Nationwide — Tova Noel, who worked as a prison guard at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, reportedly conducted a search for Jeffrey Epstein on her cell phone minutes before he was found dead and received a $5,000 cash deposit in her bank account days earlier, DOJ documents reveal. Her online activity and bank record have raised questions about the night of his supposed suicide.
Noel, 37, was one of two guards accused of falsifying records to show they checked on Epstein during the night of August 10, 2019. FBI documents show she searched “latest on Epstein in jail” at 5:42 a.m. and again at 5:52 a.m., less than 40 minutes before her colleague found Epstein dead by hanging at 6:30 a.m.
Earlier that shift, prosecutors say Noel shopped online for furniture and napped instead of making the required checks every 30 minutes. Her co-worker, Michael Thomas, reportedly browsed motorcycles during the shift. Both guards were fired, but criminal charges against them were later dropped.
According to the New York Post, DOJ files also reveal Noel made a series of bank deposits flagged by Chase Bank as suspicious, including a $5,000 cash deposit just 10 days before Epstein’s death. She had started working in the Special Housing Unit, where Epstein was held, only a month earlier. Her bank records show several deposits totaling nearly $12,000.
An FBI briefing identified Noel as likely the correctional officer seen carrying orange linen near Epstein’s cell around 10:40 p.m. that night. Epstein used strips of orange cloth to hang himself. Noel denied handling linen and said she last saw him alive around 10 p.m. The other guard on duty reportedly slept through part of the shift.
Noel has since faced a separate lawsuit over alleged assault at her current job. She told investigators she did not participate in Epstein’s death and denied searching for him online. Lawyers for Noel declined to comment on the new DOJ findings.