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Rudy Giuliani agrees to settle his bankruptcy case and pay $400,000 to creditors’ financial adviser
Rudy Giuliani has agreed to a last-minute deal to end his personal bankruptcy case and pay about $400,000 to a financial adviser hired by his creditors, averting a potential deep investigation into the former New York City mayor’s finances threatened by a federal judge.
The settlement was filed Wednesday in federal court in White Plains, New York. It came nearly three weeks after a judge there rejected The Giuliani Bankruptcy Case after criticizing him for repeated failures to disclose his sources of income and comply with court orders.
But after Judge Sean Lane dismissed the bankruptcy case, Giuliani’s lawyers said he did not have the money to pay the creditors’ forensic financial adviser, as required by bankruptcy laws, according to the judge. That prompted Lane last week to order all parties to submit proposals on how to settle the case by noon Wednesday and to prepare for a possible evidentiary hearing on Giuliani’s finances if no agreement was reached.
The judge must sign the agreement, which was filed less than three hours before the deadline.
Creditors include former Georgia election officials Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani for his false claims of voter fraud against them related to the 2020 election. Freeman and Moss said Giuliani spread Donald Trump’s lies about the election being stolen, which led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.
In the agreement filed Wednesday, Giuliani will give his lawyers $100,000 to help pay the creditors’ financial adviser, New York-based Global Data Risk, and pay the rest of the firm’s expenses with proceeds from the sale of his New York apartment or his Florida condo, which are worth about $5.6 million and $3.5 million, respectively, according to court documents.
Global Data Risk is also authorized to place liens on properties in New York and Florida to ensure Giuliani pays all of his fees, according to the agreement.
Rachel Strickland, an attorney for Freeman and Moss, said in a court filing earlier this month that Global Data Risk has racked up $400,000 in expenses during the bankruptcy process.
Bankruptcy attorneys for Strickland and Giuliani did not immediately return messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Lane said it was “concerning” that Giuliani was saying he could not afford to pay Global Data Risk.
“Even assuming the Debtor does not have funds available to immediately pay these bankruptcy expenses, he certainly has considerable assets from which he can draw to pay such expenses,” Lane said in a July 25 order.
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Freeman and Moss, meanwhile, are now free to seek enforcement and payment of the $148 million verdict in federal court in Washington, D.C., where they won the case. The bankruptcy had put a damper on collection efforts.
The bankruptcy was one of many legal problems consuming Giuliani, 80, a former federal prosecutor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate who was once hailed as “America’s mayor” for his calm, steady leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
He was recently dismissed from the position of lawyer in New York after a court found that he repeatedly made false statements about Trump’s 2020 election loss. He also faces the possibility of losing his law license in Washington after a plank in May recommended that he be removed from office.
In Georgia It is ArizonaGiuliani is facing criminal charges for his role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
When he filed for bankruptcy, Giuliani listed nearly $153 million in existing or potential debts, including nearly $1 million in state and federal tax liabilities, money he owes to lawyers and many millions of dollars in potential judgments in lawsuits against him. He estimated that he had assets worth $1 million to $10 million.
In recent financial filings in the bankruptcy case, he said he had about $94,000 in cash on hand at the end of May, while his company, Giuliani Communications, had about $237,000 in the bank. One of Giuliani’s main sources of income over the past two years has been a retirement account with a balance of just over $1 million as of May, down from nearly $2.5 million in 2022 after his withdrawals, the filings say.