Lawyer Tom Girardi sentenced to 87 months in prison for wire fraud
June 3 (Reuters) - Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi, whose pollution case against a California utility inspired an Oscar-winning film, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Tuesday for stealing $15 million in settlement funds from his clients.
U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton in Los Angeles sentenced Girardi to an 87-month prison term, fined him $35,000 and ordered him to pay more than $2.3 million in restitution, according to the Los Angeles U.S. attorney's office. A federal jury found Girardi guilty of four counts of wire fraud in August 2024.
Girardi turned 86 on Tuesday. He was admitted to the hospital last month due to liver dysfunction, and his lawyers have argued he suffers from dementia.
Staton sided with prosecutors who argued that Girardi should receive a significant sentence in prison. His lawyers had argued that Girardi would likely die in prison, and that he should have be confined to a medical facility for the rest of his life.
"This self-proclaimed 'champion of justice' was nothing more than a thief and a liar who conned his vulnerable clients out of the millions of dollars," Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement.
Girardi, whose lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric inspired the 2000 film "Erin Brockovich," was accused of deceiving his clients and pilfering from settlement funds they had obtained in personal injury cases.
A federal judge in Chicago last month dismissed separate criminal charges there against Girardi, after prosecutors sought their dismissal in light of the pending California sentencing. Those charges stemmed from Girardi's alleged misappropriation of more than $3 million in client funds owed to families of the victims of the Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in 2018.
At trial in the California case, Girardi blamed the fraud on Christopher Kamon, the former chief financial officer of their law firm Girardi Keese.
Girardi's lawyers also argued that he suffers from dementia and should not be prosecuted. Staton ruled last year that Girardi was competent to stand trial.
Kamon pleaded guilty to counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison in the California case. He is set to plead guilty to parallel charges in Chicago federal court next month.
Federal prosecutors said they still plan to go to trial in Chicago against David Lira, Girardi's son-in-law, on July 14. Lira has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud, criminal contempt, and making false statements to a judge in connection with the Lion Air case.
Girardi was once a leading figure in the U.S. plaintiffs bar. He is the estranged husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne Girardi.
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