Staff of the MIT Media Lab working for the lab’s director, Joichi Ito, reportedly referred to criminal financier Jeffrey Epstein as “Voldemort,” or “he who must not be named,” referencing the popular “Harry Potter” villain whose name is tabooed in the book series.

New documents obtained by The New Yorker‘s Ronan Farrow revealed that the university’s research center had deeper involvement with the late Epstein than was previously known — and that it actively worked to conceal the ties, which included previously undisclosed donations and alleged involvement in other big name donations to the school.

Epstein’s initials were used in appointment memos in Ito’s calendar, which typically listed full names, per The New Yorker report. Peter Cohen, the MIT Media Lab’s Director of Development and Strategy, also reiterated in an email that “Jeffrey money, needs to be anonymous.” Ito and Cohen did not comment to The New Yorker.

In August, Ito issued an apology saying, “In my fund-raising efforts for MIT Media Lab, I invited him to the lab and visited several of his residences. I want you to know that in all of my interactions with Epstein, I was never involved in, never heard him talk about and never saw any evidence of the horrific acts that he was accused of.”

MIT President President L. Rafael Reif also issued an apology on behalf of the school for accepting donations last month. – READ MORE