Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has offered to pay the families of Sandy Hook victims $55 million over 10 years - a fraction of the $1.5 billion awarded for falsely claiming that the school shooting was staged.
Jones, 49, and his Austin-based company, Free Speech Systems, both filed for bankruptcy last year as the families were awarded more than $1.4 billion in a Connecticut lawsuit and another $50 million in a Texas lawsuit.
A third trial is pending in Texas in a similar lawsuit over Jones' hoax conspiracy filed by the parents of another child killed in the school shooting.
The families are now focused on getting Jones to pay up.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is shown a photo of Judge Barbara Bellis with laser beams coming out of her eyes from his website during his testimony as Judge Bellis listens beside him, right, during the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial in September 2022. Jones is now trying to reduce the amount of damages he was ordered to pay
Jones is seen speaking on Tucker Carlson's show earlier this month
Relatives of the children who died are seen sobbing during the October 2022 trial
Families of the victims hug their legal team on October 12, 2022
In November, they said he could either liquidate his estate and giving the proceeds to the families, or pay at least $8.5 million per year, plus 50 percent of any income over $9 million per year for 10 years.
Jones on Friday responded in a filing made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston.
The deal will be debated and challenged over the next two months, with hearings scheduled for February that will result in a final order saying how much Jones will have to pay out.
Christopher Mattei, a Connecticut attorney for the Sandy Hook families, said Jones' proposal 'falls woefully short' of providing everything the families are entitled to under bankruptcy laws.
'The families' plan is the only feasible path for ensuring that Jones' assets are quickly distributed to those he has harassed for more than a decade,' said Mattei, in a statement on Saturday.
Jones' new proposal to settle with the families for at least $5.5 million a year for 10 years doesn't appear to offer much more than what Free Speech Systems offered them in its bankruptcy case last month.
A memorial to the Sandy Hook victims is pictured on December 16, 2012. Jones claimed the shooting was faked by people looking to restrict American's right to own arms
Police are seen outside Sandy Hook school on December 14, 2012 in the immediate aftermath of the shooting
Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Jones' Infowars show, proposed to pay creditors about $4 million a year, down from an estimate earlier this year of $7 million to $10 million annually.
The company said it expected to make about $19.2 million next year from selling the dietary supplements, clothing and other merchandise Jones promotes on his shows, while operating expenses including salaries would total about $14.3 million.
Personally, Jones listed about $13 million in total assets in recent financial statements filed with the bankruptcy court, including about $856,000 in various bank accounts.
A judge recently gave Jones approval to sell some of his assets, including guns, vehicles and jewelry to raise money for creditors.
Jones is seen on October 4, 2022, after losing his defamation trial
The conspiracy theorist and Infowars host (left) pictured his wife, Erika Wulff Jones (right), could owe even more in damages pending the outcome of a lawsuit brought by the parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim Noah Pozner
Jones lists a $70k Dodge Charger and a $60k Chevy Tahoe on his assets in bankruptcy filings
The families' plan would set up a trust that would liquidate nearly all of Jones' assets, except his primary home and other holdings considered exempt from sale under bankruptcy laws.
The trust would have sweeping powers, including authority to recoup money that Jones has paid and given others if those transfers were not allowed by law.
The families have been complaining about Jones' personal spending, which topped $90,000 a month this year.
They also have another pending lawsuit claiming Jones hid millions of dollars in an attempt to protect his wealth. One of Jones' lawyers has called the allegations 'ridiculous.'
Jones is appealing the $1.5 billion in lawsuit awards to the families and has insisted his comments about the shooting were protected by free speech rights.