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Erika Jayne’s estranged husband, Tom Girardi, has been found guilty of embezzling $15 million from his clients in fraud case. Get all the details.
On Tuesday, a jury found disbarred attorney Tom Girardi guilty of embezzling millions of dollars from his former clients.
Tom Girardi, the 85-year-old estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, was convicted on four counts of wire fraud.
The charges allege that Tom stole money from his clients over the course of a decade, including $3 million from family members of the 2018 Lion Air crash that killed 189 people.
He pled not guilty in a Los Angeles court last year.
Tom Girardi’s sentencing is scheduled for December 6. For each count of wire fraud, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Following Tom’s conviction, Tyler Hatcher, special-agent-in-charge for the IRS criminal investigation unit, said that Tom Girardi “exploited his clients’ misfortunes on a grand scale.”
“His clients sought his help in the wake of significant trauma and injury, yet he violated their trust to steal from them and fund his own lavish lifestyle, and he will now face the consequences of his actions,” Hatcher said, per media outlets.
“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice,’” US Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement after Tom’s conviction. “In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy” to support a “lavish, Hollywood lifestyle.”
When testifying in court last week, the once-famed attorney denied stealing millions from his clients.
“The last thing I would do would be to take someone’s money,” Tom Girardi, who was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia three years ago, said while on the stand in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse. “I wouldn’t think of it.”
He also reportedly said numerous times during his testimonial that he never gave himself a salary.
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The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is expected to return for season 14 in late 2024 or early 2025.
