FBI Memo Links Venture Capitalist and Psychedelic Investor Steve Jurvetson to Epstein-Connected Network, “Active Blackmail”, and Intelligence Concerns
By Jack Gorsline
An unclassified Federal Bureau of Investigation memorandum recently made public via Department of Justice records reveals a complex web of alleged associations involving a pair of prominent co-founders of the venture capitalist firm DFJ (Draper Fisher Jurvetson) Capital with ties to the psychedelics industry and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in addition to having close contacts in Epstein’s network with purported ties to foreign intelligence services.
The document, addressed to the White House Unit for Enterprise Vetting, outlines concerns regarding Tim Draper — co-founder of DFJ Capital — in both professional and personal circles, specifically highlighting his connections to Epstein, a convicted Chinese spy and former Harvard Professor, as well as a Russian national previously linked to Kremlin-aligned youth movements.
Allegations of Blackmail and "Sanctum"
At the center of the report is an intelligence summary regarding Steve Jurvetson, a prominent venture capitalist and member of the Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative (PSFC). Jurvetson is a former director at SpaceX, prominent investor in one-time FDA reject MDMA Drug Developer Lykos/Resilient Therapeutics, and co-founder of DFJ Capital alongside Draper, was allegedly "actively blackmailed" by Frank Creer, a former officer at the same firm.
Source: US Department of Justice
According to the memo, the blackmail stemmed from Jurvetson’s alleged involvement with "Sanctum," described in the report as a "high-end, high initiation fee sex/swingers club" operating in Los Angeles and Northern California. The document suggests that these activities were leveraged as a point of vulnerability.
The Epstein and "Nashi" Connection
The FBI report further details the hiring of Masha Drokova as the head of public relations for DFJ Capital. Drokova, a Russian national, gained international notoriety as a teenager for her leadership role in "Nashi," a pro-Kremlin youth movement. The memo notes she was famously photographed kissing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Source: US Department of Justice
Critically, the intelligence report identifies Drokova as a "former publicist for Jeffrey Epstein" prior to her tenure at Draper’s firm. The overlap of Epstein’s former staff into the upper echelons of Silicon Valley venture firms has raised significant vetting concerns within the White House unit responsible for enterprise security.
Ties to Convicted Spy Charles Lieber
The memorandum also scrutinizes Draper’s relationship with Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department. Lieber was convicted in 2021 for concealing his involvement with China’s Thousand Talents Plan and failing to disclose funding from the Wuhan University of Technology.
The FBI document suggests that Draper’s ties to Lieber, combined with the presence of Drokova and the alleged Epstein connection, form a pattern of "intel concerns" involving both Chinese and Russian influence operations.
Ethical Implications and Industry Impact
The revelation of these documents comes at a sensitive time for both the psychedelic industry — which is increasingly under the microscope in Washington, D.C., across the United States, and around the world in the wake of an escalating drug war, a bevy of political scandals involving the “psychedelics lobby” including former Senator Kyrsten Sinema and current Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC).
Notably, DFJ Capital has undergone several leadership changes since the period described in the memo, and Jurvetson departed the firm in 2017 following separate internal investigations into professional conduct following accusations of sexual misconduct.
The Department of Justice continues to release files related to the Epstein investigation, providing further transparency into the social and professional networks Epstein maintained prior to his death in federal custody in 2019.
Editor’s Note: This report is based on official government correspondence obtained through the Department of Justice’s Epstein file repository. All subjects are presumed innocent of any uncharged conduct described in the vetting memorandum.
