A federal judge in New York has ordered former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to turn over his luxury Manhattan apartment and many of his valuables to the two Georgia election workers he defamed.
In a decision released Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ordered Giuliani, a longtime ally and former lawyer of former President Donald Trump, to transfer personal property “including cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid legal fees, etc.” convert his interest in his co-op apartment on Madison Avenue into receivership within seven days.
Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss filed a lawsuit in August to seize Giuliani's assets to begin collecting the $146 million in damages they were awarded last year after a judge accused Giuliani of repeated defamation had been held liable. Giuliani falsely accused the couple of voter fraud after the 2020 presidential election.
The judge granted the mother and daughter the right to use a receiver to sell Giuliani's assets “to ensure that the liquidation of the transferred assets is carried out expeditiously” while “maximizing and thereby increasing the sale value of the unique and intangible items.” becomes”. Likelihood that plaintiffs’ judgment will be satisfied.”
Items to be turned over include Giuliani's apartment, valued at $5.7 million; his collection of luxury watches, including watches given to him by his grandfather and the French president; a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey; a signed Reggie Jackson picture; and a 1980 Mercedes-Benz previously owned by actress Lauren Bacall.
Some items that were not included in the decision include his three New York Yankees World Series rings, as his son Andrew Giuliani has claimed that his father gave him the rings. The judge said Andrew Giuliani's claim — and Freeman and Moss's claim to Giuliani's Florida condo — would be decided later.
The unpaid legal fee Liman mentions relates to $2 million that Giuliani says the Trump campaign owes him for its efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
During this time, Giuliani began repeatedly accusing Freeman and Moss of voter fraud following Trump's loss in Georgia. He also distributed a short, heavily edited clip of security video in which he told a Georgia legislative committee how they passed USB sticks “like vials of heroin or cocaine” during vote counting. Moss said the “USB drive” was actually a ginger mint.
The state's election officials at the time said the couple had done nothing wrong, and an investigation by the Georgia State Election Board found the allegations to be “baseless and without merit.”
Giuliani still has not denied the claims, which the women say led to harassment and numerous racist and violent death threats and ultimately forced them to quit their jobs. A judge found Giuliani liable for defamation of the couple after he repeatedly defied court orders to turn over necessary evidence to Freeman and Moss.
A jury awarded the couple the large cash award in December, but their efforts to collect it failed for months after Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection. A bankruptcy judge dismissed Giuliani's lawsuit in August, saying he failed to share information about his businesses while also providing incomplete or false information about his personal expenses.
An attorney for Freeman and Moss, Aaron Nathan of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, praised the judge's decision Tuesday.
“We are proud that our clients will finally receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani’s actions,” Nathan said, adding: “The outcome should send a strong message that those who choose to do so should Price to pay.” intentionally spreading disinformation.”
Ted Goodman, a representative for Giuliani, said in a statement that the court order “forces the mayor to forgo deeply personal possessions, including gifts from his children and close family friends.”
“They are trying to take everything from him, including a personal gift from his childhood hero Joe DiMaggio and a gift from the first soldiers to enter Afghanistan after 9/11,” Goodman said.
He added that the order also restricts access to Giuliani's bank accounts and credit cards, calling it “a failed attempt to destroy his highly successful two-hour livestream program on X and his other social media platforms.”
Giuliani “trusts that justice will prevail in the end and that he will be fully vindicated, just as he has in countless other situations,” Goodman said.
Giuliani's pro-Trump efforts also resulted in his law licenses being revoked in New York and Washington, D.C., and his indictment in criminal cases in Arizona and Georgia. He pleaded not guilty in both cases.