Tom Girardi Found Guilty of Embezzling Millions From Clients

Disbarred personal injury lawyer Tom Girardi has been found guilty of leading a years-long scheme in which he embezzled tens of millions of dollars from his clients.

After a 13-day trial, Girardi was convicted Tuesday of four counts of wire fraud. He is scheduled for a Dec. 6 sentencing hearing, where he will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count.

Girardi is known for his role in the class-action lawsuit, filed in 1993, against California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Company — a case that inspired the 2000 film “Erin Brockovich,” starring Julia Roberts. (The lawsuit led to a $333 million settlement in 1996.) He is also the estranged husband of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne and appeared on the show multiple times between 2015 and 2020.

“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice,’” U.S. attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement following the jury verdict. “In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support of a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle. Today’s verdict shows that the game is up — we can all now see this defendant for what he was and the victims he callously betrayed.” 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, said in a release that, according to evidence presented at the trial, Girardi misappropriated and embezzled millions from client trust accounts at his now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese. The former attorney also failed to pay his Girardi Keese clients — several of whom had suffered severe injuries in accidents — the money they were owed. Girardi carried out this scheme from October 2010 to late 2020.

“Girardi diverted tens of millions of dollars from his law firm’s operating account to pay illegitimate expenses, including more than $25 million to pay the expenses of EJ Global, a company formed by his wife related to her entertainment career, as well as spent millions of dollars of Girardi Keese funds on private jet travel, jewelry, luxury cars, and exclusive golf and social clubs,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.