A Los Angeles jury convicted Tom Girardi of running a massive 10-year Ponzi scheme in which he allegedly siphoned at least $15 million in settlement funds from four of his clients. The 85-year-old estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne was found guilty of all four wire fraud charges and faces a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years on each count.
The scams were the subject of the 2021 Hulu documentary The Housewife and the Hustler.
The jury began deliberating Monday afternoon following closing arguments and met for about two hours Tuesday morning before announcing that a verdict had been reached. Girardi, who has dementia, showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read.
The scheme was set to have run from 2010-20 with more than $15 million being pocketed. Girardi was a well-known attorney for his role in the real-life 1980s suit against utility company Pacific Gas & Electric that inspired the film Erin Brockovich, whose star Julia Roberts won the Bests Actress Oscar.
Once known as a defender of the powerless in class-action lawsuits against corporations, Girardi represented plaintiffs in a number of high-profile cases, including Bryan Stow’s civil suit against Major League Baseball. Stow was the San Francisco Giants fan who sustained severe injuries during an
attack in a Dodger Stadium parking lot.
Girardi was indicted by the U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada alongside Christopher Kamon, accountant for the now-shuttered L.A. law firm Girardi & Keese, for “engaging in a widespread scheme to steal from their clients and lie to them to cover up the fraud.” Kamon, 50, is accused of pocketing about $50 million from Girardi Keese account and scheduled to stand trial separately in January.
CNS contributed to this report.
