Jones to sell Texas ranch to pay lawyers, Sandy Hook families
Alex Jones has a buyer for his 127-acre game range in Texas that Jones wants to sell to pay lawyers in his ongoing bankruptcy fight, promising any sale money left after legal bills would go to Sandy Hook families who won defamation judgments against him of $1.5 billion.
“It will not only bring in slightly in excess of $2.7 million in net proceeds to the estate, but it also liquidates a nonexempt asset and eliminates the need to maintain or insure the property,” Jones’ lawyers write to the judge in federal bankruptcy court in Texas, where Jones and his Infowars merchandising broadcast business is headquartered. “In addition, it provides liquidity to his estate for administrative expenses, and if it is more than those, cash for making the initial payment to (Sandy Hook families) under a confirmed plan in this case.”
Translation: federal bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez should approve the ranch sale at a May 21 hearing to give Jones access to cash to continue his 17-month Chapter 11 fight, according to his attorneys.
Lawyers for the Sandy Hook families who filed successful defamation lawsuits against Jones in Texas and Connecticut for claiming that the 2012 massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School was “staged,” “synthetic,” “manufactured,” “a giant hoax,” and “completely fake with actors” did not object to Jones asking the court’s permission to put the ranch on the market in January, and the lawyers had not filed an objection to the sale as of late Wednesday afternoon.
Jones’ lawyers made it clear to the judge that if the ranch sale is approved, Jones will not have direct access to the money, except as far as he is allowed to pay his legal costs.
“The net proceeds of this sale, after payment of reasonable costs attributable to (Jones) as seller and estimated taxes to the Internal Revenue Service attributable to the gain realized, shall be deposited into an escrow account,” Jones’ lawyers wrote.
The lawyers are referring to a ranch halfway between San Antonio and Jones’ hometown of Austin, described in a real estate listing as a “great recreational or livestock ranch” with “fertile soil and working pens” and “wildlife that inhabit the area” including “whitetail deer, feral hogs, wild turkey and numerous other native wildlife and birds.” With access to the San Marcos River, Jones’ ranch is described as a “great recreational opportunity for birding, fishing, swimming, kayaking, camping and hunting,” and includes a “rustic cabin” and a shooting range.
The deal to sell the game ranch follows a December ruling by the judge allowing Jones to sell furnishings in his properties and in storage, including gym equipment, jewelry, SUVs, boats, and 49 used pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns.
Also in December, the judge authorized Jones to put a $1.75 million lake house property he owns in Austin on the market. Jones has not proposed to sell his $3.25 million home or a $500,000 rental unit he owns, court records show.
If the real estate and personal property Jones is selling sounds like a lot money, it isn’t compared to the hundreds of millions he owes Sandy Hook families that he will never be able to pay.
Moreover, Jones’ estate is a fraction of what it was thought to be before Sandy Hook families’ defamation cases prevailed in court. Jones’ bankruptcy filings show his estate is worth no more than $15 million — a far cry from the $270 million he was thought to have accumulated by an economist who testified during a Sandy Hook defamation awards trial in 2022.
Jones’ bankruptcy case made headlines in February when the families’ plans to liquidate Jones’ estate moved forward. Jones has counter-offered a plan that would pay Sandy Hook families a total of $55 million over 10 years — a plan the families reject.
The same judge who will hear arguments for allowing the sale of Jones’ ranch on May 21 will also conduct what’s known as a status conference to gauge whether the two sides are making progress agreeing on a single plan to satisfy Jones’ unpayable debt to the families.
At the same time, appellate courts in Texas and Connecticut are yet to rule on Jones’ appeals of the defamation verdicts.