How Jeffrey Epstein’s New Albany Ties Connect to Piqua’s Data Center Project

By Matt Bayman | This Local Life
(All sources are listed and linked at the bottom of this article)

PIQUA - For the record and posterity, the company that helped assemble land for the proposed data center in Piqua (known as the Piqua Land Company) traces back to a business founded by Les Wexner, the billionaire whose decades-long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein continues to raise questions about the origins of Wexner’s development empire—and, for local residents, its connection to the Piqua data center project.

​

   Here’s how.

​

   The “Piqua Land Company” has no real history in Piqua or connection to local residents. It was created in 2025 as a land acquisition company tied to the New Albany Company (NACO), based in New Albany, Ohio.

​

   The company assembled hundreds of acres near Farrington and Washington roads through purchases from private landowners and annexations approved by the City of Piqua. Corporate records show William Ebbing, listed as President and CEO, signing on behalf of the company.

​

   NACO, however, was founded by Les Wexner in 1987 and remains under his leadership as chairman. The company describes itself as a major real-estate development and master-planning firm. It is largely responsible for turning New Albany from a small village (located just northeast of Columbus) into one of Ohio’s most influential business and technology hubs, helping bring in major corporate investment and some of the state’s earliest large-scale data center development.

​

   Wexner’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein is well documented.

 

   Public records and reporting from the late 1990s have identified Epstein as holding a senior role within New Albany-related corporate structures at the time, though the nature and extent of that role has been the subject of later reporting and debate. 

​

   In 1991, Wexner gave Epstein power of attorney over parts of his financial affairs, giving him significant control over financial transactions, asset management and property decisions tied to Wexner’s holdings.

​

   Epstein also owned property in the New Albany development area, including "homes connected to the broader Wexner-linked network of holdings."

​

   For years, Epstein managed large portions of Wexner’s finances, investments and business affairs. However, Wexner has said he was deceived by Epstein and has denied knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct, including his involvement in child sex trafficking.

​​

   But recent reporting based on federal record releases has raised new questions about just how deep Epstein’s involvement went in Wexner’s business empire and the development of New Albany itself.

​​​

   In reporting on newly released FBI materials (links below), some outlets noted that Wexner was referenced as a “co-conspirator” in a 2019 Epstein-related document, though he has never been charged in connection with Epstein and denies any wrongdoing. Separately, Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre alleged in court filings that Epstein trafficked her to Wexner. Wexner has denied the allegation.

​​

   Additional scrutiny came after Justice Department interview transcripts involving Ghislaine Maxwell were released.

​

   In those interviews (links below), Maxwell described Wexner as one of Epstein’s closest associates and said Epstein managed Wexner’s finances, investments and business affairs. She also suggested Epstein played a major role during the period when New Albany was being built into a major corporate and technology hub.

​

   Then came perhaps the most notable statement in the transcript.

​

   “But Epstein ran New Albany,” Maxwell told federal investigators.

​

   Maxwell did not explain what she meant by that statement, and no public records show Epstein formally controlled the New Albany Company. Still, the comment has added to questions about how much influence he had during the years New Albany was being rapidly developed into a "master-planned community and tech corridor," which also helped position central Ohio as a growing hub for advanced computing and data infrastructure, whether residents asked for it or not—a situation that has now reached Piqua.

​

   The connection to the Piqua data center comes through the land itself.

​

   After assembling hundreds of acres near Farrington and Washington roads, Piqua Land Company transferred the property to J5 LLC, doing business as Shaytura LLC.

​

   Shaytura has been linked in filings and reporting to "large-scale data center development activity tied to major technology infrastructure projects," though no company has publicly confirmed a specific end user.

​

   The project, known internally as “Project Klondike” (see sidebar below sources), is planned as a large artificial-intelligence and cloud-computing data center campus.

​

   Plans filed with the City of Piqua call for two initial buildings of about 350,000 square feet each, representing roughly $1 billion in investment. City documents show those buildings are only the first phase of a much larger buildout that could eventually cover more than 1,000 acres.

​

   Facilities like this house tens of thousands of servers and power artificial intelligence systems, cloud platforms, social media infrastructure, data storage and other digital systems most people never see.

​

   The City of Piqua approved significant incentives for the project, including a 15-year, 100 percent tax exemption on improvements and a 30-year, 100 percent real-property tax exemption.

​

   To be clear, there is no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein had any direct involvement in the Piqua data center project.

But there is a documented sequence of connections:

• Piqua Land Company traces back to New Albany Company

• New Albany Company was founded and remains chaired by Les Wexner

• Epstein had documented financial authority and has been reported as holding a role within New Albany-related corporate structures during the development period

• And Ghislaine Maxwell told federal investigators that Epstein “ran New Albany.”

   

   Whether that history matters is up to the residents and taxpayers who will ultimately live with the consequences of this project.

   But it is part of the story.