Less than a week after Rudy Giuliani was ordered to cough up $148 million in damages to two Georgia poll workers he defamed, the former New York City mayor has filed for bankruptcy.
A federal jury awarded the poll workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, tens of millions each after the pair detailed how Giuliani’s lies insinuating they helped rig the 2020 election for Joe Biden upended their lives.
Each was awarded $16 million for defamation claims and $20 million for emotional distress. Giuliani was also slapped with a $75 million charge for “punitive” damages, adding to the already massive sum he owes to Freeman, Moss, and other creditors.
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Giuliani listed debts up to half a billion dollars and assets worth up to $10 million in the 24-page filing with the Southern District of New York’s Bankruptcy Court.
Giuliani’s political adviser Ted Goodman said Giuliani’s filing “should be a surprise to no one.”
“No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount,” Goodman said in a statement. “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.”
Among his creditors are the Internal Revenue Service, to which he owes more than $700,000; New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, to which he owes nearly $300,000, and a range of other creditors.
Giuliani also lists possible penalties from various lawsuits he has incurred from Hunter Biden and voting systems Smartmatic and Dominion.
The former New York mayor is also staring down the barrel of a criminal trial in Georgia where he, former President Donald Trump, and others face sweeping racketeering charges over their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state.
Giuliani had spent the day prior to his bankruptcy filing hawking unapproved supplements in a sad effort to raise some extra cash.
