Erika Jayne’s Payout Hopes SHATTERED As Tom Girardi’s Bankruptcy Soars To $500M!
It appears that any shot at a financial payout from Erika Jayne’s divorce from Tom Girardi is slipping through the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star’s fingers.
New court documents reveal that the trustee overseeing Tom’s law firm’s bankruptcy case just dropped shocking new figures in court. Ronald Richards, an attorney who played a previous role in investigating the reality star’s finances, was the first to report the bombshell filing.
Former clients and business partners forced Tom into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year, accusing the disgraced lawyer of using settlement funds to support his lavish lifestyle and Erika’s pop star career. Tom’s alleged victims have all made similar claims — that the attorney was awarded settlement funds after winning various lawsuits—but then made excuses to avoid turning over the payouts. Many of the alleged victims are now going after Erika because they believe that she raked in cash funneled from Tom’s law firm, Girardi Keese.
The trustee’s preliminary report, submitted in August 2021, stated that Tom’s firm owed $101 million in liabilities. The report was recently updated, after a months-long investigation.
The new filing lists a total of $517 million in claims filed against Girardi Keese. The jaw-dropping figure breaks down as $363 million in unsecured claims, $17 million in priority claims, $137 million in secured claims, and another $250k in administrative claims.
Tom reportedly has no remaining assets, and his Pasadena mansion continues to sit on the market with a slashed price tag of $8 million.
Last month, the RHOBH star was ordered to surrender a pair of diamond earrings valued at a whopping $1.4 million that her estranged husband purchased with stolen money owed to his clients. The trustee demanded that Erika Jayne give up the pricey diamonds that Tom Girardi purchased in 2007. Financial records indicated that the disgraced lawyer used money from his client’s account to make the purchase.
Tom apparently hid the jewelry purchase transaction by describing the purpose of the check on G&K’s Trust Account as a “cost” item paid to “M&M,” the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy case alleged.
In July, documents were filed that claimed that Erika and two of her companies, EJ Global LLC and Pretty Mess Inc, received jewelry and other assets purchased by Girardi Keese funds. The filings list several of Erika‘s alleged expenses during the marriage, including $14 million in American Express charges. Erika was also accused of hiding bank statements to avoid accountability.
In August, court docs accused the reality star of being fully aware that her lavish lifestyle was being supported by funds transferred from her estranged husband’s law firm. The trustee cited a “fraudulent transfer” of assets in the legal documents.
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Avigail is an Entertainment blogger at All About The Tea, who specializes in The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of Potomac. Avigail has a background in marketing. She’s a Brooklynite living in the Bahamas, with a passion for travel, writing, reality TV watching, pop culture and spoken word.