'Real Housewives' hubby Girardi sentenced to 7+ years for embezzlement
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former attorney and "Real Wives of Beverly Hills" husband Tom Girardi to more than seven years in prison for embezzling $15 million from former clients. Photo by Activedia/Pixabay
June 3 (UPI) -- "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills " husband and former attorney Tom Girardi will spend real time in a federal prison for stealing $15 million from his former clients.
U.S. District Court for Central California Judge Josephine Staton on Tuesday sentenced Girardi, 86, to seven years and three months in federal prison.
Staton also ordered Girardi to pay $2.3 million in restitution and fines and on Monday ruled his dementia won't keep him out of prison.
Girardi is the estranged husband of the reality show's Erika Jayne, and a federal jury in August convicted him on four counts of wire fraud for embezzling millions from his clients over 10 years.
His victims include relatives of some of the victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash in the Java Sea that killed 189 people.
Girardi embezzled $3 million from several surviving family members of the tragedy's victims.
Instead of ordering Girardi to stay in a long-term care facility due to his dementia, Staton ordered him to report to prison to start serving his sentence on July 17.
Staton presided over a three-hour hearing on Monday, during which two medical experts brought by the prosecution testified about Girardi's medical condition.
Two witnesses also testified on Girardi's behalf, and he took the stand to testify in his defense.
Girardi's testimony indicated confusion and a lack of awareness regarding his current situation.
He told the court he recently traveled the country and has an active case in Oklahoma.
Girardi, though, was a resident in an assisted living home in California and kept in its secure memory care area for the past two years.
He also underwent psychological evaluation for six weeks in North Carolina at the start of the year.
During Monday's hearing, Girardi at times said he has "serious memory loss" when asked about his current situation.
Staton ruled that his responses demonstrated Girardi's self-awareness.
As Girardi exited the witness stand, his trousers began to drop, but he quickly righted them, which Staton said further demonstrated his mental awareness.
His attorneys asked Staton to require him to stay at his current assisted living facility, but she sentenced him to serve his time at an appropriate federal prison facility.
Girardi formerly was among attorneys representing victims during the 1993 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. lawsuit that inspired the "Erin Brockovich" film starring Julia Roberts that was released in 2000.
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