Credit: Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Tom Girardi has been found guilty of four counts of wire fraud.
Following claims of having stolen more than $15 million in settlement funds from his former clients, Thomas, 85, the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, 53, and a once-respected attorney, was found guilty on all four charges he was facing and will be sentenced for his crimes later this year.
According to an August 27 report from the Los Angeles Times, a federal court jury ruled on the decision on Tuesday in Los Angeles after a 13-day trial, which featured emotional testimonies from his past clients, including a widow, and former employees of his now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese.
Kathleen Ruigomez, the mother of a burn victim, was in the front row of the hearing and shed tears as Thomas’ guilty verdict was announced.
As the outlet explained, the ruling was read by Judge Josephine Staton following closing arguments on Monday. And in response, Thomas, who wore the same gray blazer for the entirety of the trial, rubbed his forehead. Then, after the hearing let out, he was asked if he’d like to comment.
“No. No,” he reportedly said with a chuckle.
Amid the hearing, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada gave a written statement, targeting Thomas for using money belonging to his former clients to fund his and Erika’s lavish lifestyle.
“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice.’ In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support of a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle. Today’s verdict shows that the game is up – we can all now see this defendant for what he was and the victims he callously betrayed,” he wrote.
Throughout the trial, Thomas and his defense placed the blame on his former chief financial officer, Christopher Kamon, who has also been accused of fraud.
While Thomas, who was disbarred in 2022, established ties with senators, mayors, and other high-powered people, his legacy came crashing down in late 2020 as he was accused of stealing from his firm and its clients, including widows and orphans of a plane crash in Indonesia (Thomas is facing an additional trial in regard to this matter in Chicago).
“I trusted him too much,” testified Joseph Ruigomez, a burn victim who he attained a $53-million settlement for years ago — but failed to pay.
Although many confronted Thomas about his non-payment, he reportedly told them, “Don’t be mad at me,” in voicemails and letters that were presented in court.
“He picked these people in the darkest hour of their life and told them what he thought they’d believe,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Moghaddas said in court on Monday. “What you saw in this case is, for years, the defendant was running a Ponzi scheme.”
As for Chris, he was accused of stealing more than $50 million from Girardi Keese and using the misappropriated funds to make a $20,000-per-month payment to his girlfriend and to pay for homes.
“This was Mr. Kamon’s scheme,” Deputy Public Defender Charles Snyder said. “This was absolutely not [Girardi’s] fraud.”
According to Thomas’ lawyers, he was mentally unfit to stand trial. But according to a federal judge, he absolutely was.
“Mr. Girardi got old and he got sick and he lost his mind,” Charles insisted to the jury, adding that partners of Girardi Keese were “propping him up to keep the party going.”
Thomas will be sentenced on December 6 and will remain free until his hearing.
