Following a court order to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Giuliani disclosed liabilities ranging from $100 million to $500 million, with assets between $1 million to $10 million in a bankruptcy filing submitted on Dec. 21 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
While some of Giuliani’s debts were labeled as “unknown,” the significant debt specified is the $148 million ordered by a federal jury last week in favor of Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss, the aforementioned election workers from Georgia.
In addition to the election workers, Giuliani’s bankruptcy documentation reveals other entities to whom he owes money, including the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation, with government liabilities reaching close to $1 million.
A day before Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing, a federal judge ordered the immediate payment of $148 million by the former NYC mayor to the mentioned election workers.
This substantial payout stems from a defamation lawsuit in which Giuliani was accused of falsely implicating the two Georgia election workers in voter fraud during the ballot count in Fulton County for the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling on Dec. 20, upheld the plea of the workers, citing concerns about Giuliani’s financial capacity to fulfill the payments after lifting the 30-day delay.
The mother-daughter duo expressed concerns that the former Trump attorney might use the 30-day window to “dispose of or exhaust whatever assets exist to even partially fulfill” the nearly $150 million settlement.
Judge Howell, appointed by President Barack Obama, emphasized valid reasons to believe that Giuliani might attempt to “dissipate or hide his assets during this 30-day period” in her ruling.
“Second, as plaintiffs submit and as Giuliani does not contest, ‘Giuliani has numerous and mounting debts, including to his own attorneys and other litigants seeking to reduce their claims to judgment,’” the judge wrote.
Recognizing the multitude of ongoing legal disputes involving Mr. Giuliani and his businesses, Judge Howell underscored the potential for conflicting claims on his assets.
She voiced concerns that these circumstances could heighten Giuliani’s inclination to conceal his financial holdings, thereby increasing the risk of evading potential future legal judgments against him.
