Prosecutors Have PROOF Tom Girardi Stole Clients Money to Fund Erika Jayne’s Music Career

Prosecutors Have PROOF Tom Girardi Stole Clients Money to Fund Erika Jayne’s Music Career

Federal prosecutors have revealed their intent to present crucial evidence in Tom Girardi’s upcoming criminal trial.

The trial, set to commence in six weeks, centers on allegations that the disgraced former attorney diverted over $25 million of client and law firm funds to support the career of his reality TV star wife.

Until now, Erika Girardi, star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, has rarely been mentioned in her estranged husband’s federal prosecution. Tom Girardi, once a renowned plaintiffs’ attorney and influential Democratic Party donor, and his law firm’s former chief financial officer, Christopher Kamon, are accused of embezzling $15 million from several clients in a years-long scheme.

In a court filing on June 21 obtained by the L.A. Times, prosecutors stated their intention to present evidence showing that Tom Girardi misappropriated far more than the initially alleged amount from his law firm, Girardi Keese, and his clients. This includes the $25 million they claim was funneled to EJ Global LLC, a company established for Erika Girardi’s entertainment career.

“By directing Girardi Keese accounting personnel to make these payments for the benefit of EJ Global, defendant [Tom] Girardi knowingly and intentionally funneled payments sourced from client funds for the improper personal enrichment of his family members,” prosecutors wrote in their filing.

Prosecutors did not mention Erika Girardi by name nor accused her of any wrongdoing or knowledge of her husband’s financial practices.

Prosecutors aim to counter Tom Girardi’s defense strategy, which seeks to shift blame onto the CFO by demonstrating that Girardi also misappropriated money to spend on his wife and her career.

Erika Girardi’s lawyer, Evan Borges, emphasized that prosecutors did not allege the “Housewives” star had done anything wrong and that it was undisputed that Tom Girardi and his firm managed the finances and accounting of EJ Global LLC.

“She had no knowledge of the actions of Tom Girardi or Girardi Keese regarding client matters or finances,” Borges stated, noting that a judge had previously dismissed a suit against her due to “ZERO evidence” of her involvement in client matters.

“Years ago, Erika filed for divorce and separated from Tom Girardi, and lives in a rental,” Borges added. “She is entitled to move on with her life.”

Prosecutors seek to introduce evidence related to Erika Girardi’s company, EJ Global, based on what Tom Girardi’s attorneys disclosed during a hearing on Thursday. Deputy Public Defender Charles Snyder indicated that the defense would attribute blame to the law firm’s CFO, Christopher Kamon.

Snyder stated that his client wasn’t the one “running the machine” but rather Kamon, who oversaw the firm’s accounting department and 127 bank accounts.

In a separate federal prosecution, Kamon is accused of running a “side fraud” by embezzling millions from the law firm through sham vendors, spending the funds on home renovations, exotic cars, and “female escorts,” according to court papers. Kamon, who has pleaded not guilty in both cases, faces a second trial in October for the alleged side fraud.

Girardi’s legal team plans to cite Kamon’s alleged “side fraud” as a cause for the significant deficits in Girardi Keese’s accounts. They intend to argue that Girardi was liquidating his personal assets to cover the firm’s payroll and expenses, offsetting money depleted by Kamon’s alleged scheme.

During Thursday’s court session, Snyder contended that Girardi’s deceptive communications to clients about their settlement money — what prosecutors described as “lulling communications”— were not intended to defraud but to allow Girardi to resolve his firm’s financial issues.

Kamon’s attorney, Michael Severo, dismissed this narrative, calling it “fiction.”

With Girardi’s lawyers likely to shift culpability onto Kamon, prosecutors wrote in their filing that evidence of money misappropriated to pay EJ Global’s bills is “essential” for providing a complete and coherent account of the charged scheme.

“Excluding such evidence would only serve to distort the truth and leave the jury with the mistaken impression that only defendant Kamon is to blame for such misappropriation when, in truth, defendant Girardi similarly misappropriated tens of millions himself,” the prosecutors argued.

Tom Girardi and Kamon are scheduled to go on trial together on August 6. However, late Friday, Girardi’s attorneys filed a motion to have them tried separately, partly because their defense strategies are “mutually exclusive.”

Girardi’s lawyers believe that each man will blame the other, with Tom Girardi’s team arguing that Kamon sought to exploit an elderly man facing cognitive decline, while Kamon’s defense might claim he was “pressured” into his actions by Girardi.

U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton, who previously ruled Girardi competent to stand trial, will decide whether to try the two men separately and whether to allow evidence of improper payments to Erika Girardi’s limited liability company.

Staton will also rule on a motion filed late Friday by Tom Girardi’s legal team to suppress evidence provided by the bankruptcy trustee overseeing Girardi’s law firm, arguing that a search warrant was never obtained to access the firm’s internal files and records.

Girardi’s lawyers have claimed that the 85-year-old, residing in the dementia ward of a nursing home, has no short-term memory and does not recognize them or recall the criminal case against him.

In her ruling earlier this year, Staton stated that Girardi, “clearly understands the nature of the charges against him.”

Once a titan of the American legal community, Girardi won billions of dollars in settlements for clients over a career spanning five decades. His public stature was elevated by a landmark payout to residents of Hinkley, Calif., by Pacific Gas & Electric, portrayed in the film “Erin Brockovich.” However, his firm collapsed in late 2020 after evidence emerged that he had misappropriated millions from settlements, including money intended for the families of victims of an Indonesian plane crash. This led a federal judge in Chicago to freeze Girardi’s assets and refer him for criminal investigation.

Forced into bankruptcy, Girardi and his firm have faced numerous claims from former clients alleging they did not receive their settlements.

In addition to charges in Los Angeles, Girardi and his son-in-law David Lira, along with Kamon, face federal criminal charges in Chicago related to the misappropriation of $3 million from the Indonesian plane crash victims. A trial in Chicago is scheduled for 2025.

 

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