‘Specialized’ forensic financial advisor insists Rudy Giuliani ‘got an incredible deal’ and is on ‘another baseless and bad faith crusade’ to avoid paying up

The forensic financial advisor hired by creditors to investigate Rudy Giuliani’s assets during his recently dismissed bankruptcy case fired back on Thursday, accusing the former New York City mayor of launching “another baseless and bad faith crusade” to avoid paying over $300,000 in fees. In August, Global Data Risk (GDR) submitted a fee application requesting $324,843.75 for 1,181.25 hours of work, along with an additional $6,854.29 in expenses, bringing the total demand to $331,698.04. However, Giuliani filed documents last week seeking to cut the professional fees by nearly half, alleging he had been “overbilled” due to “duplicative time entries” and “excessive” research. He requested a reduction of $151,662.50, a 46 percent discount.

Previously, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane noted that Giuliani was fortunate the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors was represented pro bono by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Otherwise, the fees from Global Data Risk could have been even higher, as reported by Law&Crime. In its response, GDR argued that Giuliani had actually received “an incredible deal” under the circumstances, highlighting the firm’s “blended and discounted hourly rate.”

“Even after the dismissal of his bankruptcy case, the Debtor has launched another baseless and bad faith crusade in this Court, this time opposing GDR’s Application for final fees and expenses,” the filing stated. GDR expressed frustration, citing Giuliani’s behavior during the seven-and-a-half months of bankruptcy proceedings, which were marked by delays and attempts to avoid the burdens of bankruptcy. Giuliani abruptly sought the case’s dismissal to avoid the possible appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee.

The filing reiterated that Giuliani had voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and, as a result, must pay the administrative expenses, including professional fees. GDR emphasized that Akin Gump provided its services completely pro bono and that GDR had agreed to a significantly reduced hourly rate of $275 for all timekeepers involved. “The Debtor, who could not have reasonably expected this case to incur zero administrative expenses, got an incredible deal with respect to the Committee advisor fees,” the filing concluded.