Ghislaine Maxwell’s boyfriend abandoned his wife and young children for Jeffrey Epstein’s suspected madam five years ago, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively.
Scott Borgerson, 43, the CEO of a tech company, left his wife, Rebecca, and two young children for 57-year-old Maxwell, a source close to the family told DailyMail.com.
‘Scott left his wife for Ghislaine around five years ago. It’s just egregious what’s happened to Rebecca,’ the source, who asked for anonymity, told DailyMail.com.
‘Rebecca and Scott seemed like a really nice couple. But as time went on, he was very preoccupied and would be on his cell phone a lot, presumably on business calls. He was away a lot for work.’
When the marriage finally crumbled in 2014, divorce records paint a disturbing picture of Borgerson, with accusations of him being physically violent, abusive, ‘extremely controlling’ and having an alcohol problem.
Borgerson, who married Rebecca in Palm Beach, Florida, in May 2001, once allegedly threatened her, saying: ‘Don’t make me beat you in front of the children.’
Ghislaine Maxwell’s boyfriend Scott Borgerson abandoned his wife and children for Jeffrey Epstein’s suspected madam, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively. Maxwell is alleged to be one of the main players in a network of recruiters and enablers who provided Epstein with underage girls to sexually abuse
‘Scott left his wife for Ghislaine around five years ago. It’s just egregious what’s happened to Rebecca,’ the source, who asked for anonymity, told DailyMail.com. Pictured: Borgerson
The marriage fell apart when Borgerson sent Rebecca (left and right) a video of himself in Miami with Ghislaine, and the two were ‘hugging and kissing’, a close family source told DailyMail.com. Borgerson, who married Rebecca in Palm Beach, Florida, in May 2001, once allegedly threatened her, saying: ‘Don’t make me beat you in front of the children’
Borgerson’s shipping technology firm, Cargometrics, was valued at more than $100 million in 2016, according to the Financial Times.
Borgerson is believed to have met Maxwell five years ago through speaking engagements connected to ocean preservation, a subject on which they share a passion. They both pictured speaking at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik in 2014.
Maxwell shut down her ocean charity, the TerraMar Project, a week after Epstein was arrested in July.
Around 2015, Borgerson told Rebecca he was going to London on business and he would send videos.
‘Rebecca watched a video of him and although he said he was going to be in London, he was actually in Miami with Ghislaine,’ the source said.
‘Rebecca was sitting there with her two young children watching this video of Scott and Ghislaine hugging and kissing.
‘Rebecca was devastated. Things quickly fell apart after that.
‘He moved out. As far as I understand, Rebecca had little financial support and she had to get a job as a caregiver.’
The source added: ‘How could you throw all that away, those wonderful children and wife, for a woman who is 14 years older than him and allegedly has a role in this whole Epstein business?’
The fall out was nasty, with the final straw in their union being when Borgerson attacked Rebecca on June 15, 2014 and was charged with assault and domestic battery, according to court papers.
Borgerson is believed to have met Maxwell five years ago through speaking engagements connected to ocean preservation, a subject on which they share a passion. They both spoke at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik in 2014
Maxwell shut down her ocean charity, the TerraMar Project, a week after Epstein was arrested in July. Pictured: Maxwell at the same conference as Borgerson
Borgerson’s divorce with Rebecca was finalized in December 2015, but papers state
he had tried to reconcile with his wife that January – six months after he filed. The two would separate again two months later.
‘During the marriage the Husband was extremely controlling and the Husband has continued to exhibit disturbing behavior throughout this litigation,’ court papers state.
Borgerson was accused of having an ‘alcohol problem’ and one incident describes him being ‘blacked out drunk in front of the children’ in 2012.
His behavior allegedly took a toll on his daughter and son, who, once drew a ‘picture of alcohol and a cigarette’ while he was in preschool in 2011.
In one incident, Borgerson called his daughter ‘fat’ when she was only three years old, and threatened to hit their mother when she asked him to stop speaking that way around the children.
Rebecca claimed her son later began ‘hurting himself and exhibiting anger’, while her daughter began to wet the bed and became ‘withdrawn,’ forcing her to put the kids in therapy.
Records also show the mom had a restraining order against her estranged husband which was later thrown out.
Maxwell had been living with Borgerson at his $3 million secluded oceanfront mansion in Manchester-by-the-Sea for the past three years, DailyMail.com has learned.
Maxwell drives a black Cadillac Escalade and Borgerson also has a Mercedes.
The British socialite has been loath to leave the home, another source told DailyMail.com amid heightened focus on Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators following the convicted pedophile’s apparent suicide on Saturday.
When the marriage finally crumbled in 2014, divorce records paint a disturbing picture of Borgerson, with accusations of him being physically violent, abusive, ‘extremely controlling’ towards Rebecca (pictured) and having an alcohol problem
‘She’s become a real homebody, rarely ventures out. She’s the antithesis of the woman who traveled extensively and partied constantly with Epstein,’ said a source familiar with Maxwell’s new life.
The close family source added: ‘Ghislaine has been living quietly and is very private.
‘Before all the publicity around Epstein, it was a safe place for her to be. Scott is there on the weekends, he has a housekeeper. No security people but plenty of cameras.’
The socialite’s New England hideaway is an imposing three-story colonial property with five-bedrooms, wraparound terraces and sweeping grounds which reach to the ocean. The property is owned by tech CEO and maritime academic Dr Scott Borgerson.
Borgerson was seen by DailyMail.com in July running errands in the affluent community of Manchester-by-the-Sea, a half-hour drive from Boston.
Later, he was seen walking Maxwell’s dog on Boston Common near his apartment where he lives during the week while running his company, Cargometrics, an investment management firm that specializes in analyzing data on global shipping.
Borgenson did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment when first contacted, but following publication he claimed: ‘I’m traveling abroad for business. Ghislaine Maxwell is not at my home and I don’t know where she is.’
Maxwell is accused of procuring underage victims for Epstein, first luring them in under the guise of hiring them to give massages to Epstein, which would turn sexual.
Virginia Giuffre claims she was abused while she was underage by Epstein, claiming in a defamation suit against Maxwell that the British socialite herself trained her on how to give erotic massages.
She told the Miami Herald in an interview last year that Maxwell trained her, saying: ‘it was everything down to how to give a blow job, how to be quiet, be subservient, give Jeffrey what he wants.
‘A lot of this training came from Ghislaine herself, and being a woman, it kind of surprises you that a woman could actually let stuff like that happen. But not only let it happen but to groom you into doing it.’
In one incident, Borgerson called his daughter ‘fat’ when she was only three years old, and threatened to hit their mother when she asked him to stop speaking that way around the children. Pictured: Borgerson walking Maxwell’s dog in Boston last month
Maxwell had been living with Borgerson at his $3 million secluded oceanfront mansion (pictured) in Manchester-by-the-Sea for the past three years, DailyMail.com has learned
The socialite’s New England hideaway is an imposing three-story colonial property with five-bedrooms, wraparound terraces and sweeping grounds which reach to the ocean
Rebecca and the children live in a winter rental in a coastal town in Massachusetts while Borgerson lives with Maxwell a few towns over in a $3 million oceanfront mansion in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
The mother and children have been forced to move out of the home every summer for several years when the owners come for vacation.
Rebecca has a large family scattered through eastern U.S.
‘They are all really nice people, none of them live close by. She is an avid church-goer,’ the source said.
‘They have all this wealth and the mother of his children is having to get a job to support herself.’
The source confirmed to having met Maxwell in the Cape Ann area on at least three occasions in busy locations that are popular with the local community.
They said: ‘She is somewhat attractive, still very slim but very reserved.
‘She doesn’t look like a local. She dresses like she comes from money, the way that the British Royals do when they are not at a formal function.
‘Her English accent is still noticeable but has become more Americanized.
‘She smiles a lot but doesn’t really talk. She remains on the sidelines in public, she’s not too involved.
‘When she’s shown up with Scott to meet Rebecca, the kids stay close to their mother.’
The source confirmed to having met Maxwell in the Cape Ann area on at least three occasions in busy locations that are popular with the local community. ‘She is somewhat attractive, still very slim but very reserved,’ they said
Rebecca is known to have made an attempt to befriend Maxwell for the sake of her children, DailyMail.com has learned, and has made peace with the situation.
People in the community were not aware Ghislaine’s connections to Epstein until the news of his arrest in early July and her picture starting appearing in the paper.
Rebecca was also unaware of Maxwell’s past, the source said.
They added: ‘Everyone who knows Rebecca knows that Scott and Ghislaine are together.
‘Scott travels to London a lot. I believe he sees Ghislaine as a way to have connections with the hierarchy of Britain.
‘He is in love with money and power and that is why he is drawn to her.
‘He seems like a really nice guy when you meet him and talk to him. He’s very bright, very brilliant but he has a serious narcissistic personality disorder.
‘If you would meet him at a party, he’s very likable, but clearly he likes to control and let you know that he knows more than you do about life in general.’
He has confided in others that his dream is to become president of the United States.