Virgin Islands To Subpoena Billionaire Investor Leon Black In Jeffrey Epstein Case

TOPLINE

In the latest development in the saga centered around the estate of late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands informed a local court on Thursday that she would issue a civil subpoena to billionaire investor Leon Black in order to uncover details related to Black’s business dealings with Epstein.

Leon Black, founder of Apollo Management LP, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference … [+] 2008 in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. Black said investment banks have pared their backlog of debt committed to leveraged buyouts and will resume funding deals this year. Photographer: Jamie Rector/Bloomberg News

BLOOMBERG NEWS

KEY FACTS

Denise N. George, the Virgin Islands attorney general, will issue civil subpoenas to Black, and several entities connected to him, according to a New York Times report published Sunday.

The subpoenas reportedly seek financial statements and tax returns for Black Family Partners, Elysium Management, Apollo Global Management, as well as additional entities that help manage Black’s vast and valuable art collection.

Black is the co-founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management, which manages over $300 billion in assets, and is also the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art.

Black (who ranks 224th of the Forbes billionaire list, with a real-time net worth of $8.3 billion) has claimed that Epstein provided him with advice on tax strategy, estate planning and philanthropy, but has not yet provided specifics.

According to the Times report, Black and his companies paid millions in fees to Southern Trust Company, which Epstein set up in the Virgin Islands in 2013.

It is currently unknown when the subpoenas will be served, as courts in the Virgin Islands are mostly shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Key Background:

Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 in Florida on a charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor, died in 2019 in federal custody while facing federal sex-trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. Following his 2008 conviction, several prominent and wealthy former associates cut ties with Epstein. Leon Black did not. According to the New York Times, “in 2015, a company tied to the Black foundation donated $10 million to one of Mr. Epstein’s charitable organizations. And at Epstein’s urging, Mr. Black gave an anonymous $5 million donation to the MIT Media Lab.” In January of this year, Denise N. George filed a lawsuit accusing Epstein of trafficking young women and girls to his private island in the Virgin Islands as recently as 2018. The lawsuit alleges Epstein brought hundreds of young women and girls (some as young as 11 years old) to his private island, named Little St. James. Since Epstein is deceased, the suit was filed against his estate.

Big Number:

$577.7 Million: That’s the estimated value of Epstein’s estate, according to Reuters.

Tangent:

In February, executors of Epstein’s estate alleged in court that attorney general George was delaying Epstein’s victims from receiving compensation. George countered by arguing that the estate is merely trying to protect its own assets while burning through money that should be allocated to a victim’s fund.

Critical Quote:

“Victims who have not yet come forward or who may not wish to use the fund must be supported and protected, with funds for counseling and for their claims, too,” said Denise George. “Pursuant to my responsibility to the laws of the Virgin Islands, there must be full accountability, not only of the Estate, but those who participated in, facilitated, and covered up Epstein’s crimes.”