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Tom Girardi, the estranged husband of RHOBH star Erika Jayne, was found competent to stand trial despite his “rude” outburst in court.
Disgraced attorney Tom Girardi will stand trial for his alleged crimes.
Page Six reports that a Los Angeles federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Tom Girardi is competent enough to stand trial for fraud despite claims the once-famed Los Angeles attorney suffers from late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton filed his three-sentence order under written seal after presiding over a three-day hearing last year in August.
The 84-year-old is “accused of federal wire fraud charges and other counts in two jurisdictions — Los Angeles and Chicago” in connection with the misappropriation of $18 million dollars in client settlement funds.
People close to Tom Girardi have claimed that he has suffered from dementia for years while inhibiting his ability to understand the changes against or know what happened to the millions of dollars that belonged to clients of his now-defunct Girardi Keese law firm.
“He still thinks he’s practicing law,” Tom’s estranged wife and RHOBH star Erika Jayne told Andy Cohen in 2022 on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live.
In January 2021, Tom was diagnosed with Alzheimers and was placed in a conservatorship overseen by his younger brother. Tom currently lives in a memory care facility.
This all came just months after Tom’s house of cards collapsed in December 2020, which is why many have questioned his diagnosis. In the weeks and days leading up to Girardi Keese crumbling, Tom was running the firm and working with clients on a daily basis with no signs of mental struggle.
Many, including the California State Bar, were suspicious that Tom Girardi, who was ultimately disbarred in 2022, was faking his dementia in order to escape prosecution for his alleged crimes. The State Bar of California noted in one filing that claims of Tom’s mental capacity issues “only after [Girardi] became enmeshed in mounting legal troubles.”
The former RHOBH husband will now stand trial for a February 2023 indictment for allegedly embezzling $15 million from his former clients.
He was charged with five counts of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.
The trial will most likely take place in mid to late 2024.
Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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