Erika Jayne's ex Tom Girardi, 86, sentenced to 7 years in prison for wire fraud

New York Post

2 days ago

Erika Jayne's estranged husband has finally learned his fate.
Tom Girardi, 86, has been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison for embezzling millions of dollars from his former clients, NBC News reported on Tuesday.
The disgraced lawyer was also reportedly ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution to his victims, as well as a $35K fine.
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9 Erika Jayne's estranged husband, Tom Girardi, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison on Tuesday for embezzling millions of dollars from his former clients.
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Girardi's sentencing comes nearly one year after he was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud in a Los Angeles federal court in August 2024.
The former powerhouse attorney, who ran the now-closed Girardi Keese law firm, was accused of stealing more than $15 million in settlement funds from his clients from October 2010 to late 2020.
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Several of his victims were the loved ones of those killed in the 2018 Lion Air crash, which claimed the lives of all 189 people onboard.
9 Girardi, 86, leaving court after his sentencing in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Meghann M. Cuniff / BACKGRID
9 A court sketch of the disgraced attorney as he was sentenced in a Los Angeles federal court.
Mona Shafer Edwards / BACKGRID
'Girardi sent lulling communications to the defrauded clients that, among other things, falsely denied that the settlement proceeds had been paid and falsely claimed that Girardi Keese could not pay the settlement proceeds to clients until certain purported requirements had been met,' the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said in a news release upon Girardi's sentencing.
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'These bogus requirements included addressing supposed tax obligations,' the office continued, 'settling bankruptcy claims, obtaining supposedly necessary authorizations from judges, and satisfying other debts.'
Federal prosecutors added that Girardi, whose 1993 groundwater contamination lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. inspired the 2000 film 'Erin Brockovich,' used his celebrity status to steal money from clients.
9 Girardi was also reportedly ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution to his victims.
Meghann M. Cuniff / BACKGRID
9 Girardi was convicted of four counts of wire fraud in August 2024.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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'This self-proclaimed 'champion of justice' was nothing more than a thief and a liar who conned his vulnerable clients out of millions of dollars,' Bilal Essayli, who serves as the US Attorney for the Central District of California, said.
Girardi's sentencing comes weeks after Jayne, who filed for divorce from the former attorney in 2020 after 21 years of marriage, broke her silence on his wire fraud conviction.
'I could have never saw this coming,' the 53-year-old 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star said in March. 'Tom was loved, he was admired, he was accomplished. And this is how his story ended.'
9 Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in 2020 after 21 years of marriage.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
9 Girardi arriving for an initial court appearance at the Edward Roybal Federal Court Building in Los Angeles on Feb. 6, 2023.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
'I don't know that I'll ever get over that,' she added.
Jayne was in London when her estranged hubby was sentenced, and she talked about 'picking yourself up after dark times' in an interview with Vogue UK published on Tuesday.
'We all go through things – you have to realize that you're not the only one,' she said. 'And you have to find the will to take baby steps until you feel more comfortable, and those baby steps might last for a long time.'
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Although the 'RHOBH' star was initially named in an embezzlement lawsuit against Girardi in 2020, she was later dismissed from the complaint in 2022.
9 Jayne, 53, was in London as her estranged husband was sentenced in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
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9 Girardi and Jayne during an episode of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.'
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Girardi, who allegedly suffers from Alzheimer's disease, was ordered to surrender to federal authorities by July 17.
The Post has reached out to Jayne's rep for comment.