Liberty University Discloses $15.3 Million Settlement To Jerry Falwell Jr.
Jerry Falwell Jr., the former president of Liberty University, may have resigned in disgrace in 2020 following a sex scandal, but he now has a $15.3 million payment from the school to show for it.
In an IRS filing provided by the Lynchburg, Virginia, school to The Roys Report, Liberty said it paid Falwell, son of the school’s late founder, the money in 2024 to settle lawsuits the former leader filed against it.
Falwell Jr., a prominent support of 2016 GOP presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, became embroiled in scandals in 2020 after social media posts emerged showing him with his arm around his wife’s assistant while holding a drink. Consuming alcohol is forbidden on campus.
An extramarital relationship between Becki Falwell and Giancarlo Granda surfaced shortly thereafter, and Falwell Jr., who had been on leave from Liberty over the social media photo, resigned.
The payments, which are listed near the end of Liberty’s 130-page 2023 tax filing, include $9,784,077 in “non-qualified retirement” plan payments and $5,550,000 in an accrued settlement. In a footnote, the school said it “adjusted its claimed receivable amount for reimbursement of certain disputed expenses down to $440,000” against Falwell Jr., who paid that amount.
Falwell Jr. sued Liberty in 2023, claiming the school improperly denied him nearly $8.5 million in retirement benefits. The former president, a son of Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr., had been the school’s vice chancellor and general counsel since 1988. He succeeded his father as school president when the latter died in 2007.
On behalf of a family trust, Falwell also sued the school in 2023 over its use of the “name, image and trademark” of the senior Falwell. The suit also charged the school with using “his handwriting and signature … and even using casts” of the elder Falwell’s footprints for a campus “walking tour,” according to a media report on the legal action.
In a statement at the time, Falwell Jr. said Liberty took these actions “without authorization, and in an undignified manner that seems to attempt to aggrandize and deify my father in a fawning way that he would never have wanted or approved.”
The two parties announced a settlement of the lawsuits in 2024, and in a news release called the pact “a global resolution agreement settling all outstanding disputes on both legal and personal matters.”
The school did not disclose the payments when the settlement was announced but said both sides “agree that further comment on the lawsuits and their resolution is neither necessary nor constructive.”
News of the $15.3 million settlement was first reported by USA Today.
Contacted by TRR on May 20, Ryan Helfenbein, Liberty’s vice president of communications and public engagement, said the school had no additional comment on the settlement and referred a reporter to the 2024 news release.
An attorney for Falwell told TRR, “We are not permitted to comment” on the settlement.
Liberty, founded in 1971, is one of the nation’s largest Christian universities. The school says total enrollment “exceeds 140,000” and includes “40,000 military-affiliated students.” Most students are enrolled online, but thousands attend the Lynchburg campus.
This piece is republished with permission from The Roys Report.
Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the faith and family reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.