Apollo sued over alleged Epstein dealings cover-up

Shareholders have initiated a proposed class action lawsuit against Apollo Global Management, accusing the private capital firm and its billionaire co-founders, Leon Black and Marc Rowan, of defrauding them for close to five years. The core of the complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, centers on allegations that the defendants made false statements in several regulatory filings during 2021 and 2022.

These filings allegedly denied any business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. However, the lawsuit asserts that Epstein was significantly involved and frequently communicated with Apollo Global's senior leadership regarding the firm's business throughout the 2010s. This alleged deception came to light, contributing to a sharp decline in Apollo's stock.

The shareholders noted that Apollo's stock (APO.N) experienced a decline of about 15% over three weeks in February, resulting in a loss of approximately $12 billion in market capitalization. This drop occurred as the purported truth about the firm's dealings began to surface, leading to significant investor concern.

Apollo's February 18 letter to clients stated that only Leon Black had a business or personal relationship with Epstein. It acknowledged that Rowan and other employees provided Epstein with information for Black's tax work but stated that Epstein's requests for work with other co-founders were consistently declined. Black has maintained his innocence, claiming ignorance of Epstein's criminal activities.

The lawsuit, led by Solomon Feldman, references a January 2021 review by the Dechert law firm. This review found that Black paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning, but Apollo itself never retained Epstein for services, nor did Epstein invest in Apollo-managed funds. The firm's assurances were allegedly proven false after the U.S. Department of Justice released a substantial volume of documents related to Epstein on January 30.