Current:Home > InvestErika Jayne's Ex Tom Girardi Found Guilty on 4 Counts of Wire Fraud -WealthTrack
Erika Jayne's Ex Tom Girardi Found Guilty on 4 Counts of Wire Fraud
View
Date:2025-04-18 22:59:30
Tom Girardi's legal woes continue.
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne's estranged husband was found guilty on four counts of wire fraud Aug. 27 in the grand jury trial linked to his embezzlement schemes that ran for 10-years and allowed him to steal at least $15 million in settlement funds from four clients, according to NBC News.
Girardi, who pleaded not guilty to the charges last year, currently has his sentencing scheduled for Dec. 6.
E! News has reached out to reps for both Jayne and Girardi for comment, but has not heard back at this time.
In the lawsuit against the former litigator who was a partner and owner of Girardi Keese, obtained by E! News, four previous clients claimed that Girardi had stolen the millions from their injury settlement funds.
They claimed that he had spent that money "paying other Girardi Keese clients whose own settlement funds previously had been misappropriated, paying Girardi Keese's payroll, and paying other Girardi Keese's expenses, including its American Express Card bills encompassing charges" that were Girardi's personal expenses.
According to Girardi's 2023 indictment, beginning at least as early as 2010 and continuing through 2020, the 85-year-old and his firm's CFO Christopher Kazuo Kamon—who is being tried separately—"knowingly and with intent to defraud, devised, participated in, and executed a scheme to defraud victim clients" who had sought legal services from the law firm.
The indictment also detailed how the duo went about the embezzlement, explaining they would negotiate a settlement on behalf of a client, but would then "misrepresent, conceal and falsely describe to the client the true terms of the settlement," allowing the money to then be "transferred to attorney trust accounts."
Kamon is awaiting his own trial to begin in January 2025, but has pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the Department of Justice.
Tyler Hatcher, the special-agent-in-charge for the IRS criminal investigation unit, told NBC News that Girardi "exploited his clients' misfortunes on a grand scale."
"His clients sought his help in the wake of significant trauma and injury," he said, "yet he violated their trust to steal from them and fund his own lavish lifestyle, and he will now face the consequences of his action."
As for Jayne, the 53-year-old has not publicly commented on the guilty verdict yet, although she scored her own legal win in 2022 when a judge ruled in her favor confirming that she was not aware of her husband's crimes after two of his clients—who had named her in their lawsuit—were unable to prove she had aided and abetted her ex.
And the reality star—who filed for divorce from Girardi after 21 years of marriage in 2020—has been candid about how his lawsuit had affected her.
"Nothing is making me happy," she said in her Bravo special Erika Jayne: Bet It All on Blonde earlier this year. "Tom's behavior was bad for over three years. The s--t this man did, the fallout is great. His family, he hurt them too."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (39932)
Related
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- British golfer Charley Hull blames injury, not lack of cigarettes, for poor Olympic start
- Illinois Gov. Pritzker calls for sheriff to resign after Sonya Massey shooting
- 'Finally:' Murdered Utah grandmother's family looks to execution for closure
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Connie Chiume, South African 'Black Panther' actress, dies at 72
- Debby Drenched the Southeast. Climate Change Is Making Storms Like This Even Wetter
- Simone Biles, an athlete in a sleeping bag and an important lesson from the Olympics
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- The Walz record: Abortion rights, free lunches for schoolkids, and disputes over a riot response
Ranking
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Claim to Fame Reveal of Michael Jackson's Relative Is a True Thriller
- Harris and Walz are showing their support for organized labor with appearance at Detroit union hall
- Immigration issues sorted, Guatemala runner Luis Grijalva can now focus solely on sports
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Chemical substances found at home of Austrian suspected of planning attack on Taylor Swift concerts
- How effective is the Hyundai, Kia anti-theft software? New study offers insights.
- Romania Appeals Gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea's Score After Jordan Chiles' Medal-Winning Inquiry
Recommendation
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Watch: 5 things you need to do before your next trip
Charges: D'Vontaye Mitchell died after being held down for about 9 minutes
Tribe Sues Interior Department Over Approval of Arizona Lithium Project
The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
TikToker Nara Smith Addresses Hateful Criticism She and Husband Lucky Blue Smith Have Received
Boxer Lin Yu-Ting, targeted in gender eligibility controversy, to fight for gold
Boxer Lin Yu-Ting, targeted in gender eligibility controversy, to fight for gold