Former Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, leaves the federal courthouse in Washington on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Rudy Giuliani’s creditors are not taking his financial statements filed in bankruptcy court at face value and plan to hire a forensic accounting firm to delve into the particulars, according to their legal team.
The former New York City mayor last week claimed he only had a “net income” of $2,308 per month after over $40,000 in monthly expenses in schedules and a statement of financial affairs filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Those filings also detailed assets well north of $10.6 million — against liabilities in excess of $150 million.
During a Wednesday status hearing, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld attorney Philip C. Dublin, who represents a three-person “Committee of Unsecured Creditors” in the case, said there were concerns about possible financial transfers that Donald Trump’s former lawyer might have been made up to three months prior to the bankruptcy filing, according to a courtroom report by Bloomberg Law.
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December after a federal court ordered him to “immediately” pay former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss $148 million after they won a defamation case against him. The onetime Donald Trump attorney found himself the subject of that pricey defamation lawsuit — and eventual verdict in the plaintiffs’ favor — after he falsely claimed the two women committed electoral fraud during the 2020 election.
The bankruptcy filing effectively paused collection efforts on that judgment against him. He is now seeking to use the proceedings to request a modification of his liability to Freeman and Moss — and potentially a do-over trial on the amount of damages he owes them.
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Moss is a member of the unsecured creditors committee along with Noelle Dunphy, a former Giuliani associate who is suing him for sexual assault, and U.S. Dominion, Inc., the well-known voting hardware and software company that is suing Giuliani for defamation over false claims that they rigged the 2020 election in Joe Biden’s favor.
In court, the creditors’ attorney reportedly alleged there were not yet any disclosures filed about relevant transfers. That claim drew an objection from Berger Fischoff Shumer Wexler & Goodman LLP lawyer Heath Berger, who represents Giuliani in the bankruptcy case.
Berger said there is “no pot of gold at the end of the day,” in reference to the would-be transfers, Bloomberg Law reports.
Dublin, undeterred, also raised concerns that Giuliani might have made “significant” overstatements and understatements about the value of his assets, according to the courtroom report.
Giuliani has estimated that his Upper East Side apartment is worth $5.6 million; he claims his Palm Beach home is worth $3.5 million. There are various entries for personal property, including a $25,000 Mercedes, a $2,500 “Television,” and nearly $60,000 worth of personal effects, jewelry (including three Yankees World Series rings), clothing, furniture, and other household goods.
Then there are the unknowns. Giuliani owns a certain number of Uber shares — which would seemingly be easy enough to estimate. But the space for the value of those shares reads: “Unknown.”
Another “Unknown” entry is the value of a signed picture of Reggie Jackson, a signed picture of Yankee Stadium, and the crowned jewel of his Bronx Bombers collection: a signed “Joe DiMaggio” shirt.
There are also three incorporated companies owned entirely by Giuliani. The value of those companies is listed as “Unknown.”
The creditors committee wants the court to hire an accounting firm to interrogate those claims and others, Dublin reportedly said, previewing a likely in-the-works formal request. The creditors’ attorney also hinted at an argument that some of Giuliani’s debts might not qualify for bankruptcy forgiveness.
“Whether there’s a pot of gold here remains to be seen,” Dublin reportedly said.
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