Rudy Giuliani misusing money meant for bankruptcy case to pay salaries of ‘girlfriend,’ her daughter: creditors
Rudy Giuliani is misusing money meant for his bankruptcy case to pay the salaries of his reported girlfriend and her daughter, new court papers allege.
A group of creditors — to whom the former New York City mayor owes over $150 million — are asking a judge to immediately appoint a trustee to run his finances “to protect the creditors … and [Giuliani] from himself,” according to papers filed in Manhattan federal bankruptcy court Thursday.
The creditors say Giuliani’s “dishonesty, incompetence and gross mismanagement of [his] affairs” mean he can no longer be trusted to act in good faith in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case — which he launched in December to help deal with a $148 million defamation verdict against him for falsely accusing two Georgia election workers of voter fraud.
A prime example of Giuliani’s alleged mismanagement of his money is that he admitted in court papers Monday to “using his income to pay the salaries of his reported girlfriend and her daughter,” the filing alleges.
“[Giuliani] is admitting that his income, an estate asset, is being used to fund their salaries, as ’employees’ … instead of distributions to creditors,” they wrote.
Giuliani, 80, in his Monday court papers, listed Giuliani Communications, LLC’s five employees — including his business partner and reported girlfriend Dr. Maria Ryan and her daughter Vanessa Fenderson.
Giuliani’s head of security, Michael Ragusa, denied that Giuliani and Ryan weren’t romantically involved.
“Dr. Maria Ryan is Mayor Giuliani’s business partner and nothing more,” Ragusa said Friday. “Any reports of her being his girlfriend are false rumors made up by the mayor’s enemies to damage his reputation and anyone associated with him.”
He also admitted to paying Vanessa’s credit card bill in January, court papers say.
But Giuliani failed to describe Vanessa’s role in his company or say what her salary is. Her name is an alleged alias for Vanessa Dawn Ryan, who allegedly has two pending criminal cases in North Carolina, the creditors claim.
As for Vanessa, Ragusa said she has worked as a part-time secretary for Giuliani for over five years.
“These creditors are using the bankruptcy court for political persecution of Mayor Giuliani,” Ragusa said. “His companies have a long-standing reputation of integrity and honesty. The bankruptcy court knows that the mayor’s companies have existed for many years.
“Mayor Giuliani has been nothing but open and honest with the bankruptcy courts. Any rumors made up by these creditors are just a smear campaign to bully the mayor,” Ragusa said.
On Monday, an embattled Giuliani, who has since been disbarred as an attorney, filed papers arguing a trustee shouldn’t be appointed to run his finances and revealing he has “possible” 9/11-related lung disease.
He noted that because of the fact he can no longer practice law and because of his health and age, his job prospects going forward are limited, arguing that a trustee couldn’t force him to work more and couldn’t increase his income.
But the creditors say Giuliani’s response just proves that he shouldn’t be in charge of his own finances — since he admitted that he’s “struggling” and “needs to improve” his administration of the bankruptcy case.
The creditors last month accused Giuliani of stonewalling the bankruptcy case — including by failing to sell his multimillion-dollar Big Apple pad and Palm Beach, Fla., condo and by insisting he needs the automatic bankruptcy stay lifted so he can appeal the huge defamation verdict he owes.
They also say he spends frivolously — and far more than he earns — including by blowing money on dozens of Amazon purchases, multiple streaming subscriptions, Uber rides and on tens of thousands of dollars on upkeep expenses for his two homes.
Giuliani faces additional legal woes in two pending criminal cases in Arizona and in Georgia accusing him of trying to interfere in the 2020 presidential election result in both states, to help Donald Trump win.
He’s pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“Mayor Giuliani, with his breadth and depth of experience, is a highly sought after public personality who livestreams for multiple hours a day,” said Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s spokesman and the creator and producer of Giuliani’s show. “It takes a team and resources to make ‘America’s Mayor Live’ one of the most successful daily livestream programs on X, fka Twitter.”
A message left through Dr. Ryan’s website wasn’t immediately returned Friday.
A working number couldn’t be found for Vanessa.
