Erika Jayne‘s estranged husband, Thomas Girardi, is being accused of using over $25 million belonging to his clients and his now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese, to fund her career in entertainment.
Weeks before the scheduled start of Thomas’ upcoming trial, where the 85-year-old disbarred attorney will address claims of having stolen $15 million from his former clients, prosecutors have introduced new evidence to the case that involves the 52-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member.
According to a June 22 report from the Los Angeles Times, prosecutors filed documents on Friday in which they alleged that Thomas misappropriated funds from his clients, including over $25 million that he allegedly used to pay for the “illegitimate expenses” of Erika’s recently-suspended entertainment company, EJ Global LLC.
“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,” their filing stated, not revealing how they planned to prove such claims.
In response to the filing, Erika’s lawyer, Evan Borges, pointed out that his client’s name wasn’t mentioned and noted that it was “undisputed” that Thomas and his firm handled the finances and accounting of her company.
“She had no knowledge of the actions of Tom Girardi or Girardi Keese regarding client matters or finances,” he said. “Years ago, Erika filed for divorce and separated from Tom Girardi, and lives in a rental. She is entitled to move on with her life.”
Meanwhile, during a hearing on Thursday, Thoma’s attorneys revealed plans to place blame on Girardi Keese’s former CFO, Christopher Kamon, who was arrested on suspicion of wire fraud in 2022 and charged with “eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of contempt of court” months later after allegedly misappropriating over $3 million in settlement funds meant for relatives of victims of a 2018 plane crash.
As noted by Deputy Public Defender Charles Snyder, Thomas wasn’t “running the machine” at Girardi Keese. Instead, it was Christopher who oversaw the accounting of the firm and its more than 100 bank accounts. And when it came to the deficits in the firm’s accounts, his alleged “side fraud” would be highlighted.
Thomas’ attorneys also plan to suggest that he was actually liquidating his personal assets to cover payroll and other expenses due to Christopher’s alleged scheme, which was supposedly what left Girardi Keese depleted, and explain that Thomas’ lies were told to allow him to get to the bottom of what happened.
In response, however, Christopher’s attorney, Michael Severo, told the court, “It’s just fiction,” and prosecutors have stated that the alleged evidence of Thomas’ paying of EJ Global’s bills is “essential” to tell “a coherent and complete story 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,” they wrote in court documents.
While Thomas and Christopher are expected to go on trial together on August 6, Thomas’ attorneys have requested separate hearings, stating that their defense strategies are “mutually exclusive.”
The decision of whether or not their trials will be split is up to U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton, who deemed Thomas fit to stand trial earlier this year, noting that the former attorney “clearly understands the nature of the charges against him.”
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