Latest news with #ThomasGirardi
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
RHOBH star Erika Jayne's new Army veteran boyfriend nicknamed 'Shrek' as her ex Tom Girardi heads to prison
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika 'Jayne' Girardi is reportedly dating John 'Shrek' McPhee, a retired US Army special operations sergeant major, as her long-delayed divorce from prison-bound estranged second husband Thomas Girardi enters its fifth year. The U.S. Sun obtained pictures of Erika - turning 54 this Thursday - holding hands with the 54-year-old SOB Tactical founder while running errands in Los Angeles on Monday. John has fathered two adult children, one of whom (his son) followed in his footsteps by enlisting in the US Army, and he's been 'divorced several times.' 'It's a hard life, you know? I think it's a hard life because no one understands, like, your level of commitment,' McPhee explained on The Megyn Kelly Show May 26. 'And I say that in a way, like, you're choosing something that might cause your death over and over. People don't see that as rational, but they don't understand. You know what I mean? 'So I would say being married was like being in prison. You could call home, and you ain't going there anytime how marriage works in the Army.' The self-described 'Sheriff of Baghdad' noted: 'Only guys that had perfect relationships, their marriages survived the war.' Lately, John has been employed as a bodyguard for The Hills alum Heidi Montag at her concerts where he proudly dons a 'Team Heidi' shirt. McPhee retired from the Army in 2011 after 20 years of service deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he regularly offers his expertise to civilians, law enforcement, and militaries worldwide. Jayne (born Chahoy) previously mothered 32-year-old LAPD officer Thomas Zizzo Jr. during her first marriage to DJ Thomas Zizzo, which ended in 1996 after five years. The Dominos singer was then married for 21 years to Girardi, who was sentenced to 87 months in prison last month for his law firm allegedly embezzling over $15M from clients between 2010-2020. The 86-year-old disbarred lawyer - who's suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's - was also fined $35K and ordered to pay restitution of $2.3M during the fraud trial. Erika was performing in London when Tom was sentenced, which caused her show to be 5% worse than the prior show because 'I was feeling sorry for myself.' 'It just hurts,' Jayne lamented on the June 13th episode of her podcast Diamonds in the Rough with Teddi Mellencamp. 'It reopens old healing wounds, and it is something that, you know, I had a sold-out crowd in a theater just for me, and I was so grateful. My happiest place in the whole world to be is on stage. So while I was happy … there's a little piece [of me] that was like, "Ugh."' Jayne was married for 21 years to Girardi (L), who was sentenced to 87 months in prison last month for his law firm allegedly embezzling over $15M from clients between 2010-2020 In 2022, a judge ruled in a $5M civil fraud lawsuit that the plaintiffs could not prove The Masked Singer 'Yorkie' had knowledge of or involvement in the alleged fraud. Last Saturday, Erika joined the Scissor Sisters onstage LA's Kia Forum to help them perform their 2012 gay anthem Let's Have a Kiki during the band's 37-date co-headlining T**s Out Tour with pop star Kesha. Jayne has been hard at work filming the 15th season of her Bravo reality show, which captures the debut of fashion designer Rachel Zoe and the exit of Garcelle Beauvais.
Business Insider
04-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
The estranged husband of a 'Real Housewives' star was sentenced for embezzling tens of millions from clients of his law firm
A lawyer and estranged husband of a "Real Housewives" star was sentenced on Tuesday for leading a yearslong scheme that involved embezzling tens of millions of dollars in settlement payments from the clients of his law firm. Thomas Girardi, 86, was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison and ordered to pay about $2.3 million in restitution and a $35,000 fine by US District Judge Josephine L. Staton. She ordered Girardi to surrender to federal authorities by July 17. Girardi was charged in federal court last year in Chicago with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of contempt of court for embezzling millions in settlement money. He was found guilty by a jury in August 2024 of four counts of wire fraud. Girardi, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, was a personal injury attorney and ran the now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese, in Los Angeles. The US Attorney's office for the Central District of California said in a statement that Girardi stole millions of dollars in client settlement funds and failed to make payments to the firm's clients, some of whom had suffered serious injuries in accidents. United States Attorney Bill Essayli said: "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." Girardi was known for taking on powerful corporations in high-profile cases. One lawsuit against California's Pacific Gas and Electric utility led to a $333 million settlement and was depicted in the 2000 film "Erin Brockovich" that starred Julia Roberts. The US Attorney's office said one client who suffered severe burns all over his body when a natural gas pipeline exploded in California in 2010 received just $2.5 million of a $53 million settlement. The US Attorney's office said Girardi diverted more than $25 million to cover expenses for EJ Global, his estranged wife Erika Jayne 's performance and entertainment company. Jayne, who appears in Bravo's "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," has denied any involvement and was not charged. Girardi Keese was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in late 2020 and the State Bar of California disbarred Girardi in July 2022. Christopher Kamon, the former head of Girardi Keese's accounting department, was sentenced in April to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud. He was a co-conspirator in facilitating the embezzlement and falsifying financial records and was ordered to repay nearly $9 million.
Wall Street Journal
04-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Celebrity Lawyer Thomas Girardi Sentenced to 7 Years for Fraud
Former celebrity lawyer Thomas Girardi, one of the attorneys whose pollution case inspired the 'Erin Brockovich' film, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for embezzling tens of millions of dollars from his clients. Girardi, 86, was found guilty by a jury in August for four counts of wire fraud. His clients included families of victims of the 2018 Lion Air plane crash. His Los Angeles law firm, Girardi Keese, filed for bankruptcy in 2020, and he was disbarred in 2022.
Washington Post
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Tom Girardi, former high-profile lawyer, sentenced to 7 years for fraud
Thomas Girardi, a former high-profile attorney who appeared on the reality-television show 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in federal prison for embezzling tens of millions of dollars from his clients. He was best known for representing residents of Hinkley, California, during the 1990s in a lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric, which paid hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements over claims of contaminated groundwater. The case was later made famous by the 2000 film 'Erin Brockovich.'
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former 'Real Housewives' Regular Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison
Former 'Real Housewives' Regular Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison originally appeared on Parade. Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Thomas Girardi has been sentenced to 87 months behind bars, according to NBC News. The disgraced lawyer, who appeared on the Bravo franchise when he was married to Erika Jayne, received his sentencing — which included more than $2 million in restitution to victims — on June 3. The now-86-year-old was found guilty on four charges related to wire fraud and embezzlement after the prosecution claimed that he stole millions of dollars from some of his former clients. In August 2024, Girardi testified in his fraud trial. 'The last thing I would do would be to take someone's money,' Girardi said on the stand, according to Courthouse News Service. "I wouldn't think of it." Months prior, Girardi was deemed competent to stand trial despite being diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer's disease and dementia three years 53, filed for divorce from Girardi in 2020. He was stripped of his license to practice law and was eventually placed in a conservatorship, with his brother, Rob Girardi, stepping in as his conservator. In May 2022, Jayne shared an update on her ex-husband. "I can only say decline and further decline. It will not get better," she told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live. She went on to say that her ex was still under investigation at that time. "They're still investigating. I'm not defending him, but I'm also taking care of myself at the same time," she added. "I saw Tom do a lot of good things for people so you think some of those people perhaps would be like, 'Hey Erika, how are you doing?' But that has not happened." Girardi is expected to surrender to federal authorities to begin his prison sentence on July 17. Former 'Real Housewives' Regular Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison first appeared on Parade on Jun 3, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
