Jes Staley and Leon Black Named by Epstein Victims in FBI Interview Memos

A CNN investigation published April 22, 2026 reported that Jeffrey Epstein victims made allegations against two prominent figures — former Barclays CEO Jes Staley and Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black — in FBI interview memos released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.¹

The allegations described below come entirely from what victims told FBI agents. According to CNN, the memos were not accompanied by corroborating investigative work, and they remain unproven. Both Staley and Black deny any wrongdoing, and neither man has been charged with any crime in connection with Epstein. To date, only Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell have been criminally charged in the United States with sex trafficking related to the case.

CNN reported that more than a dozen victims told FBI agents that Epstein or Maxwell facilitated sexual encounters with other powerful men, naming more than half a dozen individuals. The allegations against Staley and Black are among the most specific identified by name in CNN’s review.¹

Allegations Against Jes Staley

According to CNN’s review of FBI interview memos, a victim alleged the following. These are her accounts as recorded by the FBI; they are uncorroborated and Staley denies any wrongdoing:¹

• The victim told the FBI that Epstein directed her to massage Staley at Epstein’s New York home, which she said occurred around 2011 or 2012.
• She alleged that Staley then sexually assaulted her.

Staley, through his representatives, has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or any woman he met through him. He has not been charged.

Separately from these allegations, Staley served as a senior executive at JPMorgan Chase from 2001 to 2013, during the period when JPMorgan maintained Epstein as a banking client despite internal red flags. He later became CEO of Barclays in December 2015, a role he held until 2021, when he stepped down amid scrutiny of his earlier communications with Epstein.

JPMorgan sued Staley in 2023, alleging he concealed the extent of his relationship with Epstein from the bank and seeking to hold him liable for any damages the bank faced. The bank’s lawsuit referenced email exchanges between the two men. Staley has disputed JPMorgan’s claims.

Allegations Against Leon Black

CNN’s review reported allegations against Black from victims interviewed by the FBI. As with the Staley accounts, these are uncorroborated allegations recorded in interview memos; Black denies them and has not been charged:¹

• One woman told the FBI that Black became “sexual” during a massage that Epstein arranged, and that she fled the room during the encounter.
• According to reporting on the files, a separate allegation describes a woman who said Black assaulted her in an earlier incident.

Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, has said: “There is absolutely no truth to any of the allegations against Mr. Black.” Black has not been charged with any crime in the Epstein case.

Separately from these allegations, Black co-founded Apollo Global Management. He announced in January 2021 that he would step down as CEO following an outside review by the law firm Dechert, and fully departed the firm later that year. That review found Black had paid Epstein roughly $158 million between 2012 and 2017 for what Black described as tax and estate planning advice.

The Dechert review found no evidence that Black was involved in any criminal wrongdoing. Since then, additional scrutiny has continued. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, set an April 13, 2026 deadline for Black to respond to questions after Senate investigators identified roughly $12 million in payments beyond the Dechert figure — bringing the total Wyden’s office has identified to about $170 million.³

Wyden’s office has said its review raises questions about payments to women that were routed through Epstein and possible tax and money-laundering concerns. These are unproven assertions by a congressional investigator, and Black has denied wrongdoing.³

What the Files Don’t Show

CNN emphasized that the FBI memos it reviewed:¹

• Generally redacted the names of the accused men
• Did not include corroborating investigative work
• Did not document how federal agents followed up on the allegations
• Did not record any interviews with the named men

In other words, the memos capture what victims told the FBI, not findings about whether those accounts are true.

FBI Director Kash Patel has publicly stated there is “no credible information to suggest that Epstein trafficked women to anyone other than himself,” a statement he made during congressional testimony in September 2025. CNN noted that this position stands in contrast to the volume of victim accounts in the files describing other men.¹

Legal and Political Implications

The CNN reporting comes amid intensifying congressional scrutiny of how the Justice Department investigated Epstein’s network. The DOJ Office of the Inspector General announced on April 23, 2026 that it had opened an audit of the department’s compliance with the Transparency Act, including its processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records.¹

The allegations recorded in the FBI memos are not criminal charges. Neither Staley nor Black has been charged with wrongdoing in the Epstein case, both deny the allegations, and CNN’s review documents what victims told the FBI rather than any evidence corroborating those accounts.

References

1. CNN — “Epstein’s victims say other men abused them. Files shed little light on how investigators followed up”

2. CNN Video — “Epstein victims say they were trafficked to other men, raising doubts about investigations”

3. Senate Finance Committee — “Continuing Epstein Investigation: Wyden Questions Leon Black Over New Revelations”

4. Reuters/JURIST — “US Justice Department inspector announces audit of Epstein files”