George Weiss, the veteran hedge fund manager and founder of Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers, has filed for personal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, following a court ruling that held him personally liable for over $100m in debt owed to Jefferies Financial Group, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The filing, made in Florida on Wednesday, comes just months after a federal judge sided with Jefferies in a dispute over funding arrangements tied to Weiss’s now-insolvent hedge fund. Weiss listed estimated assets and liabilities between $100m and $500m, including a $180m IRS claim, which he disputes.
Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers – a firm once managing billions in multi-strategy hedge fund capital – filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, citing mounting legal and financial pressures. Weiss’s personal filing now seeks to shield him from creditor actions, primarily from Jefferies, which has aggressively pursued repayment through litigation.
A spokesperson for Weiss said the move was made to “responsibly manage creditors and address significant legal proceedings in an orderly and respectful fashion,” adding that Weiss is cooperating with stakeholders “transparently and in good faith.”
Jefferies, a longtime prime brokerage and financing partner to Weiss’s firm, claims it is owed $52.4m under a strategic relationship agreement and $43m in promissory notes, plus legal fees. The firm is listed as a top unsecured creditor, with a judgment of $113.5m against Weiss included in the bankruptcy filing – an amount Weiss intends to contest.
The dispute has escalated into litigation on both sides, with Weiss filing a $250m defamation lawsuit against Jefferies earlier this year, alleging reputational harm and coercion. Jefferies has denied the claims.
