What specific Epstein files mention a 'William Riley' and can the identity be independently matched to Sasha/Sascha Riley?

1. What the Epstein files actually say about “William Riley”

Reporting based on the trove indicates William “Bill” Riley appears in the released materials in several contexts: as an addressee in at least one email from Epstein, on witness lists and in litigation and deposition records connected to Epstein, and in victim testimony cited in court records — facts summarized in coverage of the DOJ release ^{[3] [4] [1] [2]}. One widely noted item was an email from Epstein to “William Riley” discussing a planned phone call that referenced calling Trump, a snippet that has been reproduced in press accounts of the unsealed emails ^{[3] [4]}. Independent reporters have also found references to a William Riley described in some documents as a private investigator and a pilot connected to Epstein’s operations ^{[1] [2]}.

2. How Sasha/Sascha Riley became linked to those file mentions

The linkage between the name in the files and the viral claimant rests primarily on investigative Substack reporting and social-media amplification: Substack writer Lisa Noelle Voldeng and subsequent commentators identified a decorated Iraq War veteran named William Sascha Riley as a person claiming survivor status and asserted that his adoptive father was William “Bill” Kyle Riley, whom the claimant names as a trafficker and pilot for Epstein ^{[3] [2]}. Coverage notes the viral audio recordings attributed to “Sasha” or “Sascha” Riley and frames Voldeng’s reporting as the source that sought to connect that public claimant to names appearing in the document release ^{[5] [6] [2]}.

3. Limits of independent verification inside the released materials

Multiple outlets explicitly caution that the unsealed DOJ files do not, by themselves, clearly identify the viral claimant as the same individual referenced in the documents: Times Now and other reporting say the identity is not clear and that the files do not make Sasha/Sascha Riley a notable or easily identifiable figure in the DOJ release as of early 2026 ^{[1] [3]}. Hindustan Times and Sunday Guardian note that much of the personal detail circulating about Sasha’s background — adoption in 1977, military honors, or trafficking claims tied to an adoptive father — derives from social media and Substack reporting and could not be independently verified against the documents ^{[6] [5]}. Beth McDonnell’s Substack piece, while arguing that William “Bill” Riley appears repeatedly in litigation and testimony, also acknowledges that a person can be real without appearing in the files and that the specific identity linkage requires further documentary corroboration ^[2].

4. Conclusion: what can and cannot be asserted from the record

The record supports saying there is a William “Bill” Riley who appears in Epstein-related emails, witness lists, depositions and litigation records and who has been described in reporting as a pilot/private investigator connected to Epstein ^{[3] [4] [2] [1]}. What the available, cited reporting does not support is an independent, document-based confirmation that the William Riley named in those files is the same person publicly identified as Sasha or Sascha Riley; that linkage currently rests on secondary reporting and unverified audio claims rather than on an explicit, named cross-reference inside the unsealed DOJ materials ^{[2] [1] [6]}. Further verification would require either a clear naming inside primary documents or corroborating public records that tie the viral claimant’s legal name, biographical details and claims directly to the William “Bill” Riley found in the Epstein files — evidence not shown in the cited coverage ^{[1] [6] [2]}.