Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones filed for personal bankruptcy protection in Texas on Friday as he faces nearly $1.5 billion in court judgments for spreading lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting.

In a filing in bankruptcy court in a Houston, Jones stated he has between $1 million and $10 million of assets and between $1 billion and $10 billion of liabilities. 

Jones estimated that he has between 50 and 99 creditors and listed the amounts he owes to several of the Sandy Hook families.

He has spent years falsely describing the massacre in which 20 children and six adults were killed as a hoax. He later acknowledged that the mass shooting had occurred.

A Connecticut jury in October awarded the families $965 million in compensatory damages, and a judge later tacked on another $473 million in punitive damages.

Earlier in the year, a Texas jury awarded the parents of a child killed in the shooting $49 million in damages.

Jones's lawyers have said he would appeal both the Connecticut and Texas verdict.

Unclear whether Jones can pay

In the court case Connecticut Jones said, "I've already said 'I'm sorry' hundreds of times and I'm done saying I'm sorry.''

Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut case, criticized the bankruptcy filing on Friday.

"Like every other cowardly move Alex Jones has made, this bankruptcy will not work,'' Mattei said in a statement.

"The bankruptcy system does not protect anyone who engages in intentional and egregious attacks on others, as Mr. Jones did. The American judicial system will hold Alex Jones accountable, and we will never stop working to enforce the jury's verdict.''

Some families in the Texas case have sued Jones in Texas state court seeking to unwind what they say are millions of dollars worth of illegitimate transfers from Jones's company to shell entities he controls.

They allege those transactions were intended to shield Jones' assets from potential judgments.

The Infowars host's primary company, Free Speech Systems, also filed for bankruptcy protection in July.

Jones has continued hosting his Infowars segment, where he previously laughed at the damages awarded saying he has less than $2 million to his name and won't be able to pay it.

lo/jcg (AP, Reuters)