Leon Black's legal team conducted an extraordinary behind-the-scenes campaign in 2024 that persuaded a federal judge to strip a rape accuser of a $2.5 million settlement award she had received in an Epstein-related class action case, a Guardian investigation has found.
The billionaire investor, who faces a civil lawsuit alleging he raped a teenager at Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan townhouse in 2002, personally appealed to U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff through his attorney Susan Estrich. The communication, conducted entirely outside public view, led to a months-long sealed court proceeding that ultimately reversed the victim's compensation.
Judge Rakoff approved the $2.5 million allocation to the woman identified as Jane Doe in early January 2024 as part of a $290 million JPMorgan Chase settlement with Epstein abuse survivors. Within weeks, Black's legal team had contacted the judge directly to attack Doe's credibility and persuade him to reconsider the award.
In a February 21, 2024 letter marked private and undocketed, Estrich claimed Doe was perpetrating "serious fraud" on the court and was not a genuine Epstein victim. Doe ultimately received a substantially smaller settlement in the class action case following the intervention.
The 74-year-old former Apollo Global Management CEO has denied ever meeting or assaulting Doe. He has never been charged with any crimes. Black stepped down from his investment firm in 2021 after revelations that he had paid Epstein $170 million, which he characterized as compensation for financial and tax advice.
Doe, now 40, alleged in her July 2023 lawsuit that Epstein introduced her to Black at his townhouse in spring 2002 when she was 16 years old. She claims Epstein told Black she would provide him with a massage treatment, and that Black then assaulted her with sex toys and ultimately raped her. She has alleged the internal injuries from that assault continue to cause her pain.
The lawsuit proceeded against Black despite significant setbacks for Doe. U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke, who is overseeing Doe's civil case against Black, recently sanctioned both Doe and her former attorney for misconduct. Clarke ruled that Doe's former lawyer repeatedly lied to the court and that Doe had falsified sonogram images submitted as evidence of her abuse. However, Clarke allowed the lawsuit to continue.
Black's legal campaign drew support from an unexpected quarter: a high-profile lawyer publicly known as an advocate for Epstein victims. The details of these sealed communications reveal the extent to which Black's wealth and legal resources were deployed to undermine Doe's credibility in proceedings where he was not an official party.
Doe's exclusive statement to the Guardian expressed her conviction that the justice system favors the powerful. "Justice is not always blind," she said. "It is often shaped by power, access, and who is able to withstand the process. I am still here. And I am not done."
The hidden intervention comes as Black faces intensifying scrutiny from Congress. He is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on June 26 regarding Epstein's sex trafficking networks. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has separately challenged Black over Epstein-related payments, claiming DOJ files released this year provide evidence that Black was connected to women in Epstein's network and that associates surveilled and paid off women on his behalf.
Black's attorney dismissed Wyden's assertions as "outrageous and false" and characterized them as politically motivated.
Rakoff, a widely respected federal judge known for championing transparency in the courts, had previously stated publicly that judicial legitimacy depends on open reasoning and public proceedings. His decision to conduct sealed ex parte proceedings in this case marked a departure from those stated principles.
Author James Rodriguez: "Black's lawyers knew exactly what they were doing: using the judicial process itself as a weapon to silence his accuser before her case could reach trial."
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