Rudy Giuliani bankruptcy shows Trump ally drowning in debt
by Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld - 02/23/24 5:30 AM ETRudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing, spurred by a multimillion-dollar verdict against him for defaming two Georgia election workers, has provided fresh insight into the former New York City mayor’s finances.
A federal jury in Washington, D.C. in December ordered Giuliani to pay Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss a whopping $148 million for baselessly claiming they engaged in widespread voter fraud after the 2020 election. Days later, he filed for bankruptcy, acknowledging the severe strain the penalty put on his finances.
His bankruptcy judge late Tuesday allowed the longtime ally of former President Trump to appeal the defamation verdict but in the meantime, his bankruptcy proceeding has cracked Giuliani’s finances wide open, shedding light on his debts and overall standing.
That standing includes thousands of dollars in taxes and credit card debt and millions more he could owe to voting technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic if he’s found to have defamed them, too.
Here’s what we’ve learned about Giuliani’s finances amid his bankruptcy.
A who’s who of creditors
In addition to Freeman and Moss, the creditors with the largest unsecured claims against Giuliani include banks, lawyers, government tax agencies, golf clubs and other entities.
Giuliani owes more than $900,000 in taxes, most of which are federal taxes.
Between two golf clubs in West Palm Beach, Fla. – including the former president’s Trump International Golf Club – Giuliani owes nearly $40,000 in unpaid membership fees, though he disputes a large chunk of that amount.
He could also owe millions of dollars in unresolved lawsuits, court filings show.
A New York man, Daniel Gill, sued Giuliani for $2 million after he was charged with assault for slapping the ex-mayor on the back and asking, “What’s up, scumbag?” The law firm Davidoff, Hutcher & Citron, lodged by Giuliani’s longtime lawyer Robert Costello in September over unpaid legal fees, is claiming $1.36 million. And the law firm Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, which Giuliani hired after his apartment was raided by the FBI, is seeking more than $387,000.
On top of all that, several lawsuits seek “unknown” claims, including from Dominion, Smartmatic, Hunter Biden, the president’s son and Noelle Dunphy, who accused Giuliani of sexual assault and harassment.
Giuliani’s bankruptcy case is still in its early stages, however.
The $148 million verdict suddenly precipitated Giuliani’s Chapter 11 petition, meaning his bankruptcy began without any organized creditor group.
Later, Moss, Dominion and Dunphy teamed up to represent the unsecured creditors in the proceedings moving forward.
Giuliani now has a time window to propose a plan of reorganization that will lay out how he plans to compensate his creditors and eventually emerge from bankruptcy. Gary Fischoff, one of Giuliani’s bankruptcy lawyers, told The Hill it’s “still too early to know” when a plan will be filed.
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https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4483344-rudy-giuliani-bankruptcy-trump-debt/
