A judge finalized Rudy Giuliani's bankruptcy, enabling two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, to advance their $148 million defamation judgment against him.
The Hill reported that Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City and a legal advisor to former President Donald Trump has found himself at the end of his bankruptcy proceedings. On Friday, a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge named Sean Lane officially closed Giuliani's bankruptcy case.
The reason cited for the dismissal was Giuliani's insufficient transparency regarding his financial affairs.
The resolution of Giuliani's bankruptcy was hastened by a recent settlement involving about $400,000 in administrative expenses.
Giuliani and his creditors reached an agreement on these costs just days before—on Wednesday. The agreement was pivotal in Judge Lane's decision to lift the bankruptcy protections previously safeguarding Giuliani's assets.
This judicial resolution opened the way for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers, who received a $148 million judgment against Giuliani in December. The defamation case stemmed from Giuliani's baseless accusations of election fraud involving Freeman and Moss during the 2020 presidential election.
With this legal barrier removed, Freeman and Moss can now attempt to seize assets from Giuliani to satisfy the judgment.
Giuliani had initially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to temporarily protect his reported $10.6 million in assets, which include a New York apartment and a Florida condo. According to the settlement resolved this week, Giuliani must place $100,000 in escrow and may need to sell these properties to make additional payments.
A condition of the settlement with his creditors, Global Data Risk—involved in the negotiations—retains the right to force the sale of Giuliani’s properties if he fails to take the agreed actions within six months. Besides Freeman and Moss, Giuliani's creditors also include Dominion Voting Systems and Noelle Dunphy.
Dominion is involved in litigation concerning the defamation of its voting machines, while Dunphy has pending lawsuits against Giuliani related to allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and nonpayment of wages.
The financial saga of Giuliani illuminates the extended repercussions of his involvement in post-election legal challenges. Besides the political and public relations fallout, Giuliani's legal entanglements have significantly impacted his financial stability and personal assets.
Following the judge’s ruling, Giuliani’s future actions regarding asset management will be under scrutiny.
The agreed escrow deposit and potential property sales are designed to facilitate at least partial recovery for the creditors. This resolution not only underscores the severity of Giuliani's financial and legal troubles but also the lengths to which creditors are prepared to go to recover owed sums.
The implications of this case are broad, touching on legal accountability, the consequences of public statements made by political figures, and the intricate processes of bankruptcy law.
For Freeman and Moss, the close of this bankruptcy case promises a potential path to restitution, albeit one still fraught with the challenges of asset liquidation and collection.
To conclude, Giuliani’s complex legal and financial troubles have reached a pivotal moment with the dismissal of his bankruptcy.
This development allows for the enforcement of the $148M defamation judgment by Freeman and Moss.
The agreement negotiated over administrative costs paved the way for lifting asset protections, marking a significant step toward asset recovery for the creditors. The strategy to manage Giuliani's assets includes an immediate escrow deposit and potential forced sales, highlighting the severity and far-reaching consequences of his post-2020 election actions.