Tom Girardi’s Law Firm Was Approved For $1.5M PPP Loan 5 Months Before He Filed Bankruptcy!

The hits just keep on coming for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Erika Jayne, and her estranged husband, Thomas Girardi. According to public documents, Tom’s firm, Girardi Keese, was approved for a loan topping $1.5 million less than a year before they were forced into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The firm secured a loan of $1,503,000 allocated to pay a reported 84 employees, on April 15, 2020. 

The Paycheck Protection Program allowed businesses to secure low-interest private loans to pay employees and handle other expenditures during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Tom’s law partner, Robert Keese, along with other business partners, Robert Finnerty and Jill O’Callahan, claim that they’re owed approximately $315k in income from the partnership. Keese sued Tom to dissolve their partnership, in December. Tom’s partners alleged that he used the money owed to them “for his own personal gain.”

Fans of the Bravo show know that Erika filed for divorce from the once famed attorney in November, after a 21-year marriage. A Los Angeles Times report published in December claimed that Tom was struggling to keep his law firm afloat while Erika flaunted her riches on Bravo. 

As previously reported—Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton, the writers of the Los Angeles Times bombshell report, appeared on Kate Casey’s podcast to sound off about the legal drama surrounding the broken couple.  

“It is the nightmare scenario for any lawyer, that this would happen, that everything you built would just fall apart. And I think a lot of people are thinking, ‘If this could happen to Tom Girardi, it can potentially happen to me,’” Harriet shared on the January 1 episode of Reality Life with Kate Casey. “It’s scary.”

“There are several different pressure points facing Tom at the moment,” Matt said. 

Harriet clarified that she had never watched RHOBH prior to writing the article, and was not aware of Erika’s persona. Matt was in the same position, having only seen the show “here and there.” 

Both writers were familiar with Tom, because of his distinguished career as one of Los Angeles’ top legal eagles.

The pair explained that they began hearing of the potential legal problems surrounding Girardi and Keese over a year ago. Harriet and Matt dug into the story after learning of the mounting legal cases against Tom and his firm. 

A 64-page report filed in the LA bankruptcy court revealed that Tom owes at least $56.8 million to various creditors. The disgraced attorney is also being taken to court by Wells Fargo for allegedly breaching an agreement. The ex-couple has been accused of embezzling settlement cash owed to clients in order to fund their luxury lifestyles.

As reported—Ronald Richards, the lawyer hired to investigate Erika’s assets, revealed in May that a team of lawyers would be watching the currently airing season of RHOBH closely. 

‘We will be transcribing every word. The show does not provide immunity to its talent,” he revealed on social media.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm, ET, on Bravo.