Cambridge Analytica Files for Bankruptcy After Facebook Data Leak Scandal

Cambridge Analytica, the political firm at the center of Facebook’s massive data leak scandal, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy late on Thursday.

The move comes after the British firm shut down its operations earlier this month. The company’s name became toxic after it was revealed earlier this year that the company had grabbed data on up to 87 million Facebook users in 2014. Cambridge Analytica went on to craft campaigns targeting voters with its data during the 2014 election cycle — and was eventually contracted by President Trump’s campaign during the 2016 U.S. election.

Cambridge Analytica filed its petition at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York, noting between 1-49 creditors. Its liabilities were between $1 million-$10 million, while its estimated assets were between $100,000-$500,000.

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“Over the past several months, Cambridge Analytica has been the subject of numerous unfounded accusations and, despite the company’s efforts to correct the record, has been vilified for activities that are not only legal, but also widely accepted as a standard component of online advertising in both the political and commercial arenas,” the firm said in its announcement earlier this month.

Cambridge Analytica pulled in $15 million during the 2016 election cycle but has since failed to grab a single dollar from an American political client. Compounding its issues, CEO Alexander Nix was caught on camera bragging about using bribes and sex workers to entrap politicians on behalf of his clients. The firm opened an investigation into whether Nix had acted inappropriately; the investigation ended in May, with the firm concluding the unsavory accusations were not “borne out by the facts.”