Alex Jones allegedly hid funds to avoid $1.5 billion payment to Sandy Hook families | Filming in Newtown

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones appears to be funneling his money to friends and family in a bid to avoid paying nearly $1.5 billion in damages to families of school shooting victims Sandy Hook primary in 2012, reveals a new report.

Last year, Jones was ordered to pay the huge damages following his years-long claims on his Infowars digital platform that the mass shooting was a government-organized hoax to take guns away from Americans.

According to a recent New York Times investigation of Jones’ financial and legal records, the far-right broadcast agitator moved assets worth millions of dollars out of the reach of creditors amid lawsuits filed by the Sandy Hook families as well as legal penalties have accrued against him over the past. years.

In a series of maneuvers to avoid paying damages, Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, as well as Jones himself, filed for bankruptcy last year.

“I’m officially out of cash, personally,” Jones said on Infowars in December. “Everything will be filed. Everything will be public. And you will see that Alex Jones has almost no money,” reports the Associated Press, according to Jones.

However, the new New York Times investigation found that in addition to Jones spending $80,000 on a private jet, security and a villa while in Connecticut last year to testify at trial, he also appeared to have embezzled his money for various entities.

The report revealed that in October 2021, Jones struck a business deal with Auriam Services, a month-long venture founded by lifestyle blogger Anthony Gucciardi, a friend of Jones. According to the report, Auriam Services was to operate as a credit card processing intermediary.

Then, in February 2022, Jones transferred his $3 million estate in Austin, Texas to his wife, Erika Wulff Jones. The estate spans over 5,400 square feet and has four bedrooms and five bathrooms, plus a swimming pool and spa.

The investigation also revealed that Jones had signed a contract last July with Blue Ascension, a new company founded a few months earlier by Patrick Riley, Jones’ former personal trainer and assistant. That same month, Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy.

In response, the victims’ families filed a lawsuit claiming Jones fraudulently misappropriated his money from creditors, including transferring $11,000 a day to $11,000 a week and “up to 80% of his money.” [diet] supplement sales” to PQPR, a company controlled by Jones and his parents, reports The New York Times.

In January, Jones submitted a personal statement to a Texas bankruptcy court, which The New York Times reviewed. The sheet said Jones only had about $5.6 million in total assets.

However, a financial statement submitted by Jones’ lawyers last month, which was preceded by “five pages of disclaimers” stating that Jones did not know exactly where he had bank accounts, indicated that Jones had much more money. ‘money.

According to documents reviewed by The New York Times, Jones’ property was revealed to be valued at a total of $10 million. He also said his reported monthly income was $129,000, including $104,000 from undisclosed sources.

Last month, Jones remained adamant about sticking with his platform and his business, saying on his podcast, “If anyone thinks they’re shutting me down, they’re wrong,” The New York Times reported.

Although they received nearly $1.5 billion in damages, the families of Sandy Hook do not know if they will receive the full amount.

“There’s a chance we’re forced into a situation where we’re going to check how Infowars is doing every month to see if our customers are getting paid or not,” said Mark Bankston, one of the families. “, the lawyers told the outlet.

Earlier this month, Free Speech Systems proposed a bankruptcy plan that would pay Jones an annual salary of $520,000 and leave $7 million to $10 million annually to pay creditors, including victims’ families.