Rudy Giuliani Ends Bankruptcy Case, Pays $400K To Creditors
Former attorney for Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, finalized a last-minute deal to end his bankruptcy case and pay close to $400,000 to financial advisers hired by creditors, former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, ABC News reports.
The deal, filed on Jul. 31 in White Plains, New York, helps the disgraced attorney alleviate a possible deep dive into his personal finances after threats from a federal judge.
Moss and Freeman won a massive $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani in 2023 over his false ballot fraud claims against them in correlation to the 2020 presidential election. The mother and daughter duo accused the former NYC mayor of pushing lies about the election being stolen from Trump, leading to death threats and fear for their lives.
The agreement comes just three weeks after Judge Sean Lane dismissed Giuliani’s bankruptcy case and criticized him for several failed attempts to disclose his income sources and comply with court orders. After the case was dismissed, Giuliani’s legal team claimed he didn’t have enough money to pay the creditors’ forensic financial adviser, which was required under bankruptcy laws.
Lane called his claims “troubling.”
“Even assuming that the Debtor does not have the funds on hand to immediately pay these bankruptcy expenses, he certainly has considerable assets upon which he can draw to pay such expenses,” Lane said in an order dated Jul. 25.
The claims prompted Lane to order all involved parties to submit suggestions on how to end the case by noon on Jul. 31 and prepare for a potential evidentiary hearing on Giuliani’s finances if a deal couldn’t be reached. The judge has to sign off on the agreement, which was filed less than three hours before the deadline.
According to the Associated Press, Giuliani will be required to pay $100,000 to his lawyers to help pay Freeman and Moss’ financial adviser, New York-based Global Data Risk. The rest of the firm’s expenses will come from proceeds of selling either the former mayor’s New York City apartment or Florida condominium, with an estimated worth of $5.6 million and $3.5 million. The firm can also place liens on both properties to ensure the fees are paid under the agreement.
Freeman and Moss can secure enforcement and payment of the $148 million verdict in federal court in Washington, D.C., where they won their case. Because of the bankruptcy, the collection efforts were put on hold.
This victory for the former election workers just added to Giuliani’s financial and legal woes. When he filed for bankruptcy, Giuliani listed nearly $153 million in existing or potential debts, including almost $1 million in state and federal tax liabilities, the money he owes lawyers, and millions of dollars in potential lawsuit judgments against him. He estimated his assets to be worth $1 million to $10 million.
He is facing additional criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona for his role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election, in which he has issued a not-guilty plea in both cases.
