California lawyer and former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills actor Tom Girardi has been found guilty of embezzling $15 million in settlement funds from clients. Girardi was convicted of four counts of wire fraud at the federal courthouse in Los Angeles by a jury of his peers on August 27. The 85-year-old will be sentenced on December 6 and faces up to 80 years in jail, 20 years for each offence.
Girardi is the husband of Erika Jayne, who also stars in the same show. He was accused of doing a reverse Robin Hood by deceiving clients and pilfering funds in personal injury cases to spend money on luxury private jets and golf club memberships. United States attorney Martin Estrada said, “Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice.
’ In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support a lavish Hollywood lifestyle.” Inspiration for Erin Brokovich Girardi, now disbarred, worked on the 1993 groundwater contamination lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric which inspired the 2000 Hollywood film, Erin Brokovich. According to the US Attorney’s office, he was once a powerful figure in California’s legal community, running the Girardi Keese law firm, which was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in 2020.
He was disbarred by the state bar of California in July 2022. Reality show His legal battles with his estranged wife, Jayne, become a storyline in the Housewives of Beverly Hills show,.