The air in Bradford, New Hampshire, is usually thick with the scent of pine and the kind of silence you only find in places where neighbors live a mile apart. It’s the last place you’d expect a high-stakes FBI raid. But on July 2, 2020, that silence was shattered. Federal agents descended on a 156-acre estate known as "Tuckedaway," ending a year-long game of cat and mouse that had captivated the globe. Honestly, the details of how Ghislaine Maxwell in New Hampshire lived while "on the run" are wilder than any spy novel.
She wasn't living in a basement or a motel. She was in a million-dollar timber-framed mansion.
The story of her time in the Granite State is a bizarre mix of extreme privilege and desperate paranoia. While the world wondered where she’d vanished to after Jeffrey Epstein’s death in a Manhattan jail cell, Maxwell was basically playing house in the woods. She used a fake name, "G Max," to order packages. She had a phone wrapped in tin foil—a low-tech attempt to block GPS signals that, let's be real, sounds more like something out of a conspiracy forum than a master criminal's playbook.
The Stealthy Purchase of Tuckedaway
How does one of the most wanted women in the world buy a massive estate without anyone noticing? Money and lawyers. In December 2019, the property at 338 East Washington Road was purchased for $1.07 million in an all-cash deal.
The buyer wasn't listed as Ghislaine Maxwell. Instead, it was a carefully anonymized entity called Granite Realty LLC.
The property itself is a "privacy lover’s dream," which is exactly how the real estate listings described it when it hit the market again recently for $2.5 million. We’re talking about a 4,300-square-foot main house with a floor-to-ceiling fieldstone fireplace and views of the local hills that go on forever. It’s gorgeous. It’s also isolated. The long, winding driveway and the thick forest provided a natural fortress.
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Life Under the Radar
Maxwell didn't just sit in the dark. She was active. She spent her days hiking the trails on her 156 acres and reportedly even ventured into town occasionally. A few locals mentioned seeing "muscle" at the post office—likely her private security—but in a town of about 1,600 people, it’s easy to be the eccentric newcomer who keeps to themselves.
She was also living with Scott Borgerson, a tech executive she had reportedly married in secret years earlier. While she was hiding out, the government argues she was using her vast resources—at one point linked to over 15 different bank accounts with balances totaling up to $20 million—to stay ahead of the law.
The Raid: Tin Foil and Targeted Entry
When the FBI finally moved in at 8:30 a.m. that Thursday, it wasn't a polite knock on the door. Agents from multiple agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Marshals, swarmed the property.
The details from the unsealed documents are pretty cinematic:
- Agents announced themselves through a window.
- Maxwell didn't open the door; she allegedly tried to flee to another room.
- They had to breach the door to get to her.
- Inside, they found that infamous tin-foil-wrapped cell phone on a desk.
She was taken to the Merrimack County Jail in Boscawen, a stark contrast to the floor-to-ceiling windows and sunrooms of Tuckedaway. The "life of privilege" the FBI accused her of leading was officially over.
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Why New Hampshire?
It’s a fair question. Why stay in the U.S. at all? Maxwell had three passports and enough money to disappear to a country without an extradition treaty. Some legal experts think she felt safe in the legal "gray zone" provided by Epstein’s previous non-prosecution agreement. Others think she just didn't believe the feds would actually come for her.
Basically, she miscalculated.
The New Hampshire connection wasn't just a random choice, though. It was a tactical retreat. The state’s "Live Free or Die" ethos and the rugged terrain of Merrimack County offered the perfect cover for someone who wanted to be invisible while still enjoying the comforts of a high-end lifestyle.
The Real Estate Aftermath
Fast forward to late 2025 and early 2026, and the house is back in the news. The estate has struggled to sell, despite its beauty. It turns out, having the FBI raid your home for sex trafficking charges creates a bit of a "stigma."
The price was slashed recently from $2.5 million to around $2.37 million. The listing mentions the "fine craftsmanship" and the "waterfall and pond," but it conveniently leaves out the part where it served as a hideout for one of the most notorious figures in modern criminal history.
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It’s a weird legacy for a small town like Bradford.
Actionable Insights: What This Means for You
If you're following the Ghislaine Maxwell New Hampshire saga for more than just the drama, there are a few real-world takeaways regarding privacy and the law:
- LLCs aren't a magic shield: People often think buying property under an LLC makes them invisible. It doesn't. Forensic accountants and federal investigators can pierce through those layers relatively quickly once they have a warrant.
- Digital footprints are permanent: Even with tin foil and "burners," the FBI used GPS data and pings to narrow down her location. In the 2020s, staying truly "off the grid" is nearly impossible if you’re using any modern technology.
- Stigmatized property is a real thing: If you're a real estate investor, the Bradford estate is a case study in how "fame" can actually tank a property's value. No matter how many fieldstone fireplaces you have, some people just won't buy a house with that kind of history.
The New Hampshire chapter of Maxwell's life represents the moment the bubble finally burst. It was the transition from a world of private jets and royal connections to a 20-year sentence in a federal prison. Today, she’s serving that time in Florida, but the quiet hills of Bradford still hold the memory of the year she almost got away with it.
Next Steps:
If you are researching property records or the legal filings related to the "Granite Realty LLC" purchase, check the Merrimack County Registry of Deeds. For those looking into the tactical side of the arrest, the 17-page indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York provides the most granular detail on her movements leading up to the raid.