Alex Jones accused of hiding money from Sandy Hook families in bankruptcy case

HOUSTON - The trustee in conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' bankruptcy case is accusing the Infowars host of trying to shield millions of dollars in assets from creditors, including families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

U.S. bankruptcy trustee Christopher Murray filed three lawsuits in federal bankruptcy court in Texas on Friday alleging Jones fraudulently transferred around $5 million in cash, cars and property to family members.

Improper money and property transfers

In the filings, Murray accuses Jones of transferring money and assets through various trusts and companies to his wife, Erika, and his father, David Jones.

What they're saying:

In court filings, Murray alleges that Jones "understood he was facing massive liabilities and he went to extraordinary lengths to try to keep his non-exempt assets for himself, including sham transactions to transfer assets into entities that he believed would be beyond the reach of creditors."

Murray called the moves "textbook fraudulent transfers" from Jones to his wife and father.

Court documents allege Jones "intentional and planned asset protection scheme" prior to filing for personal bankruptcy in December 2022.

The other side:

Jones addressed the new lawsuits on his show Saturday, claiming that "the only way they get at me is my family" saying it's "open season on me and my family."

Jones then expressed frustration at Murray for naming his father in the recent lawsuit, claiming David Jones is seriously ill.

"Now they're going to depose him and all of it and come after him," Jones said. "If you think that moves the needle on me, you are gravely mistaken."

The lawsuits accuse Jones of transferring $1.5 million in cash to his wife over a premarital agreement that Murray says was never ratified.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Jones' wife called the lawsuits "pure harassment."

Court documents also claim Jones sold part of a Texas ranch to his father for $10 and then back-dated papers to make it appear like it happened years prior to make it safe from collection. 

He's also accused of paying more than $500,000 in cash to his father and claiming they were "reimbursments" and gifting three luxury vehicles in such a way that Jones "did not even know which luxury cars he had conveyed to his father until more than a year into his bankruptcy case."

Sandy Hook settlement

The backstory:

Alex Jones declared bankruptcy and was forced to liquidate his assets after he was ordered to pay $1.4 billion to the families of victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Jones called the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six educators a hoax. He has since acknowledged the shooting happened.

A judge found Jones liable for defamation and emotional distress. All proceeds from the liquidation would go to Jones' creditors, which include the Sandy Hook families.

Jones is appealing the $1.5 billion ruling, citing free speech rights.

Sale of Infowars and Free Speech Systems

Dig deeper:

After the Sandy Hook judgment, Jones' companies, Infowars and Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy and were ordered to be auctioned off.

In November 2024, Infowars was purchased by satirical newspaper The Onion who said it planned to use the platform to promote gun violence prevention.

The live auction was held for the intellectual properties owned by Free Speech Systems Media Holdings, which includes Infowars, its production rights, archives and social media accounts.

The auction also packaged the Infowars store to include its web domain, trademarks, contracts, e-commerce platform and customer lists. Jones' store sells supplements and apparel.

Proceeds of the auction were supposed to go towards paying the families.

However, a week later, a bankruptcy judge ordered a new hearing over the auction.

Jones claimed The Onion colluded with some of the families and a court-appointed trustee overseeing the liquidation process.

The other bidder, First United American Companies, runs a website affiliated with Jones that sells nutritional supplements.

First United American Companies offered $3.5 million, while The Onion offered $1.75 million in cash. The humor sites' bid also included a pledge to Sandy Hook families to forgo some or all of the auction proceeds due to them to give other creditors a total of $100,000 more than they would receive under other bids.

Court-appointed trustee Christopher Murray says the provisions made the lower bid more beneficial to the creditors.

Jones alleges the bid violated the rules of the auction and says Murray canceled an expected round of live bidding.

Following a two-day hearing in Houston in December, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said he would not approve the sale, while citing concerns about transparency in the auction.

Lopez cited problems — but no wrongdoing — with the auction process. He said he did not think that those involved in the auction acted in bad faith and that everyone "put their best foot forward and tried to play within the rules."

Austin