A letter included in the released batch of documents got a lot of attention online. But, according to the justice department, it is fake.

The handwritten letter and envelope at first appeared to show Epstein writing to Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor who is serving decades in prison for sexually abusing young female athletes.

“As you know by now I have taken the ‘short route’ home. Good luck!” the faux letter states. “We shared one thing…our love & caring for young ladies and the hope they’d reach their full potential.”

The writer signs it, “Life is unfair, Yours, J. Epstein.”

The letter had been deemed undeliverable, and was sent back to a Manhattan jail where Epstein was detained before his death.

The FBI was alerted to the returned letter and requested an analysis of it. That request was also included in the releases batch of documents.

The justice department on Tuesday called the letter a fake, noting several irregularities with the note and the envelope that held it.

“The writing does not appear to match Jeffrey Epstein’s,” the justice department wrote on X.

“The return address did not list the jail where Epstein was held and did not include his inmate number, which is required for outgoing mail,” they added.

Officials pointed out the envelope bore a postmark from northern Virginia – noting that Epstein was detained in New York. It was also postmarked on 13 August 2019, three days after Epstein died.

Even before the justice department’s announcement of it being fake, the documents raised immediate questions.

The return sender was listed as “J. Epstein” at “Manhattan Correctional” – but the correct name for the now-shuttered jail was “Metropolitan Correctional Center”.

The documents released on Tuesday also show the analysis request by the FBI.

A FBI laboratory request stated that in August 2019, a sender listed as “J. Epstein” at “Manhattan Correctional” tried to send a letter to “Larry Nassar at 9300 S. Wilmot Road, Tucson, Arizona, 85756”, the address of a federal prison.

Nassar is currently incarcerated in Pennsylvania, according to the Bureau of Prisons.