Alex Jones is unquestionably a controversial figure. His Infowars media platform has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories that include suggesting that the Sandy Hook massacre was a staged event to ruminations that chemicals in our water supply were turning frogs gay. For a while – and even now – his business amassed millions of followers and made him rich. That didn’t last. Infowars, to the relief of many, is facing bankruptcy. But, no surprise, Jones is creating even more controversy. He’s doing this by attempting to subvert new bankruptcy laws that were enacted to help small businesses.
The new bankruptcy law is commonly referred to as “subchapter V” because of its place under the chapter 11 rules of the US bankruptcy code. It was enacted by Congress as part of the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 and went into effect in February 2020. The purpose of the law was to make it easier for struggling businesses to get more affordable protection while reorganizing themselves. It applies to business owners who have debts of up to $2.75m (excluding debts owed to affiliates or insiders, a consideration that will be important to this story) and where less than 50% of the debts arose because of the commercial or business activities of the debtor, or business owner.
