Time to pay up. It’s hard to keep track of all the lawsuits against disgraced attorney Tom Girardi and his estranged wife Erika Jayne. Ever since she filed for divorce in November of 2020, things quickly spun out of control. Approximately one month later, Tom was accused of embezzling funds from his clients. It’s estimated that he allegedly stole millions from the clients he represented in large settlement cases. Erika, whose legal woes have played out on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, hasn’t been charged with anything. But she has multiple lawsuits against her as well.
Now Radar Online is reporting that Tom has been ordered to pay $2.3 million-plus interest in restitution to his former clients. The majority of the money will be going to orphans and widows, the most vulnerable of his clients. Tom was also slapped with $5k in sanctions. In addition, he has officially been disbarred after accumulating 14 counts of violating ethics rules and California law.
Since Tom’s law firm went bankrupt in 2020, a recent filing revealed that there is a whopping $517 million in claims against them. $363 million of it was unsecured claims, $17 million in priority claims. Additionally, $137 million is in secured claims and $250k in administrative claims.
Tom’s clients have accused him of using their rightfully awarded settlement money to fund his lifestyle with Erika. In a class action lawsuit against both Tom and Erika, documents read, “[Tom] …continues to use that money to fund his and Erika’s lavish lifestyle, release personal guarantees, pay down loans, route the money to friends and family and satisfy other outstanding debts.”
Now Tom has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and lives in a senior living facility under a conservatorship. For her part, Erika is now living in $1+ million bungalow and still using a glam squad. And while she repeatedly denied any wrongdoing on her part, she certainly hasn’t attempted to clear her name in the court of public opinion. In the trailer for the latest season of RHOBH, she tells costars, “I don’t give a f–k about anybody else but me.” Even more shocking, in a recent episode, she claimed that the victims of Tom’s alleged crimes might be lying about not receiving their money. Low, even for Erika.
But Erika has her own problems in this mess. She’s being sued for $25 million by Tom’s bankruptcy trustee to cough up funds that were paid to her company, EJ Global. Her company has since been suspended by the California Franchise Tax Board.
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
