You may wonder if Infowars host Alex Jones, (“Jones”) has hidden his money or other assets. An expert in a lawsuit against Jones apparently claimed Jones and his Free Speech Systems company were worth as much as $270 million. Meanwhile, Jones reportedly said on his Infowars show he is worth less than $2 million. He also supposedly laughed at the nearly $150 billion in judgments he faces.1 The Court awarded the judgments to relatives of the children massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School (hereinafter “the Sandy Hook plaintiffs”). The Court did this because Jones had spread reprehensible conspiracy theories about the massacred children. Besides discussing the Sandy Hook plaintiffs, this post also briefly mentions Jones’ 2013 divorce from Kelly Jones.

I. Did Alex Jones Hide Money Via Shell Companies?

Although shell companies have legitimate uses, they sometimes raise a red flag that a business or individual is concealing assets. This is true because the true beneficial owner of an asset can form a shell company and misuse the shell company to hide assets. For instance in some jurisdictions, the true beneficial owner can establish a shell company without supplying information as basic as who its directors, officers and / or shareholders are. Even if this information is disclosed, the identity of the shell company’s true beneficial owner may be concealed. Then, the true beneficial owner can employ the shell company with anonymity— to open bank accounts, purchase fine art, real estate &/or other assets.

Therefore, the Sandy Hook plaintiffs would want to determine if Jones was the true beneficial owner of any shell companies. My search at Corporationwiki.com reveals Jones may be related to 13 business entities. These business entities are listed below and some of them could be shell companies:

  1. Free Speech Systems, LLC
  2. Pqpr Holdings Limited, LLC
  3. Jones Productions, LLC
  4. Infowars, LLC
  5. Pljr Holdings, LLC
  6. Planet infowars, LLC
  7. Jones Report, LLC
  8. Austin Shiprock Publishing, LLC
  9. Infowars Health, LLC
  10. Aej Austin Holdings, LLC
  11. End Hate Now LLC
  12. Prison Planet TV, LLC
  13. A. Emric Productions, LLC

II. Did Jones Use Fraudulent Transfers To Hide Assets?

When someone transfers assets beyond the reach of a creditor, it can be a fraudulent transfer (a.k.a fraudulent conveyance). Creditors injured by a fraudulent transfer may be a wide variety of persons and / or entities, ranging from divorcing spouses to the IRS. In court, creditors prove a fraudulent transfer occurred by showing badges of fraud were present at the time of the transfer. Just some of these badges are: the transfer was between related parties; the transfer was made in anticipation of litigation; the transferee gave inadequate consideration for the transfer; etc. According to a November 21st Washington Post article, Jones transferred millions of dollars, “potentially… out of reach of the Sandy Hook plaintiffs”:

As the potential for damages mounted, Jones began moving millions of dollars out of his company, Free Speech Systems, and into companies controlled by himself, friends or relatives, according to a Washington Post review of financial statements, depositions and other court records. The transfers potentially put those funds out of reach of the Sandy Hook plaintiffs [emphasis added].

The Washington Post, November 21, 2022 article “Sandy Hook families sued Alex Jones. Then he started moving money around.”

If the Washington Post’s above-quoted factual allegations are true, then the Washington Post basically raised the question: Had Jones engaged in fraudulent transfers to hinder the Sandy Hook plaintiffs from collecting on their $150 billion judgment? The November 21st Washington Post article also seemed to raise the question of whether Jones placed money out of reach of his ex-wife Kelly Jones, during the couple’s divorce in 2013. The November 21st Washington Post article alleged “the flows of money around Free Speech Systems…echoed financial moves Jones made almost a decade earlier, when divorce proceedings [with Kelly Jones] jeopardized his fortune (emphasis added).”

III. Did Jones Conceal Assets By Using Nominees?

“A nominee is one who holds bare legal title to property for the benefit of another.”  In re Callahan, 442 B.R. 1, 7 (D. Mass. 2010) (citing Black’s Law Dictionary 1076 (8th ed. 2004)). Stated otherwise a nominee is an intermediary. Shell companies, family members, trusts, gatekeepers such as lawyers, etc. can all be nominees. A true beneficial owner of assets may hide assets by secretly purchasing assets through a nominee. When this happens, the nominee is referred to as a nominee purchaser. Additionally, a true beneficial owner may hide assets by secretly titling assets in the name of a nominee. Given these concealment methods, I suspect the Sandy Hook plaintiffs are trying to determine whether Jones could be hiding assets through nominees.

1 See AP News, December 2, 2022 article, “Infowars host Alex Jones files for personal bankruptcy.”

Copyright 2023 Fred L. Abrams