Former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills " star Tom Girardi, the disbarred attorney, was found guilty by a jury Tuesday in the embezzlement of $15 million from his former clients. Girardi, the 85-year-old estranged husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne, was convicted on four wire fraud charges. The charges alleged he stole money from his clients over the course of a decade, including $3 million from family members of the victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash that killed 189 people.
He pled not guilty to the charges in Los Angeles last year. His sentencing is scheduled for December 6. Tyler Hatcher, special-agent-in-charge for the IRS criminal investigation unit, said that Girardi "exploited his clients’ misfortunes on a grand scale.
" "His clients sought his help in the wake of significant trauma and injury, yet he violated their trust to steal from them and fund his own lavish lifestyle, and he will now face the consequences of his actions," Hatcher said. The U.S.
Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said that the 13-day trial showed how Girardi misappropriated and embezzled millions of dollars from trust accounts for clients. Federal prosecutors allege that Girardi used his role as a high-profile attorney to pilfer money from the clients he represented in cases involving severe injuries. Girardi's public defender filed court documents indicating he planned to place the blame on his law firm's former chief financial officer Chri.