Corporate Counsel Daily, Shareholders sue Apollo, Black, and Rowan for concealing Epstein ties, (Mar 5, 2026)

By Anne Sherry, J.D.

The lawsuit comes two weeks after Apollo Global Management sent a letter to clients and partners denying a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

A new class-action suit charges Apollo Global Management, CEO Marc Rowan, and former CEO/chairman Leon Black with misleading shareholders about their connections with Jeffrey Epstein. The complaint cites statements that Epstein had never done any work for Apollo along with news reports that it alleges contradict those denials. In a February 18 statement, Apollo acknowledged that Black paid Epstein for personal tax advice but said that Epstein’s attempts to work with other Apollo cofounders were “declined at every turn” (Feldman v. Apollo Global Management, Inc. , No. 26-cv-01692 (S.D.N.Y. filed Mar. 2, 2026)).

The class period begins with Apollo’s Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2021. The filing incorporates by reference a report prepared by Dechert LLP concluding that “Apollo never retained Epstein for any services and Epstein never invested in any Apollo-managed funds.” The Form 10-Q also stated that the report’s findings “are consistent with statements made by Mr. Black and Apollo regarding” Black’s professional relationship with Epstein.

Subsequent quarterly reports repeated these statements, which were false and misleading, according to the complaint, as “Epstein was heavily involved and frequently communicated with Apollo Global’s senior leadership in the 2010s, including the Individual Defendants, concerning Apollo Global’s business.”

Furthermore, the complaint alleges that the firm’s 2021 annual report was materially false and misleading because it included a risk disclosure on employee misconduct when Apollo already knew or should have known that the company had dealings with Epstein.

The complaint then cites news stories that revealed the truth throughout February 2026. These include a February 1, 2026, Financial Times story reporting that Marc Rowan had consulted Epstein on Apollo’s tax affairs and “various issues” including “Planes boats etc.” According to the FT story, Rowan and other Apollo partners had multiple meetings with Epstein about potential tax transactions.

On February 17, the FT published another story, this time about a teacher’s union urging the SEC to investigate Apollo’s disclosures related to Epstein. Finally, on February 21, CNN reported on Apollo’s response to the teacher’s union letter. Apollo’s stock price dropped after each of these stories were published.

The complaint alleges violations of Exchange Act Sections 10(b) and 20(a) and Rule 10b-5. The plaintiff will seek the presumption of reliance based on a fraud-on-the-market theory. Alternatively, the plaintiff will argue that the Affiliated Ute presumption applies because the defendants omitted material information in violation of a duty to disclose.

The case is No. 26-cv-01692.

Attorneys: Phillip C. Kim (The Rosen Law Firm) for Solomon Feldman.

Companies: Apollo Global Management, Inc.

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