Current:Home > InvestAlex Jones spent over $93,000 in July. Sandy Hook families who sued him have yet to see a dime -TradeWisdom
Alex Jones spent over $93,000 in July. Sandy Hook families who sued him have yet to see a dime
View
Date:2025-04-16 08:30:11
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Alex Jones’ personal spending is frustrating families who are trying to collect on the $1.5 billion in judgments against him for calling the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting a hoax.
The conspiracy theorist and Infowars host has been paying his own wife, Erika Wulff Jones, $15,000 a month, according to the most recent spending report he filed in his bankruptcy case — payouts called “fraudulent transfers” by lawyers for some of the shooting victims’ families. Jones says they’re required under a prenuptial agreement.
In July, Jones spent $7,900 on housekeeping. He dished out more than $6,300 for meals and entertainment, not including groceries, which totaled nearly $3,400 — or roughly $850 per week.
A second home, his Texas lake house, cost him nearly $6,700 that month, including maintenance and property taxes, while his vehicles and boats sapped another $5,600, including insurance, maintenance and fuel.
His total personal expenses for July topped $93,000, up from nearly $75,000 in April, not including legal fees and other costs for his court cases, according to bankruptcy filings.
“It is disturbing that Alex Jones continues to spend money on excessive household expenditures and his extravagant lifestyle when that money rightfully belongs to the families he spent years tormenting,” said Christopher Mattei, a Connecticut lawyer for the families. “The families are increasingly concerned and will continue to contest these matters in court.”
In an Aug. 29 court filing, the lawyers for the families said that if Jones doesn’t reduce his personal expenses to a “reasonable” level, they will ask the judge to bar him from “further waste of estate assets,” appoint a trustee to oversee his spending, or dismiss the bankruptcy case.
On his Infowars show Tuesday, Jones said he’s not doing anything wrong.
“If anything, I like to go to nice restaurants. That is my deal. I like to go on a couple of nice vacations a year, but I think I pretty much have earned that in this fight,” he said, urging his audience to donate money for his legal expenses.
Sandy Hook families won nearly the $1.5 billion in judgments against Jones last year in lawsuits over repeated promotion of a false theory that the school shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, never happened.
Relatives of the victims testified at the trials about being harassed and threatened by Jones’ believers, who sent threats and even confronted the grieving families in person, accusing them of being “crisis actors” whose children never existed.
Collecting the astronomical sum, though, is proving to be a long battle.
When Jones filed for bankruptcy, it put a hold on the families’ efforts to collect the $1.5 billion in state courts as a federal bankruptcy court judge decides how much money Jones can actually pay his creditors.
Lawyers for the families have said in court that it has been difficult for them to track Jones’ finances because of the numerous companies he owns and multiple deals among those corporate entities.
Meanwhile, Jones is still broadcasting. He and his media company, Free Speech Systems, are seeking court approval for a new contract that would pay him $1.5 million a year plus incentive bonuses, up from his current $520,000-a-year salary. The company also filed for bankruptcy protection last year.
On Infowars, Jones said Tuesday that he is more than $1 million in debt. If he gets the salary increase, he said, he would be left with about $300,000 a year after paying his legal bills.
“With all my expenses and things, that’s nothing,” he said. “And I don’t care about that. I’m wearing a shirt I bought, like, eight years ago, and I love it to death.”
Financial documents filed by Jones and his bankruptcy lawyers say his personal net worth is around $14 million. His assets include a home worth $2.6 million, a $2.2 million ranch, a $1.8 million lake house, a $500,000 rental property, and four vehicles and two boats worth more than $330,000 in total. Jones had nearly $800,000 in his bank accounts on July 31, court documents show.
Free Speech Systems, meanwhile, continues to rake in cash from the sale nutritional supplements, survival supplies and other merchandise that Jones hawks on Infowars, bringing in nearly $2.5 million in revenue in July alone, according to Jones’ financial reports, which he signed under penalty of perjury. The company’s expenses totaled about $2.4 million that month.
Meanwhile, some of the Sandy Hook families have another pending lawsuit claiming Jones hid millions of dollars in an attempt to protect his wealth. One of Jones’ lawyers has called the allegations “ridiculous.”
Jones, who is appealing the $1.5 billion in lawsuit awards against him, sat for a deposition in his bankruptcy case Tuesday and Wednesday in his hometown of Austin, Texas, where Infowars is based.
On his show Tuesday, he denied financial wrongdoing.
“I’m not Lex Luthor ... when it comes to finances and life,” he said. “I mean, I’m a straight-up guy. I’m a do-good in Mayberry RFD.”
veryGood! (5146)
Related
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- 27 Non-Alcoholic Beverages For Refreshing Spring & Summer Mocktails
- Enrique Iglesias Reveals Anna Kournikova’s Reaction to Him Kissing Fans
- Ivey signs bill putting response deadlines in state’s weak open records law
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- US tornado activity ramps up: Hundreds of twisters reported in April, May
- Lionel Messi’s historic napkin deal with FC Barcelona on auction starting at nearly $275k
- Homeless woman was living inside Michigan rooftop store sign with computer and coffee maker
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Judge indefinitely delays Trump classified documents trial
Ranking
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Idaho Murder Case: Former Roommate Reveals Final Text Sent to Victim Madison Mogen
- North West joins cast of Disney's 'The Lion King' live concert
- No shade, no water, no breaks: DeSantis' new law threatens Florida outdoor worker health
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Cardi B Responds to Criticism After Referring to Met Gala Designer Sensen Lii By Race Instead of Name
- Missouri’s GOP Gov. Mike Parson signs law expanding voucher-like K-12 scholarships
- Israel tank unit takes control of Gaza side of Rafah border crossing as Netanyahu rejects cease-fire proposal
Recommendation
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Jodie Turner-Smith Explains How Met Gala Dress Served as “Clean Start” After Joshua Jackson Split
You have a week to file your 2020 tax return before $1 billion in refunds are lost forever
Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava Steps Down Days After Miss USA Relinquishes Title
Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
Brian Kelly says LSU won't buy transfers, but long-term plan has Tigers short-handed this season
Whistleblower speaks out on quality issues at Boeing supplier: It was just a matter of time before something bad happened
The Best Suits for Women That’ll Make Going Into the Office During the Summer a Little More Bearable