Real Housewives of Beverley Hills star Erika Jayne is probably feeling relieved that her former husband Tom Girardi is just that—a former husband.
Girardi, a disbarred attorney, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Tuesday for embezzling millions of dollars from his former clients. Some were waiting for payment to treat severe physical injuries.
Girardi “diverted tens of millions of dollars from his law firm’s operating account to pay illegitimate expenses, including more than $25 million to pay the expenses of EJ Global, a company formed by his wife related to her entertainment career,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement.
Girardi was found guilty of pocketing the money over the course of more than a decade. His victims included the family members of those who died in the 2018 Lion Air crash in Indonesia, which killed 189 people.
Girardi spent the money on private jet travel, jewelry, luxury cars, and exclusive golf and social clubs.
A Los Angeles court ordered Girardi, 86, to pay $2.3 million in restitution to victims and another $35,000 fine on top of that.
Jayne, 53, filed for divorce in 2020 after over two decades of marriage but it is yet to be finalized. Jayne announced her plans to divorce amid embezzlement and infidelity allegations surrounding Girardi.
Then, on a 2021 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Jayne revealed she “found the evidence” of her estranged husband’s “years-long” affairs through text messages and pictures on his phone.
“I knew a lot because it was so hard to hide and, you know, he was sloppy,” she said.
That same year, Girardi was diagnosed with dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and sent to live in an assisted care facility.
“Tom lives in a memory care facility... Look, I can only say decline and further decline; it will not get better,” Jayne said in a 2022 interview with Andy Cohen, adding that when he reaches out, their phone calls “last about five seconds.”
Jayne has maintained that she was unaware of her husband’s criminal offenses.
“This self-proclaimed ‘champion of justice’ was nothing more than a thief and a liar who conned his vulnerable clients out of the millions of dollars,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “My office will vigorously prosecute corrupt lawyers and those who assist them in criminal activities.”
Girardi lied to the defrauded clients, claiming that his now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese could not pay the settlement proceeds until certain requirements had been met.
“These bogus requirements included addressing supposed tax obligations, settling bankruptcy claims, obtaining supposedly necessary authorizations from judges, and satisfying other debts,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s statement.
A federal jury convicted Girardi of wire fraud charges after a 13-day trial in August. The former head of accounting for his law firm, Christopher Kamon, pled guilty to charges of two counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting Girardi’s scheme. He was sentenced to a decade in prison and ordered to pay nearly $9 million in restitution.
