A lawyer and estranged husband of a “Real Housewives” star was sentenced on Tuesday for leading a yearslong scheme that involved embezzling tens of millions of dollars in settlement payments from the clients of his law firm.
Thomas Girardi, 86, was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison and ordered to pay about $2.3 million in restitution and a $35,000 fine by US District Judge Josephine L. Staton. She ordered Girardi to surrender to federal authorities by July 17.
Girardi was charged in federal court last year in Chicago with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of contempt of court for embezzling millions in settlement money. He was found guilty by a jury in August 2024 of four counts of wire fraud.
Girardi, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, was a personal injury attorney and ran the now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese, in Los Angeles.
The US Attorney’s office for the Central District of California said in a statement that Girardi stole millions of dollars in client settlement funds and failed to make payments to the firm’s clients, some of whom had suffered serious injuries in accidents.
United States Attorney Bill Essayli said: “This self-proclaimed ‘champion of justice’ was nothing more than a thief and a liar who conned his vulnerable clients out of millions of dollars.”
Girardi was known for taking on powerful corporations in high-profile cases. One lawsuit against California’s Pacific Gas and Electric utility led to a $333 million settlement and was depicted in the 2000 film “Erin Brockovich” that starred Julia Roberts.
The US Attorney’s office said one client who suffered severe burns all over his body when a natural gas pipeline exploded in California in 2010 received just $2.5 million of a $53 million settlement.
The US Attorney’s office said Girardi diverted more than $25 million to cover expenses for EJ Global, his estranged wife Erika Jayne’s performance and entertainment company.
Jayne, who appears in Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” has denied any involvement and was not charged.
Tommy Garcia/Bravo
Girardi Keese was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in late 2020 and the State Bar of California disbarred Girardi in July 2022.
Christopher Kamon, the former head of Girardi Keese’s accounting department, was sentenced in April to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud. He was a co-conspirator in facilitating the embezzlement and falsifying financial records and was ordered to repay nearly $9 million.
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