Rudy Giuliani Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Rudy Giuliani has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy less than a week after he was ordered to pay two Georgia election workers a total of $148 million for spreading defamatory conspiracy theories about them in the aftermath of the 2020 election — and less than 24 hours after the judge in that case ruled that Giuliani must immediately begin paying those damages. 

For months now, Giuliani has struggled to finance the slew of civil and criminal litigation brought against him in various states. These include a criminal indictment by Fulton County prosecutors in Georgia alleging he — alongside former President Donald Trump — was involved in a racketeering scheme to overturn the 2020 election, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, disbarment proceedings, and sexual assault allegations. In September, Giuliani’s former attorneys filed a lawsuit against him over unpaid legal bills. 

It was Giuliani’s already precarious financial position, as well as his refusal to comply with previous financial penalties leveled against him before the case’s conclusion, that moved Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman to seek to immediately collect the damages granted to them in their civil defamation case. Judge Beryl Howell wrote in her order that “Giuliani’s failure to ‘satisfy even more modest monetary awards entered earlier in this case,’ provides good cause to believe that he will seek to dissipate or conceal his assets” during the standard 30-day stay of payment granted to defendants. 

Giuliani’s bankruptcy petition indicates that he has less than $10 million in assets and at least $152 million in liabilities, including the $148 million he owes the Georgia election workers.

“The 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,” Ted Goodman, an advisor and spokesperson for Giuliani, 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,” he added. 

Rudy Giuliani has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy less than a week after he was ordered to pay two Georgia election workers a total of $148 million for spreading defamatory conspiracy theories about them in the aftermath of the 2020 election — and less than 24 hours after the judge in that case ruled that Giuliani must immediately begin paying those damages. 

For months now, Giuliani has struggled to finance the slew of civil and criminal litigation brought against him in various states. These include a criminal indictment by Fulton County prosecutors in Georgia alleging he — alongside former President Donald Trump — was involved in a racketeering scheme to overturn the 2020 election, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, disbarment proceedings, and sexual assault allegations. In September, Giuliani’s former attorneys filed a lawsuit against him over unpaid legal bills. 

It was Giuliani’s already precarious financial position, as well as his refusal to comply with previous financial penalties leveled against him before the case’s conclusion, that moved Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman to seek to immediately collect the damages granted to them in their civil defamation case. Judge Beryl Howell wrote in her order that “Giuliani’s failure to ‘satisfy even more modest monetary awards entered earlier in this case,’ provides good cause to believe that he will seek to dissipate or conceal his assets” during the standard 30-day stay of payment granted to defendants. 

Giuliani’s bankruptcy petition indicates that he has less than $10 million in assets and at least $152 million in liabilities, including the $148 million he owes the Georgia election workers.

“The 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,” Ted Goodman, an advisor and spokesperson for Giuliani, 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,” he added.