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Sandy Hook families who won nearly $1.5 billion in legal judgments against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for calling the 2012 Connecticut school shooting a hoax have offered to settle that debt for only pennies on the dollar — at least $85 million over 10 years. His time is up," lawyers for the Sandy Hook families wrote. But this month, a court-appointed restructuring officer upped Jones' pay to about $57,700 biweekly, or $1.5 million a year, saying he has been “grossly” underpaid for how vital he is to the media company. If Jones doesn't accept the families' offer, Lopez would determine how much he would pay the families and other creditors. Relatives, of many but not all, of the Sandy Hook victims sued Jones in Connecticut and Texas, winning nearly $1.5 billion in judgments against him.

Persons: Sandy Hook, Alex Jones, Jones, “ Jones, Vickie Driver, ”, Christopher Lopez, Lopez, Jones ’ Organizations: Free Speech Systems, Speech Systems, Monday, Sandy Hook Elementary Locations: Connecticut, Houston, Sandy, Newtown , Connecticut, Texas

Since Jones and his company are bankrupt, the trials would not normally be allowed to proceed without bankruptcy court permission. Jones has said that he can not afford to pay the Sandy Hook defamation judgments, and is attempting to resolve all legal claims against him through a settlement in bankruptcy. Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose six-year-old son Noah was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, would proceed to trial in October. Without a placeholder value, the Texas defamation claims could be given far less weight than the defamation claims that have already resulted in $1.5 billion in verdicts, according to Jones’ court filings. The case is Alex Jones, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, No.

Persons: Sandy Hook, Alex Jones, Jones, Christopher Lopez, Lopez, Sandy, Leonard Pozner, Veronique De La Rosa, Noah, De, De La Rosa, Marcel Fontaine, Fontaine, De La, Fontaine's, Jennifer Hardy, Vickie Driver, Crowe, Ray Battaglia, Pozner, Willkie Farr, Gallagher Read, Dietrich Knauth Organizations: U.S, Speech Systems, De La, CNN, Bankruptcy, Southern, Southern District of, Dunlevy, Systems, Thomson Locations: U.S, Houston, Newtown , Connecticut, Texas, Parkland , Florida, Southern District, Southern District of Texas

NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - The families of Sandy Hook victims are preparing to sue Alex Jones' wife and other family members to help satisfy $1.5 billion in judgments they won from lawsuits against the bankrupt right wing conspiracy theorist over his lies about the deadly 2012 U.S. school massacre. The families have a "very strong case" to claw back certain payments to Jones' family, including a $1 million payment from Jones to his wife, Zensky said. "You can imagine that if someone was to sue their wife over transfers, that's a little hard in the home," Driver said. The families have accused Jones and FSS of profiting off lies about the shooting for years and sued him for defamation. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez, who is overseeing the bankruptcies, said Jones and the Sandy Hook families should make one last effort to reach a settlement.

The Sandy Hook families said that they need specialized assistance to review Jones' assets, income, and ability to pay those verdicts. Jones filed preliminary financial statements earlier in February, but listed several trusts that held unknown assets. Jones filed for personal bankruptcy in December, saying he could afford to pay less than 1% of the judgments handed down in two Sandy Hook defamation trials. Lopez will decide in March if Jones has to face a third Sandy Hook defamation trial. The Sandy Hook families have expressed concern that Jones is using bankruptcy to limit payments on the defamation judgments while attempting to collect income outside of the bankruptcy court's oversight.

It would be the third defamation trial against Jones and his company Free Speech Systems, after two previous ones found Jones and FSS liable for a combined $1.5 billion in damages. A Texas court previously found them liable and the proposed trial would determine how much Jones owes the parents. He estimated a two-week trial would cost $600,000, reducing the amount of money available to pay Pozner, De La Rosa and other Sandy Hook parents with legal claims against him. Jones filed for personal bankruptcy in December after those two trials concluded, saying he could afford to pay less than 1% of the Sandy Hook defamation judgments. Sandy Hook parents raised concerns at Tuesday's hearing about Jones's recent recording of a podcast similar to his Alex Jones Show in a new studio space and under a brand not affiliated with FSS.

Companies Free Speech Systems, Llc FollowDec 19 (Reuters) - Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Monday asked a judge to allow him to take a $1.3 million annual salary from the bankrupt parent company of his Infowars' website. Jones drew a $1.3 million salary from Free Speech Systems before its bankruptcy, and his attorney asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez to restore his salary to that level at a hearing Monday. Free Speech System's monthly revenue has dropped to $1.9 million from pre-bankruptcy levels of $6 million to $7 million, attorneys from the company said, adding that it currently has about $1.8 million in cash. Marty Brimmage, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families, opposed Jones' request for an increased salary. Lopez said he is "open to increasing" Jones' pay but did not have enough evidence to make a ruling yet.

☆ Alex Jones, who mocked Sandy Hook families and swore they'd never be paid, says he has less than 1% of what he owes them
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Alex Jones owes families of the Sandy Hook shooting nearly $1.5 billion after two trials. Jones was ordered to pay the damages to the families of the Sandy Hook victims following a series of defamation trials this year. InfoWars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, declared bankruptcy over the summer, and Jones declared personal bankruptcy in a Texas court filing last month. In the first hearing of Jones' bankruptcy in the court on Wednesday, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families questioned whether Jones was lying about his finances. The conspiracy theorist spent years pushing false theories about the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, in which 20 first graders and six adults were killed.

In the first hearing of Jones' bankruptcy in a Houston court, his attorney Vickie Driver said Jones wanted to settle with the Sandy Hook families. They won $1.5 billion in defamation trials over Jones' lies about the 2012 school shooting. David Zensky, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families, said Jones lied for years about the Sandy Hook shooting and concealed information about his companies InfoWars and Free Speech Systems. InfoWars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, which is owned by Jones, filed for bankruptcy in July, before courts in Texas and Connecticut determined the amount of Jones' liability for the Sandy Hook defamation claims. Jones has said that he will appeal the Sandy Hook verdicts if he is unable to reach a settlement in bankruptcy.

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