Tommy Carstensen, a Denmark-based data scientist and bioinformatician, now oversees one of the most sophisticated archives of materials related to Jeffrey Epstein, the accused sex trafficker who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial. Carstensen was not initially interested in the case, but was motivated after the US Department of Justice missed a December 2025 deadline to release unclassified files.
Carstensen's archive includes interactive graphics of Epstein's properties and financial transactions, an analysis of over one million documents released by the DoJ, court records, transcripts, and a facial recognition tool that allows users to upload an image to see if it appears in the files. He spends up to 50 hours per week maintaining the archive, alongside a full-time job.
Another effort comes from the non-profit Decoherence Media, which published a searchable database of faces from Epstein's files earlier this month. Founder Tristan Lee said the database reveals images of more than 100 individuals not mentioned in Epstein's emails and nearly 200 not previously reported on, including a Hollywood agent and the head of a large fitness chain. Appearing in the records does not indicate wrongdoing.
Lee used Amazon Web Services' Rekognition for facial recognition, adhering to a 99% similarity threshold to minimise false positives. He acknowledged that facial recognition models are less reliable for non-white faces, so matches were double-checked with multiple models and manually. Lee argued that Epstein's network is well-suited for facial recognition due to the prominence of many individuals and the availability of cross-referencing material.
Among the newly identified individuals is Google co-founder Sergey Brin, shown in three undated photographs at a resort on Guana Island. An email from Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell on 28 December 2006 mentioned Brin's visit to the island.
