Aron D'Souza

Co-founded Sargon Capital Pty Ltd (originally Certes Corporation) with Phillip Kingston in 2013. Peter Thiel invested AUD 47.5M (Nov 2016 per AFR). Sargon grew to A under management with 200 employees and 9 offices. Robert Rankin (former Deutsche Bank co-head corporate banking and securities) served as chairman. Stephen Conroy (former Australian senator) was board member. DSouza sold his stake in 2018. Sargon collapsed into receivership Jan 2020 after Taiping Trustees (subsidiary of China Taiping Insurance) claimed AUD 100M debt default.

Sargon collapse details: Taiping Trustees (subsidiary of China Taiping Insurance, Hong Kong-listed Chinese state-owned insurer) owed AUD 100M via promissory note. Appointed receivers Jan 2020 claiming missed interest payments Sep and Dec 2019 quarters. Kingston and documents from both Sargon and China Taiping suggest payments were made weeks before receivership was triggered. Parliamentary documents (tabled by Liberal MP Tim Wilson Aug 2021) showed parent company of Taiping Trustees allegedly misdirected repayments to create appearance of default. Pacific Infrastructure Partners (led by NY financier Teddy Wasserman via Cloverhill Group LLC, with Visa Credit Partners financing) acquired three key Sargon entities (Diversa Trustees, CCSL, Tidswell Financial Services) May 2020. Now owned by Vista Equity Partners consortium.

Founded Enhanced Ltd (Cayman Islands, 71 Fort Street George Town) in June 2023 - the Enhanced Games, a doping-permitted alternative Olympics. Seed funding closed Jan 2024 with Peter Thiel, Christian Angermayer (Apeiron Investment Group, co-founder), and Balaji Srinivasan. Going public via SPAC merger with A Paradise Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: APAD) at 1.2B enterprise value, ticker EHNA. 40M equity closed pre-announcement. DSouza was replaced as CEO by Maximilian Martin (Nov 2025). Jim Murren joined board. First event: Las Vegas May 21-24 2026.

Robert Rankin Deutsche Bank career timeline relevant to Epstein investigation: UBS Australia 1990, moved to Hong Kong 2000, co-head Asia IB 2003, sole head 2004. Joined Deutsche Bank June 2009 as CEO Asia Pacific ex-Japan. Group Executive Committee member Jan 2011. Co-head Corporate Banking and Securities and Head of Corporate Finance globally from June 2012. Left DB end of 2014 to become CEO of James Packers Consolidated Press Holdings. Crown Resorts chairman 2015-2017. Then Sargon Capital chairman. Rankins Deutsche Bank tenure (2009-2014) overlaps with Epsteins Deutsche Bank accounts. However no direct evidence linking Rankin to Epstein DB relationship - Rankin was Asia-focused not US private banking.

DSouza-Thiel-Osborne timeline analysis: DSouza approached Thiel in spring 2011 proposing Gawker litigation. Ian Osborne (Epsteins UK intermediary) brokered the Epstein-Thiel relationship from Sep 2012 onwards (EFTA02724710, EFTA02566332). No evidence DSouza and Osborne knew each other or that Osborne was involved in introducing DSouza to Thiel. The DSouza-Thiel relationship (2011) predates the documented Osborne-Epstein-Thiel brokerage (2012-2013). DSouza and Osborne appear to be parallel Thiel relationships - DSouza for litigation, Osborne for Epstein access.

DSouza confirmed as Mr. A from Ryan Holiday book Conspiracy. In 2011 he approached Peter Thiel proposing third-party litigation to destroy Gawker Media. Recruited lawyer Charles Harder. Bollea v. Gawker yielded 140M verdict March 2016 and Gawker bankruptcy Aug 2016. BuzzFeed identified DSouza as Mr. A in Feb 2018.

CRITICAL: Email EFTA02461589 (May 25, 2016) is from Jeffrey Epstein ([email protected]) directly to Peter Thiel stating: 'I would have gladly share your expenses for the gawker sui...' followed by 'chomsky fri dinnner if you are in new york.' This proves Epstein was aware of and offered to co-fund Thiels Gawker lawsuit - the very campaign DSouza orchestrated as Mr. A. This email was sent two months AFTER the 140M Bollea v. Gawker verdict (March 18, 2016). Epstein offering to share expenses implies he viewed the litigation as aligned with his interests.

Other DSouza ventures: (1) Column - a social network for the wealthy, DSouza as CEO, with Jake Lodwick (Vimeo co-founder) and Sarah Cone. Pitched as paid groups led by prominent people. Status unknown circa 2020. (2) Charles Johnson (right-wing media figure) claims in Substack post to have been the actual advisor to Thiel on Gawker, dismissing DSouza as incompetent and calling him terribly Chinese compromised without elaboration. Johnson claimed Viktor Vekselberg (Russian oligarch) financially supported Gawker during litigation and that Nick Denton stayed in Vekselberg Swiss property after bankruptcy.

SYNTHESIS: D'Souza orchestrated the Thiel-funded Gawker litigation campaign (2011-2016) that Epstein offered to co-fund (EFTA02461589). Zero direct D'Souza-Epstein contact found across 691K+ documents, but three indirect connection paths exist: (1) D'Souza→Thiel→Epstein (strongest, via Gawker litigation), (2) D'Souza→Rankin(Sargon Chairman)→Deutsche Bank→Epstein (circumstantial, WEF list confirms Rankin as DB executive in Epstein documents), (3) D'Souza→Thiel→Osborne→Epstein (parallel channels to Thiel active 2012-2013). Gawker was simultaneously investigating Epstein (John Cook, Jan 2015) and being destroyed by D'Souza's litigation — Epstein had personal motive to support the campaign.

Exhaustive search of all local document databases (DOJ Vol 11 331K docs, DugganUSA 204K, LMSBAND 60K/851K entities, Unified DB 70K, Epstein 20K 25.8K) finds ZERO direct mentions of Aron D'Souza, Sargon Capital, Enhanced Ltd, Cloverhill Group, or Phillip Kingston. The name dsouza appears only as Elen DeSouza Ferreira (Brazilian model), Francisco D'Souza (Cognizant CEO on Davos lists), and Veronica D'Souza. No evidence D'Souza had direct communication with or was referenced in Epstein's correspondence, schedules, or documents.

Aron D'Souza (also 'Aron Ping D'Souza') is an Australian lawyer: BA Monash University (2003-2005), PhD Legal Philosophy University of Melbourne (2006-2009), BA Jurisprudence (Hons) Oxford University Wadham College (2009-2011), MA Oxon. Published: 'The Art of Time' (2007), 'Special Protections: Ethics of Copyright and Aboriginal Iconography' (2009), 'A General Theory of Property' (2011). Foundation editor of The Journal Jurisprudence (legal philosophy quarterly). Co-founded Nexus Australian Youth Summit with Foundation for Young Australians. Named one of Australia's most influential men by Men's Style magazine (2014). Honorary Chairman of Wadham College rugby team.

Stephen Conroy (former ALP senator) served on Sargon board

Former Australian Labor Party Senator Stephen Conroy was a board member of Sargon Capital Pty Ltd (LittleSis 440146). This added Australian political connections to the Thiel-funded entity. Conroy was Communications Minister 2007-2013.

Cloverhill Group LLC: NY entity at 210 W 11th St, shareholder in PIP/Sargon

Cloverhill Group LLC (NY DOS 3962045) formed 2010-06-15, registered at 210 West 11th St NY 10014. Active through 2025. Shareholder in Pacific Infrastructure Partners which owned Sargon Capital. LittleSis entity 446718.

D'Souza served as Peter Thiel's key operative in secret litigation funding campaign against Gawker Media (2012-2016). LittleSis documents him as 'Lawyer, acted as conduit in Gawker Case' for Thiel (entity 440100→15408, rel 1943964), with employment relationship 2015-2016. He is believed to be 'Mr. A' from Ryan Holiday's book 'Conspiracy.'

Ian Osborne coordinated Thiel-Epstein meetings as early as Sept 2012

EFTA02724710 shows Ian Osborne emailing Epstein about scheduling with Peter Thiel in September 2012. Osborne was Thiel's primary intermediary and later an Epstein investor (Hedosophia founder). D'Souza was already managing Thiel's Gawker campaign at this time.

Gawker litigation complex involved at least 6 coordinated cases: (1) Bollea v. Gawker Media (M.D. Fla. 8:12-cv-02348, filed 2012-10-15), (2) Bollea v. Clem (M.D. Fla. 8:13-cv-00001, filed 2013-01-02), (3) Terrill v. Gawker (SDNY 1:16-cv-00411, filed 2016-01-19 - represented by Harder LLP), (4) Ayyadurai v. Gawker (D. Mass. 1:16-cv-10853, filed 2016-05-10), (5) Gawker v. FBI (M.D. Fla. 8:15-cv-01202), (6) Nautilus Insurance v. Gawker (SDNY 1:14-cv-05680). All represented by Harder Stonerock LLP or its successors. Resulted in Gawker bankruptcy (Bankr. SDNY 16-11700, 16-11719) and Denton personal bankruptcy (16-12239).

Peter Thiel had extensive correspondence with Epstein (976+ documents in DugganUSA corpus). Direct emails include: (1) Thiel to Epstein re: bitcoin discussion Jul 2014 (EFTA01916226), (2) Thiel suggesting lunch Nov 2017 (EFTA02229905), (3) Thiel planning NYC visit Jun 2017 (EFTA02343713). Richard Kahn forwarded Thiel-related articles to Epstein. Gawker was discussed between them (70 Gawker references in corpus, including EFTA02461589 and EFTA02512162 where Epstein emails Maxwell about Gawker publishing address book).

Epstein directly offered to co-fund Thiel's Gawker litigation. On May 25, 2016 (2 months after Bollea v. Gawker verdict), Epstein emailed Thiel: 'I would have gladly share your expenses for the gawker suit... chomsky fri dinnner if you are in new york.' This places the Gawker campaign (which D'Souza orchestrated) within Epstein-Thiel relationship context.

Epstein emailed Peter Thiel offering to share Gawker lawsuit expenses

On May 25, 2016, Jeffrey Epstein emailed Peter Thiel directly from [email protected]: 'I would have gladly share your expenses for the gawker sui...' followed by dinner invitation with Chomsky. This proves Epstein was aware of Thiel's secret Gawker litigation funding and offered financial participation. D'Souza was managing the Gawker campaign at this time.

Arminius Capital ALPS Fund - Sargon: Australian fund entity with GLEIF LEI

GLEIF LEI 5493003EMYEMNXTGOJ39 for Arminius Capital ALPS Fund - Sargon, jurisdiction AU. Legal address: 57 Miller Street, Murarrie, Brisbane QLD 4172. Registered 2019-10-10, LEI lapsed. Arminius Capital was the fund management arm of the Sargon Group.

Thiel invested AUD 47.5M in Sargon Capital post-Gawker

Peter Thiel invested AUD 47.5M into Sargon Capital Pty Ltd co-founded by D'Souza and Kingston. LittleSis confirms Thiel as investor. Sargon collapsed Feb 2020.

LittleSis maps 8 relationships for D'Souza (entity 440100): (1) Employee/conduit for Peter Thiel in Gawker case 2015-2016, (2) Business partner of Peter Thiel (current), (3) Co-Founder of Sargon Capital Pty Ltd (entity 440094, from 2015), (4) Business partner of Phillip Kingston (entity 440098), (5) President of Enhanced Ltd (entity 440145, from June 2023, current), (6) Graduate of Oxford University 2009-2011 BA Jurisprudence, (7) Graduate of University of Melbourne 2006-2009 PhD Legal Philosophy, (8) Graduate of Monash University 2003-2005.

Enhanced US LLC: current D'Souza vehicle, DE LLC registered in NY July 2025

Enhanced US LLC (NY DOS 7669243) filed 2025-07-25, foreign LLC from Delaware. Address: 169 Madison Ave Suite 15101, NY 10016. D'Souza is president of Enhanced Ltd (LittleSis 440145) which promotes Enhanced Games alternative sports competition.

Enhanced US LLC v. World Aquatics (SDNY 1:25-cv-07096, Judge Furman): D'Souza's Enhanced US LLC filed antitrust suit against World Aquatics, WADA, and USA Swimming on 2025-08-27. Nature: Monopolizing Trade (15:1). Filed declaration as 'Dr. Aron D'Souza, Ph.D.' in support of preliminary injunction (Doc #23, 2025-09-02) and in opposition to defendants' motion to dismiss (Doc #77, 2025-10-10). Case terminated 2025-12-22. Enhanced represented by Reed Smith LLP; defendants by Davis Polk & Wardwell and Covington & Burling.

Enhanced Ltd pursuing SPAC merger with AParadise Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: APAD, CIK 1956439). Announced Nov 26, 2025 at 1.2B enterprise value. 40M SAFE round closed pre-signing. Founded 2023 by Christian Angermayer (Exec Chairman), Maxmillian Martin (CEO), and Dr. Aron DSouza. To list as ENHA on NASDAQ. Legal: Sullivan and Cromwell + Reed Smith. S-4 filed Feb 12, 2026.

No FARA registrations found for D'Souza, Sargon, or Enhanced entities. No lobbying (LDA) registrations for D'Souza as lobbyist, or for Sargon or Enhanced as clients. Zero presence in DOJ Epstein corpus, LMSBAND, or investigation reports. DugganUSA D'Souza hits are all unrelated persons (Elen DeSouza Ferreira, Manny DeSouza, Veronica D'Souza). Sargon Capital does not appear in US federal courts (Australian entity). No Epstein-network persons found in Enhanced v. World Aquatics parties.

D'Souza served as Thiel's litigation operative for Gawker campaign

Aron D'Souza is an Australian lawyer who acted as Peter Thiel's key operative managing the secret litigation funding campaign that destroyed Gawker Media. LittleSis entity 440100 confirms roles: Lawyer/conduit in Gawker case for Thiel, co-founder of Sargon Capital Pty Ltd, business partner of Phillip Kingston, president of Enhanced Ltd.

Sargon Capital network includes Robert Rankin (ex-Deutsche Bank Asia-Pacific)

Robert Rankin served as Chairman of Sargon Capital board. Rankin was formerly head of Deutsche Bank Asia-Pacific and executive chairman of Crown Resorts (James Packer). DB connection significant given Epstein's extensive DB banking relationships.

Pacific Infrastructure Partners: Thiel/D'Souza vehicle owned Sargon

PIP (LittleSis 446721) owned Sargon Capital. Board: Lindsay Tanner (ex-Australian Finance Minister), Sue Thomas (FlexiPlan), Marcus Price (ex-PEXA CEO). Shareholders: Cloverhill Group LLC, Vista Credit Partners, Kibble Holdings LLC.

Vista Credit Partners (Vista Equity) held shares in PIP/Sargon structure

Vista Credit Partners, the credit-investing arm of Robert F. Smith's Vista Equity Partners, was a shareholder in Pacific Infrastructure Partners which owned Sargon Capital. Vista is a major PE firm focused on software. LittleSis entity 446719.

Zero D'Souza/Sargon footprint in Epstein document corpus

Systematic search across DOJ Vol 11, LMSBAND, Unified DB, and Epstein 20K found zero references to Aron D'Souza or Sargon Capital. D'Souza does not appear in Epstein communications despite Epstein's direct relationship with Thiel. This suggests D'Souza operated at arm's length from Epstein.