Tom Girardi, a well-known California lawyer who has since been disbarred, was found guilty this week of embezzling tens of millions of dollars from some of his clients.
Girardi gained significant renown in the latter stages of his career, as he’s the now-estranged husband of Erika Jayne, one of the stars of the Bravo reality TV show “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
Following his trial, which lasted nearly two weeks, a jury convicted the 85-year-old Girardi of all four charges he was facing — four counts of wire fraud for embezzlement of various clients.
According to the announcement that federal prosecutors released on Tuesday, some of Girardi’s clients were waiting for settlement payments negotiated on their behalf for significant physical injuries they suffered.
At one point in time, Girardi was a central figure in the legal community of California. But, everything came crumbling down for him following a federal investigation and indictment.
That investigation revealed that Girardi, who was a head of the Girardi Keese law firm — which is now defunct — spent many years embezzling and misappropriating millions of dollars of trust accounts that his firm kept for clients.
Between October of 2010 through late 2020, Girardi stole these millions of dollars in funds, telling a “litany of lies” to try to explain to his clients why he couldn’t pay them the money they were owed, prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said he denied that the settlement proceeds were paid out in some cases, or that clients had to meet certain requirements before the firm could pay them those proceeds.
Prosecutors also said that he stole tens of millions in funds from the operating account of his law firm to pay for illegitimate expenses. This includes more than $25 million that he paid toward a company that Jayne formed called EJ Global.
A press release from prosecutors said he also used the funds to pay for social and golf club memberships, jewelry, luxury cars and travel on private jets.
At the end of 2020, the law firm was forced into involuntary bankruptcy, and Girardi was disbarred from practicing law in California two years later.
In a statement after the verdict was issued, U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada said:
“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice.’ In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle.
“Today’s verdict shows that the game is up — we can all now see this defendant for what he was and the victims he callously betrayed.”
The Associated Press reported that Girardi’s lawyers attempted to blame the whole scheme on Chris Kamon, the chief financial officer of the law firm. He has been charged separately in the scheme and has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Girardi’s lawyers also tried to argue their client wasn’t competent to stand trial, since he has memory issues and Alzheimer’s disease.
The AP reported that prosecutors countered that by saying he has exaggerated his symptoms. Girardi is currently in a conservatorship under his brother.
Girardi’s sentencing is set for December 6. The maximum penalty in the case is a total of 80 years in federal prison.
He’s facing a separate wire fraud case in Chicago revolved around allegations that he stole roughly $3 million from family members of the victims of the Lion Air crash in 2018 that killed 189 people.
