Alex Jones allegedly hiding money to avoid paying up to Sandy Hook victims' families
Austin, Texas - Alex Jones appears to be transferring money to family and friends to avoid paying out around $1.5 billion to the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.
Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in legal damages after several families of Sandy Hook victims sued him for repeatedly claiming on his show, InfoWars, that the shooting was staged by the US government and that the victims and families were "crisis actors."
The far-right conspiracy theorist and InfoWars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy, listing the Sandy Hook parents as creditors.
"I’m officially out of money, personally," the disgraced InfoWars host said at the time, according to the Associated Press. "It’s all going to be filed. It’s all going to be public. And you will see that Alex Jones has almost no cash."
The families behind the lawsuit had already accused Jones of hiding his assets while claiming bankruptcy.
Now, a New York Times investigation has revealed that Jones seems to be transferring assets worth millions to family and friends in an apparent effort to avoid paying the full damages he owes.
Alex Jones makes shady financial deals while claiming bankruptcy
Jones indicated to a Texas bankruptcy court in January that he has only $5.6 million in total assets – a sum seemingly far below his actual wealth, based on New York Times reporting.
The investigation found that Free Speech Systems has already transferred tens of thousands of dollars to another company Jones owns with his parents. He has also transferred his $3-million, 5,400-square-foot estate in Austin to his wife, Erika Wulff Jones.
Jones has reportedly also started new business partnerships with his friends' companies.
The large transfers come in addition to the around $80,000 Jones spent on a private jet, security, and a villa while testifying in Connecticut last year.
All in all, the value of Jones' property is estimated at around $10 million and his monthly income at $129,000, according to a financial statement from last month reviewed by the New York Times.
InfoWars continues in operation and is still making money, while Sandy Hook parents are unsure whether they will ever receive the full amount they are owed.
The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School took the lives of 26 people, 20 of whom were young children. Parents of victims have said Jones' damaging rhetoric led to death threats against them and their surviving children.
Cover photo: Joe Buglewicz / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP