The losing bidder in last week’s bankruptcy auction for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ assets, including his infamous Infowars website, filed an emergency motion on Monday morning to disqualify The Onion’s winning bid.

      • Justin@lemmy.jlh.name
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        1 month ago

        Wasn’t that company owned by his parents or something? I think John Oliver or somebody did a story on all the shell companies he’s been embezzling money into to scam the sandy hook victims.

        • formergijoe@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          They went over this in the latest knowledge fight and it appears to be owned by one Chase Brandon Geiser, an employee of Alex’s.

        • mkwt@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Surely, bankruptcy courts must be familiar with the tactic of “using shell companies to buy your own stuff back at bankruptcy auction for pennies on the dollar.”

      • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        First United American Companies sounds like a totally legit company. What are you talking about?

        /s

    • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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      1 month ago

      They were supposed to buy InfoWars to keep Alex Jones on air. Obvious satirists The Onion weren’t supposed to be the winning bid.

    • unalivejoy@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      Not to play Devil’s advocate, but didn’t the onion basically pay with an IOU?

      • Fermion@feddit.nl
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        1 month ago

        Not quite. Although the “losing bid” here was of a higher payment amount. However, the trustee chose the onion bid because the families who are owed assets out of the settlement were willing to forgo some of the payments they are owed to back the onion bid. That would lead to more being paid back to Jone’s creditors than with the straight cash bid.

        So it is a bit of a unique situation and the court is right to verify that the trustee made the right call. Ultimately the onion bid should be the winner since bankruptcy proceedings should prioritize paying creditors.

    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Please stay informed. The losing bidder offered more money, but the victims of Alex Jones chose a lower bid instead of just giving the microphone straight back to Jones’ family.

      • ZapBeebz_@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Strictly speaking, the losing bidder offered more cash, but the victims families offered concessions in the amount of damages they’d seek as part of The Onions offer, which would bring the total value of The Onions offer to higher, and that’s why they won.

  • inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    First United submitted a cash bid of $3.5 million dollars. By contrast, Cicack said, The Onion’s bid contained only $1.75 million in cash, alongside a waiver from the Connecticut families setting aside any of their earnings from the auctioned assets.

    But Cicack challenged the use of this waiver, arguing it was “conditional and contingent” and “the equivalent of ‘monopoly’ money” and “simply has no value.”

    All money is monopoly money. It’s all fake paper that has no intrinsic value, because the true value is what everyone agrees on. Their waiver ensure more monopoly money to the plaintiffs than your monopoly money bid.

    You lost. Shut up. Go home.