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Liberty University has agreed to pay its former president, Jerry Falwell Jr. roughly $15 million as part of a settlement after his resignation in the wake of sex scandals that rocked the famously conservative university.
Falwell took over as president following the 2007 death of his father Jerry Falwell Sr., a massively influential figure within America's modern right-wing Christian movement who founded the university in 1971.
Falwell Jr. resigned in 2020, and a settlement was announced in 2024, but the terms were not disclosed.
But recently filed tax documents reveal the university is paying Falwell more than $15 million to “settle certain claims and close certain transactions.” USA Today first reported the disclosures.
Falwell has also agreed to pay the university $440,000 to settle “disputed expenses” with the university. The filings did not include details of the payments.
In total, Falwell is set to receive roughly $5.5 million to settle the lawsuits along with $9.7 million as part of his retirement package, according to tax filings.
The Independent has requested comment from Liberty.
Falwell told USA Today that he was “very pleased with the outcome of the settlement negotiations and with the final settlement.”
In its 2024 statement, the university said it had reached a “global resolution agreement” with its Board of Trustees “settling all outstanding disputes on both legal and personal matters” with Falwell.
“This agreement is grounded in a firm commitment to protecting and preserving Liberty’s original mission of developing Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact the world,” according to the statement.
Falwell took over the university in 2007 after the death of his father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., who founded the college. Thirteen years later, Falwell – who shook the evangelical Christian and Republican establishments with his 2016 endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump — was placed on indefinite leave in August 2020 after posting, then deleting, a provocative Instagram photo in which he wraps his arm around a woman while they both have their pants unbuttoned, revealing their bare midriffs.
The university announced his resignation a few weeks later, following the publication of allegations that Falwell and his wife had engaged in a years-long sexual relationship with another man.
In a lengthy statement at the time, Falwell claimed that the man had tried to blackmail the family and accused him of threatening to reveal the relationship "to deliberately embarrass my wife, family, and Liberty University unless we agreed to pay him substantial monies."
“Over the course of the last few months this person's behavior has reached a level that we have decided the only way to stop this predatory behavior is to go public,” he said at the time.
Giancarlo Granda, who shared messages with Reuters as part of the outlet’s investigation into his relationship with the couple, denied the allegations against him.
Granda said he was in his early 20s when he first met Falwell and his wife Becki while working as a pool attendant at a Florida hotel. He reportedly began a sexual relationship with Becki Falwell in 2012, which continued through 2018, during which Falwell would watch, according to Reuters.
The Falwells had meanwhile financed a Miami beach hostel, in which Granda also had invested, according to Reuters. The Falwells filed a lawsuit over its ownership in 2015, which was dismissed, and they refiled in 2017.
Reuters and The New York Times also reported in 2019 that in 2015, Falwell sought Trump's attorney Michael Cohen — who at the time had arranged for hush-money payments on the president's behalf to pay for the silence of women who alleged affairs with the president — to get rid of photos that Cohen allegedly claimed should be kept “between husband and wife.”
After leaving the university, Liberty launched an investigation into his alleged conduct and a wave of litigation followed. Falwell sued for defamation, but the complaint was dropped. Liberty then sued Falwell in 2021 alleging breach of contract, and in 2023, Falwell filed a lawsuit over his retirement package and another against the use of his father’s image.
Those claims were dropped by July 2024, when the university announced a settlement was reached.
The settlement “is based on a mutual understanding regarding the amount Liberty University will pay its former president in authorized retirement and severance under the various disputed agreements” as well as “the conditions under which the university will make use of Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr.’s name, image, and likeness,” Liberty said at the time.
Falwell, university and its board “sincerely regret the lengthy and painful litigation process, and each take responsibility for their part in the disputes,” according to the statement.
“Falwell acknowledges and apologizes for the errors in judgement and mistakes made during his time of leadership,” the statement aThe Board of Trustees acknowledge and apologize for the errors and mistakes made on their part as well. The Trustees and Falwell are committed to move forward in a spirit of forgiveness and with the hope of reconciliation in a Christ honoring manner.”
The university and its board promised no further statements on the settlement.
That same year, President Joe Biden’s administration sought $16 million from the university following allegations that students were afraid to report sexual abuse, which included a $14 million fine and $2 million pledge from the university “for on-campus safety improvements and compliance enhancements.”
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