Defamed election workers seeking Rudy Giuliani's homes and World Series rings
In a court filing, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss also say they're entitled to Giuliani's $2 million claim for legal fees from the Trump campaign and RNC
Aug. 30, 2024, 3:34 PM EDT
By Dareh Gregorian and Lisa Rubin
The two Georgia election workers defamed by Rudy Giuliani are seeking to take possession of his multimillion-dollar homes in New York and Florida and some of his valuable personal property, including three Yankees World Series rings.
Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, were awarded $146 million in damages last year after a judge found Giuliani liable for repeatedly defaming them by falsely accusing them of election fraud during the 2020 presidential election. They filed the action seeking to get ahold of his properties in federal court in New York on Friday.
They argue the move is necessary because, "Mr. Giuliani has proven time and again that he will never voluntarily comply with court orders, much less voluntarily satisfy Plaintiffs’ judgment."
Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, said the appeal of the "objectively unreasonable" verdict "hasn't even been heard, yet opposing counsel continues to take steps designed to harass and intimidate" the former New York City mayor.
Freeman and Moss testified during the defamation trial that Giuliani’s lies in support of former President Donald Trump’s bogus stolen election claims subjected them to a torrent of racist and violent threats that forced them out of their jobs and homes.
Their filing Friday seeks "an order requiring Mr. Giuliani to turn over personal property in his possession in satisfaction of the judgment, and an order appointing Plaintiffs as receivers with the power to take possession of, and sell, both real and personal property that Mr. Giuliani does not turn over." That includes "cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid attorneys’ fees, and Mr. Giuliani’s interest in his luxury Madison Avenue co-op apartment."
Giuliani's Manhattan apartment is worth an estimated $5.7 million, while his condo in Palm Beach, which the former election workers are also trying to obtain, is valued at $3.5 million.
They're additionally laying claim to the $2 million in fees Giuliani says he's owed by Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee for his work in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 — efforts that got Giuliani disbarred in New York and that led to Moss and Freeman's lawsuit.
The mother and daughter are also seeking Giuliani's 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL500, signed Reggie Jackson picture, signed Joe DiMaggio shirt and three Yankees World Series rings he was given during his time as New York City mayor. They also want a diamond ring he owns and his collection of about two dozen luxury watches.
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy after getting hit with the judgment in December and, in that proceeding, estimated all of his jewelry was worth $30,000. Attorneys for Freeman and Moss disputed that claim, noting that just one of the World Series ringsis worth about that amount.
A New York bankruptcy judge dismissed Giuliani's case earlier this month, after citing Giuliani’s failure to turn over virtually any necessary information about his businesses while submitting incomplete or incorrect information about his personal spending.
In a separate but related filing Friday, the pair accused Giuliani of continued gamesmanship by claiming earlier this month that his permanent residence is in Florida in a "bid to qualify the Condo for homestead protection under Florida law."
That "evasive maneuver is no more valid than the last few: Mr. Giuliani’s own public internet broadcasts show that he has not actually resided in the Palm Beach Condo since purporting to establish permanent, actual residency there—and he certainly has not maintained it as a 'homestead,'" the filing said, noting there's no evidence he's even been at the condo since a brief stay in May. They also pointed out in his deposition in the bankruptcy case in February, he said his principal residence was in New York.
Freeman and Moss are seeking a judgment that their lien on the property is enforceable "and that any assertion by Mr. Giuliani of homestead status is without merit."
Goodman maintained his client is the victim and "we now live in a time where the justice system has been weaponized against Mayor Giuliani and so many others for strictly partisan political purposes."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/defamed-election-workers-seeking-rudy-giulianis-homes-world-series-rin-rcna169013