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Billionaire Leon Black has filed a defamation lawsuit against Democratic California Congressman Robert Garcia, accusing him of making false and damaging statements about his alleged involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking crimes.
The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, November 4, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Black, 75, claims Garcia knowingly defamed him during television interviews by describing him as being "at the center of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes" and alleging that he was directly involved in the abuse of women.
Black is seeking a jury trial and $7.25 million in compensatory and punitive damages. His legal team argues that Garcia's statements were false and made maliciously, causing significant harm to the billionaire's reputation, personal safety and business interests.
"Congressman Garcia's knowing lies have caused real and significant ongoing harm to Mr. Black. His physical safety has been threatened, he has received a barrage of hateful calls, emails, and social media posts, and his business and philanthropic endeavors have suffered," the complaint states.
The lawsuit follows months of scrutiny over Black's relationship with Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Black, who co-founded private equity firm Apollo Global Management, stepped down as its chief executive in 2021 amid public attention over his financial ties to Epstein.
A review commissioned by Apollo found that Black paid Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017 for tax, estate planning and related services. Lawmakers have cited a figure of more than $180 million in connection with their yearslong relationship.
Black has repeatedly denied knowing about Epstein's criminal activities and maintains that he was deceived by the financier. He also denies any criminal wrongdoing.
In June, Black appeared for a voluntary interview before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Epstein. However, the session ended abruptly after lawmakers said he refused to answer questions about non-disclosure agreements.
The committee subsequently issued subpoenas seeking the agreements and requiring Black to appear for another deposition. He did not attend the scheduled September 3 deposition and instead filed a lawsuit challenging the subpoenas, arguing that they exceeded the committee's authority and could expose women who had no public connection to Epstein.
The House later voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress over his failure to comply with the subpoenas.
Garcia, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, subsequently made several public statements accusing Black of funding Epstein's abuse and trafficking of women. He also alleged that Black paid $62.5 million to the US Virgin Islands to avoid Epstein-related claims, allegations Black has denied.
A spokesperson for Black said the billionaire "has never abused a woman; he has never been with an underage woman; he has never been involved with sex trafficking; and, he never paid Epstein for women."
