A woman suing Leon Black for sexual abuse and defamation made up 'demonstrably false' new accusations linking him to the late sex ...
A woman suing Leon Black for sexual abuse and defamation made up 'demonstrably false' new accusations linking him to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Black's lawyers said on Wednesday.
Black's claim in a New York state court filing was in response to Guzel Ganieva's amended civil lawsuit, where she said the private equity billionaire flew her to Florida in 2008 for a possible sexual encounter with Epstein, his 'best friend'.
The former Russian model, now in her late 30s, is seeking unspecified damages from Black, accusing the 70-year-old of rape and other sexual abuse, as well as defaming her by claiming she tried to extort him.
Wall Street billionaire Black is adamant that the new accusations against him by Ganieva linking him to Jeffrey Epstein are 'demonstrably false'
Former Russian model Guzel Ganieva claims Black flew her to Florida with the intention of having sex with him and Jeffrey Epstein in 2008
She also called Black a 'violent, sadistic' sexual predator who raped and harassed her before coercing her into signing a non-disclosure agreement in a defamation lawsuit .
Genieva alleges that upon her arrival at to Epstein's mansion, she was summoned into a room to find both Black and Epstein sitting in an office together.
'Black and Epstein were situated close to one another, each facing Ms. Ganieva while in almost supine positions, as if they were waiting for her to get on top of them. Indeed, Black indicated with his eyes that he wanted Ms. Ganieva to come and lay in between him and Epstein,' part of the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court reads.
Despite the come-ons, Ganieva did not sleep with the men, at which point Black told her to leave the room. The visit only lasted a total of two hours.
Former Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Black, who is married, adamantly denies the abuse claims.
He also says he paid Ganieva $100,000 a month for 15 years not to discuss their consensual six-and-a-half-year relationship, after she allegedly demanded $100 million.
The payments eventually added up to $18 million total and stopped after Ganieva tweeted about Black in March.
Ganieva says she was brought to Epstein's Palm Beach mansion by Black, where she says she was sexually propositioned by the pair
In Wednesday's filing, Black's lawyers challenged Ganieva's 'miraculous sudden recall' for her August 9 amended complaint of 'shocking acts of sexual torture and threats to traffic her' that were omitted from her original June 1 complaint.
The lawyers said these included 'gratuitous' claims involving Epstein that flight records and other evidence would show were untrue.
'Ganieva has a history of inventing tales of bullying, harassment, disrespect -and worse - in the hopes of winning a payday for herself,' the filing says.
A lawyer for Ganieva said: 'Tellingly absent from Black’s answer is the fact that just two weeks ago, he tried to improperly withdraw his own legal claims against Ms. Ganieva — which he purposely alleged with the intention of concocting a false narrative in the media that he did not abuse her. Black’s billions and his powerful connections will not prevent the truth from coming out. We are confident that a jury of Ms. Ganieva’s peers will hold Black accountable for Black’s horrific conduct as alleged in our complaint by Ms. Ganieva.'
Wednesday's filing made no mention of Black's earlier defamation counterclaims against Ganieva.
His lawyers have said Black would no longer pursue the counterclaims, so that he could focus on defending himself.
Ganieva's lawyers have said court rules forbid the withdrawal because their client had responded to them, and that Black countersued to win positive media attention.
Black stepped down from Apollo this year after an outside independent review found he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning.
The review also said Black was not involved in Epstein's criminal activities.
Black has publicly said he regretted his involvement with Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
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