Rudy Giuliani’s financial woes went from bad to worse on Friday when a federal bankruptcy judge threw out the case after he hid his assets, opening the former mayor up to his creditors potentially seizing what little he still owns.
“The record in this case reflects Mr. Giuliani’s continued failure to meet his reporting obligations and provide the financial transparency required of a debtor in possession,” Southern District of New York Judge Sean Lane wrote in his decision. “The Court finds that dismissal of this bankruptcy case with a one year bar to refiling is in the best interests of creditors.”
Giuliani has been on the hook for $148 million after he defamed two Georgia election workers during the 2020 election, claiming they were illegally tabulating votes in favor of Joe Biden as well as using crack cocaine and heroin.
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Lawyers for his creditors had asked the judge to toss the bankruptcy case, and had even floated the idea of jail time, arguing that Giuliani was hiding assets and using the case “as a pause button on his woes while he continues to live his life unbothered by creditors.”
Lane agreed that Giuliani is hiding his assets, writing in the decision, “Mr. Giuliani has not fully met his obligation to file certain schedules and lists detailing his financial condition, including a list of creditors, a schedule of assets and liabilities, a statement of current income and current expenditures, and a statement of financial affairs.”
In particular, Giuliani did not disclose to the court that he had an upcoming book deal.
“Mr. Giuliani’s initial schedules list no executory contracts, Mr. Giuliani in fact has a contract for an upcoming book; this information was only belatedly included in the schedules in February 2024,” Lane wrote.
Giuliani also did not disclose to the court, nor his attorneys, that he was promoting Rudy Coffee, his coffee brand.
“The Committee learned through media reports that Mr. Giuliani was promoting a coffee brand, a fact about which Mr. Giuliani’s counsel was purportedly unaware,” Lane added.
The court added that Giuliani did not submit any of his operating filings on time either.
“A debtor in possession is obligated to file monthly operating reports that include information about the case and certain financial transactions and ‘keep a record of receipts and the disposition of money and property received’... Every single monthly operating report filed by Mr. Giuliani has been untimely,” the court added.
In a statement on Friday, Giuliani’s spokesperson said he was “denied the ability to appeal the grossly unfair $148 million judgement in Washington, D.C. during this proceeding.”
“This whole bankruptcy case was burdened with many of the same voluminous and overly broad discover requests and other actions—including regular leaks of information—intended to harm the mayor and destroy his businesses,” he said. “It is yet another example of the effort to punish Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the person most responsible for exposing Hunter Biden’s laptop and to deter anyone else from asking questions or getting to the truth.”
Aside from the defamation payout, Giuliani is also on the hook for $3.7 million in legal fees and a million dollars in taxes, according to The Washington Post. He is also fighting a $10 million lawsuit from Noelle Dunphy, one of his former employees, who accused him of sexual assault and harassment.
Read it at Washington Post
