Before Brad Karp resigned as chairman of Paul Weiss, the elite Wall Street law firm said he interacted with Jeffrey Epstein to “negotiate a series of fee disputes” on behalf of Leon Black, the billionaire former Apollo Global Management CEO.
Recently released records from the Justice Department show the two men also discussed how to handle a woman who allegedly demanded Black pay her $100 million.
The emails show Epstein and Karp trading notes about secret recordings, professional surveillance, and efforts to have the woman arrested for what Epstein described as an “extortion” attempt.
“I have come to the conclusion that we will need to bring in law enforcement sooner rather than later,” Epstein told Karp in a typo-strewn email. “Needs tobe a close sensitive relation Your call on fbi or nypd.”
Karp stepped down as the chair of Paul Weiss on Wednesday after the Epstein files revealed he advised the convicted sex offender on his legal battles with women and asked for help getting his son a role in a Woody Allen movie. He has also resigned from the board of Union College, his alma mater.
The latest emails, some of which were first reported by Law.com, show Karp agreeing with Epstein’s recommendation to have the investigation firm Nardello & Co. surveil the woman — referred to as “GG” — for “a full week” in 2015.
A spokesperson for Nardello confirmed the firm worked on the case for Black’s legal counsel, but denied working with Epstein, who Black paid for financial advice.
“In the course of that engagement, no one at Nardello had any contact or communication with Epstein whatsoever nor did the firm know that Mr. Black’s counsel was sharing documents or other work product with Epstein,” the firm said.
The emails show Karp updated Epstein on GG’s movements in August of that year. He informed Epstein about “GG” staying at an apartment in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood before being “snuck out” through the garage, “in a car with tinted windows,” to JFK airport.
“we have license plate numbers,” Karp told Epstein.
Karp also kept Epstein updated about a transcript of a meeting with GG that took place at the Four Seasons.
“GG is in Moscow; the transcript should be completed tomorrow,” Karp told Epstein in one email. “I’ll send it to you as soon as I receive it.”
Representatives for Paul Weiss didn’t immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
At the time, Black was concluding an extramarital relationship with Guzel Ganieva, according to a 2022 lawsuit he filed against her. In the suit, Black claimed that Ganieva demanded $100 million from him in 2015 during a meeting at the Four Seasons restaurant. The lawsuit accused Ganieva of participating in an “extortion plot” with her lawyers and Black’s rivals, saying she threatened to reveal their relationship to his wife and Apollo’s board if she didn’t get the money. A judge dismissed the lawsuit later that year, finding the lawsuit’s claims were “vague” and “more creative writing than factual.”
A person familiar with the matter confirmed that the “GG” in the newly released emails was a reference to Guzel Ganieva.
Susan Estrich, an attorney representing Black, told Business Insider that Ganieva was trying to “blackmail” Black following a “years long consensual relationship” at the time that Epstein and Karp were exchanging emails.
Guzel, in her own lawsuit, alleged Black forced her into violent sexual encounters while promising to help her with educational and career ambitions. A judge dismissed the allegations, finding a non-disclosure agreement between Ganieva and Black barred her from bringing the case.
Ganieva also said Black introduced her to Epstein, whose relationship with Black led him to step down as the CEO and chairman of Apollo in 2021. An Apollo investigation found Black stopped using Epstein’s financial services in 2018 over a fee dispute.
An attorney for Ganieva didn’t immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
The Justice Department’s files show Nardello, the investigative firm, sent Karp and another Paul Weiss attorney, Lorin Reisner, transcripts of conversations between “GG” and their client, referred to in the transcripts as “John Doe.” Karp then forwarded them to Epstein.
The transcripts show GG and John Doe discussing their past relationship. John Doe repeatedly raises what he claims were GG’s requests for millions of dollars.
“For me, it’s not about money, it’s about respect,” GG told John Doe in a transcript where he refers to her as “Guzel.” “I think you were very unfair to me,” she added.
At one point, Epstein advised Karp and Reisner — who joined Paul Weiss after serving as Chief of the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York — to “have her arrested” and possibly deported.
He urged Karp to contact law enforcement before the woman could file a lawsuit.
“i think the extortion claim AFTER a filing is fairly weak. and would be seen to be an intimidattion tactic from a powerful man, if you think you are being extorted,” Epstein wrote with his signature freestyle grammar.
Karp responded enthusiastically.
“I’ll check again with lorin, but my strong belief is that the answer is yes,” he told Epstein. “Especially with the referral coming from the most recent head of the sdny usao.”
