Tom Girardi has been found guilty of embezzling more than $15 million from clients of his now-defunct law firm, Girardi & Keese.
After less than a full day of deliberations, a federal jury presented its verdict at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse Tuesday.
The former attorney and estranged husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne was found guilty on all four counts of wire fraud, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
He will be sentenced in December.
Tom Girardi was found guilty of embezzling more than $15 million from clients of his now-defunct law firm, Girardi & Keese.
Girardi is the estranged husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne.
A federal jury presented its verdict at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse Tuesday.
Girardi was disbarred in July 2022 and indicted the following February.
During the 13-day trial, federal prosecutors told the jury that the once-revered California lawyer ran a decade-long Ponzi scheme by stealing and misappropriating tens of millions of dollars of his clients’ settlements.
They said Girardi, 85, would use the money to pay back other clients and fund a luxurious life for himself and Jayne, 53.
The former attorney, seen here in 2018, was found guilty on all four counts of wire fraud, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Girardi was disbarred in July 2022 and indicted the following February.
His federal public defenders, however, insisted that the firm’s former chief financial officer and Girardi’s co-defendant, Chris Kamon, was to blame for the missing and misappropriated money.
They claimed Girardi – who was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in March 2021 – was incompetent and used as a pawn.
However, Girardi was found fit to stand trial and took the stand last week to deny any wrongdoing.
During the trial, federal prosecutors said the once-revered California lawyer ran a decade-long Ponzi scheme by stealing and misappropriating tens of millions of dollars of his clients’ settlements.
They said he would use the money to pay back other clients and fund a luxurious life for himself and Jayne.
“The last thing I would do would be to take someone’s money,” he testified. “I wouldn’t think of it.”
Girardi insisted he “didn’t intentionally ever tell anyone the wrong thing” and claimed Kamon “was very clever in stealing millions of dollars.”
He also repeated several times during his testimony that he never gave himself a salary.
Girardi faces another trial on federal fraud charges in Chicago in March 2025.
