A real estate developer behind high-profile projects in downtown Denver is the latest Colorado resident to surface in the Justice Department’s Epstein files.
Chad McWhinney, who founded the real estate company McWhinney — recently renamed Realberry — 35 years ago, is the subject of a single email exchange between an unknown person and Epstein. The email includes a photograph of McWhinney kissing a woman, whose image is mostly blacked out, in what appears to be a restaurant.
The Nov. 1, 2014, email says, “chad mcwhinney, kimball’s friend). I like him a lot. Seems like a very nice and solid person. Took him to Mark for lunch.”
Through his attorney Chris Murray, McWhinney denied knowing Epstein or doing business with him. He also said he did not know that the woman, whom he is seen kissing, was connected to the disgraced financier, who died in a New York jail in 2019.
“Chad McWhinney’s name appears in exactly one email in the recently released files relating to Jeffrey Epstein,” Murray wrote in a statement. “That email was apparently sent to Mr. Epstein in 2014 by a then-30-year-old woman Mr. McWhinney was dating at the time. The email includes a picture of Mr. McWhinney with this woman. Mr. McWhinney, who was single and 42 at the time, had no idea the woman had any affiliation with Mr. Epstein. Mr. McWhinney never met Mr. Epstein, never spoke with him, never corresponded with him in any fashion, and never did business with him. Mr. McWhinney empathizes with the victims and is, like all of us, horrified at the facts that are coming to light.”
In the email, the “Kimball” referenced is most likely Kimbal Musk, the Boulder restaurateur and brother of Elon Musk whose emails previously have been identified in the Justice Department document release. Esptein and his associates often misspelled Musk’s first name.
The photograph appears to be taken in a restaurant, and the email’s mention of “Mark” could be a reference to The Mark by Jean-Georges, a high-end restaurant inside a hotel in Manhattan.
The statement from McWhinney’s lawyer did not identify the woman in the photograph, nor did it explain why they believe she was the person who sent the email to Epstein when the sender’s name is redacted in the Justice Department files.
The statement also did not address who took the picture or when and where it was taken. It also did not address the relationship between McWhinney and Kimbal Musk and whether they are still friends.
The email about McWhinney is one of millions of documents, pictures and videos released since last year by the Justice Department through its online Epstein Library. On Jan. 30, the department uploaded nearly 3 million additional papers and thousands of pictures and videos after Congress mandated it release more files under pressure from the public. Speculation abounds about Epstein’s connections to President Donald Trump and other prominent people.
The Denver Post searched the database using the search term “Colorado” and by entering the names of wealthy residents, politicians, business leaders and athletes. The searches uncovered thousands of documents and hundreds of photos, mostly irrelevant to Epstein’s crimes. The documents, however, also showed that Epstein and his associates often traveled to Aspen, a popular destination for the nation’s elite, and that Epstein’s associates networked with prominent Coloradoans for business, legal and political reasons.
The files showed that two women who were trafficked and abused by Epstein had Colorado ties, including Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most outspoken critics, who died by suicide in 2025. She lived in Colorado for some period of time, and her brother and sister-in-law live in El Paso County and continue to demand justice on her behalf.
A second woman, who was only identified by the initials ML, was living in a tent with her dog near the Animas River in Durango when Espstein died. She was a recovering addict with no money when she traveled to Miami two months after Epstein’s death to attend a briefing the FBI held for his victims.
Kimbal Musk was identified in the Epstein files through emails the two men exchanged. In one exchange, Musk thanked Epstein and one of his associates for connecting him to a woman in 2012. The emails also discuss party times and meeting dates.
Musk, however, said he only met Epstein one time, and that he met the woman, who was 30 years old, through a friend and that “Epstein did not introduce us.”
McWhinney, who founded a real estate firm with a brother, moved to Loveland from California as a young man after his grandmother died and he purchased the family farm from his father, according to BusinessDen. The two bought thousands of acres in Larimer County and in 2000 began redeveloping the land into the mixed-use Centerra community — a large development just off Interstate 25.
Since then, the McWhinney company, which changed its name to Realberry last month, has developed high-profile Denver properties, including Union Station and the Dairy Block, and its holdings include the former Great Divide building in RiNo, LoDo’s Thompson Hotel and the FoundryLine, a 17-story apartment building in RiNo that McWhinney completed in 2024. The company has also developed property in Texas and California.
McWhinney told BusinessDen that the name change coincided with a shift in how the company finances its projects. In the past, the company raised money through investors who would put at least $1 million into a project after meeting with the brothers.
Realberry is advertising investment opportunities online, including Red Hawk Crossings, a development in Castle Rock featuring 60 townhomes. BusinessDen reported that the company seeks to raise $10 million from investors.
McWhinney and his firm have received multiple accolades over the years, including 2009 developer/owner of the year by NAIOP Colorado, a commercial real estate association, and Most Admired CEO by Denver Business Journal in 2020.
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