Posted on 12/21/23
| News Source: The Hill
Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy Thursday, days after a jury ordered him to pay a staggering $148 million to two ex-Georgia election workers Giuliani baselessly accused of committing fraud in the 2020 election.
Giuliani’s Chapter 11 petition, filed in U.S. bankruptcy court in New York, lists between $1 million and $10 million in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities, the filing shows.
For months, the former New York City mayor has appeared to experience a cash crunch as he defended against increasing legal troubles in part for spearheading former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in court.
But the bankruptcy filing was spurred by a jury’s verdict last week ordering him to pay about $148 million to former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.
The judge on Wednesday ordered that the judgment be immediately enforced.
“The filing should be a surprise to no one,” Ted Goodman, political advisor to Giuliani, said in a statement.
“No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount,” Goodman added. “Chapter 11 will afford Mayor Giuliani the opportunity and time to pursue an appeal, while providing transparency for his finances under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, to ensure all creditors are treated equally and fairly throughout the process.”
Giuliani’s bankruptcy petition estimates he owes the largest amount to the two women and has a total of less than 50 creditors.
The list of Giuliani’s largest creditors is a who’s who of people and groups that are actively suing him.
It includes Hunter Biden, the president’s son, who sued Giuliani over his involvement in Biden’s laptop scandal; voting-equipment companies Smartmatic and Dominion, which both sued Giuliani for defamation over his 2020 election claims; Giuliani’s ex-lawyers, who are suing him over unpaid legal bills; a Staten Island, N.Y. supermarket employee who sued Giuliani after being arrested for allegedly assaulting the former mayor; and one of Giuliani’s former employees, who accused him of sexual assault.
Giuliani also indicated in court papers that he owes about $724,000 in federal income taxes and about $265,000 in state income taxes.