Alex Jones has been accused of hiding millions of dollars in an attempt to avoid paying damages to the families of victims of the Sandy Hook massacre who were terrorised for years because of his lies.
The families of nine victims killed in the 2012 mass shooting filed new court documents on Thursday alleging that the far-right conspiracy theorist “systematically transferred millions of dollars” to himself, his relatives and companies that he owns – all the while claiming he was bankrupt and unable to pay his debts.
In the filing, the families say Mr Jones claimed that his company Free Speech Systems – the parent company of his conspiracy theorist website and radio show Infowars – owes an “enormous debt” of more than $50m to a company called PQPR Holdings.
But, according to the filing, the company is owned by Mr Jones’ parents and 72 per cent of the payments to the firm actually go to Mr Jones and his family.
In the summer of 2021 – when Mr Jones lost lawsuits brought by families in both Texas and Connecticut – he allegedly siphoned off between $11,000 a day and $11,000 a week from Free Speech Systems to PQPR, the court filing claims.
During the lawsuits, up to $62m has been transferred from Free Speech Systems, the families claim.
“Since the Sandy Hook Families filed their lawsuits, the Debtor has systematically transferred millions of dollars to Alex Jones and his relatives and insider entities,” the filing reads.
“It claims to owe a massive, secured debt to an insider that was first documented as a loan when the Sandy Hook Families were securing key wins in Connecticut and Texas, but no records show that an actual debt existed before the Sandy Hook Families sued.”
The court document states: “There are no honest debtors here.”
The families allege that this is all part of “Jones’s plan to avoid compensating the Sandy Hook Families” over the multiple lawsuits he has lost.
They are asking the federal bankruptcy court judge to order Mr Jones to relinquish control of Free Speech Systems, arguing that as long as the right-wing extremist continues to own and run the company “the Sandy Hook Families’ prospects of a full and fair recovery remain in jeopardy”.
They are also calling for the judge to appoint an independent committee to investigate Mr Jones and his company’s conduct and operations.
The filing marks the latest legal wrangling between the conspiracy theorist and the families of the victims of the 2012 massacre, as Mr Jones has repeatedly taken steps – including filing for bankruptcy twice – in an effort to avoid paying damages.
Earlier this month, Mr Jones was ordered to pay $4.11m in compensatory damages and $45.2m in punitive damages to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of six-year-old son Jesse Lewis.
Jesse was one of 20 students aged just six and seven years old and six staff members murdered in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on 14 December 2012.
Almost immediately after the massacre, the far-right conspiracy theorist began spouting false claims through Infowars that the mass shooting was “a giant hoax” and that the victims were “actors”.
He continued to push the lies to his followers for years claiming it was a “false flag” operation. During the defamation trial, Mr Jones admitted that the massacre was real.
While Mr Jones profited financially from spreading his lies, the victims’ families were subjected to years of in-person and online harassment and threats from his followers.
The legal battle rumbled on for more than a decade after the massacre, as Mr Jones repeatedly tried to hold up proceedings and filed for bankruptcy in an effort to avoid paying damages.
In April, he filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Texas for Infowars and two other entities he owns, claiming liabilities of as much as $10m each. The filings enable a business to keep operating while it prepares a turnaround plan and also pauses civil litigation.
Mr Jones made the filing just one week before jury selection was scheduled to begin in Austin.
Attorneys for the families of the Sandy Hook victims accused the right-wing extremist of making the move in an attempt to try to hide millions of dollars in assets and avoid paying out for the torment he has put them through.
In June, a federal judge in Texas tossed the bankruptcy protection case after attorneys for Mr Jones and the Sandy Hook families reached a deal to drop his three companies from the defamation lawsuits in exchange for the suits continuing. Mr Jones then filed for bankruptcy for a second time in the middle of the trial.
On 29 July, Free Speech Systems filed a petition for a special form of bankruptcy under Chapter 11.
Two weeks later, the company filed an emergency motion asking the bankruptcy court to allow it to use extra cash to meet increased costs for fulfilling orders, following a surge in sales since the start of his trial.
The documents revealed that Free Speech Systems made $962,000 in sales in the week ending 29 July – a huge spike in sales from what Mr Jones claimed it made before the trial.
As scrutiny ramps up over his finances, Mr Jones is still set to face trial in two other defamation cases brought by the families of Sandy Hook victims. One is slated for the same Travis County courtroom and another in Connecticut.
His lawyers have already indicated they intend to pause proceedings pending the bankruptcy filing.
