Former New York Mayor Giuliani Facing Bankruptcy
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW YORK, USA (Worthy News) – Rudy Giuliani, the world-famed former New York City mayor and high-flying lawyer who became a confidant of then U.S. President Donald J. Trump, is struggling to avoid losing most, and perhaps all, he worked for during his life, attorneys warn.
He may be forced to sell his homes in New York and Florida to raise cash for a massive defamation judgment against him as he works his way through bankruptcy proceedings, according to court statements monitored by Worthy News.
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2023, a day after being ordered to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation while he was a lawyer for former President Donald Trump.
The $148 million payout demanded by the judge over his alleged “false accusations” that the two committed voter fraud while counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County in the 2020 presidential election.
The two election workers claimed they were subjected to relentless abuse after they were identified in a video clip that became widely circulated after the 2020 general election.
In the video, the election workers are seen allegedly mishandling ballots, but the court cleared them of wrongdoing.
Add to the figure millions in reported unpaid legal fees, taxes, and other unpaid debts, and the former New York mayor is facing nearly $153 million in debt.
MUCH MONEY NEEDED
However, Giuliani has reported having 10.6 million in assets and says he still awaits Trump’s 2020 election campaign and the Republican National Committee to pay him about $2 million in legal fees.
Yet it’s a far cry from the money needed to be raised. Even with his properties being sold, the man once known as a successful millionaire businessman and the to-go-to aide may now face “the end,” argued Giuliani’s attorney, Joseph Sibley.
The attorney told the court last week that after the $148 million judgment was issued, Giuliani would face “the civil equivalent of a death penalty.”
The unsecured creditors’ committee recently asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to probe Giuliani’s financial affairs. That could lead to his estate filing a bankruptcy lawsuit over the unpaid legal fees from Trump, who himself faces more than half a billion dollars in court fines and fees.
Giuliani listed “liabilities of $100 million to $500 million” and “assets of as much as $10 million,” according to a bankruptcy form filed on December 21 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Attorneys said during a Wednesday status conference at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York that several of Giulani’s properties might be put up for sale to raise cash to pay off his nearly $153 million debt, the bulk of which is the $148 million defamation judgment.
CASH NOT AVAILABLE
However, they may not provide the cash the 79-year-old needs to pay off his debts in the winter of his life.
His Manhattan condo in New York is valued at around $5.6 million, according to financial data.
A committee representing Giuliani’s unsecured creditors, including the poll workers, is working to get his Palm Beach, Florida, house on the market as well. The home is valued at $3.5 million, according to court papers.
If the reported assets match reality, it remained unclear whether Giuliani would come out of debt during his lifetime.
And with his law practice under scrutiny, it remained unclear how he would raise enough income to stay afloat in a legal world that even Giuliani seemed unable to control.
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