This isn't true.

Jones was defaulted before trial in both cases because he wasn't complying with discovery. The defense asked for documents and testimony which his company refused to provide. Documents like the finances for the company (totally normal). You are correct that he was given multiple chances to fix the problem. He'd literally fire his lawyers between almost every deposition so that they couldn't provide the requested documents.

But the actual fines came from the jury from the trial. civil cases have 2 parts, are you guilty and if so for how much. Jones lost the "are you guilty" by default and the how much was determined by a jury of his peers after a trial (and accepted by the judge).

I think with Jones it's important to get everything straight as he likes to claim that he was silenced and steamrolled. He was neither. He lost that much money because his actions were horrendous.