Alex Jones has been accused of funneling millions of dollars to himself and his relatives while claiming bankruptcy in a bid to avoid compensating families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
The families of nine Sandy Hook victims filed a motion on Thursday in a federal bankruptcy court in Houston, requesting that Jones give up control of Free Speech Systems, the parent company of his far-right, conspiracy website Infowars.
The bombastic internet personality previously used the platform to declare the 2012 massacre a hoax involving crisis actors, triggering a series of defamation lawsuits filed by those impacted by the school shooting.
A total of 26 people, 20 elementary school students and six teachers or administrators, were killed during the violence inside the school in Newtown, Connecticut.
“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 families have also asked that the court appoint a committee to investigate Jones and the company’s conduct to “ensure transparency, accountability and maximize the Debtor’s Estate for all creditors.”
Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy last month, citing its $54 million debt to a company called PQPR, which is owned by Jones’ parents. According to the court filing, approximately 72% of payments to PQPR go to Jones while the rest goes to his mother and father.
In the summer of 2021, after default judgments were entered in Sandy Hook families’ lawsuits in Texas and then in Connecticut, Free Speech Systems was allegedly siphoning anywhere between $11,000 a day and $11,000 a week to PQPR, according to the court filing.
In total, Jones has allegedly transferred between $18 million and $62 million from Free Speech Systems amid the Sandy Hook suits.
Earlier this month, a jury Texas jury ordered Jones to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook, and another $4.1 million in compensatory damages.
His attorneys have said they plan to appeal.
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