christine Malina-Maxwell is listed as a trustee of Angara.
Townsfolk in Manchester describe Borgerson and Maxwell as ‘challenging’ neighbors. ‘They had three very violent dogs, which would run up to people barking and baring their teeth,’ said one.
Maxwell was romantically involved with Jeffrey Epstein from around 1992, but then became his ‘right-hand woman’, managing his property empire and, it is alleged, his trafficking of minors
‘Construction workers doing renovations were bitten on more than one occasion. It got so bad that the workers refused to go to the property unless they knew for a fact that the dogs were locked up.
‘I would describe Borgerson as a very arrogant man. They were both very nice, very smooth and very cocksure at the same time.’
‘Ghislaine was there a lot,’ said the resident, who asked not to be identified. ‘She was much more visible before Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest and death. Once he died the spotlight turned on her. I don’t know whether she was hiding out at the property or where she was.’
Initially Borgerson and the trustees had gotten on well. Two months after buying the Phippin House he sent them an email saying how he wanted to be a good neighbor and hoped they would be able to come round for drinks once improvements to the house were completed.
‘What started as a serendipitous winter rental of your Red Cottage transformed into my desire to remain permanently at this beautiful location,’ he wrote in the email that was submitted into evidence in court.
He even asked about the possibility of buying a second property on the estate and signed off the letter: ‘I look forward to being a good neighbor for decades to come!’
But now things have gone so far south between him and the trustees that on August 20 last year — 10 days after Epstein’s death in federal prison — Sharksmouth property manager Marianne Coons called police after Borgerson had allegedly threatened her 27-year-old daughter Skylar with a metal-tipped walking stick.
According to a police report seen by DailyMail.com: ‘Skylar stated that as she was driving a golf cart around their property while babysitting, Borgerson approached them while carrying his phone ‘intensely and aggressively,’ and while holding some sort of stick with a metal ending at his side. Skylar stated Borgerson said to her ‘your mother put my child in danger.’
‘Skylar stated she felt threatened because Borgerson was filming her and the juvenile she was babysitting ”intensely.”’
No charges were filed in relation to the incident.