Disbarred RHOBH lawyer Tom Girardi is due in court today in LA. Here's what you should know.
Disbarred RHOBH lawyer Tom Girardi is due in court today in LA. Here's what you should know.
The former king of California legal circles hasn't been seen publicly outside tabloid photos since his career fell apart in December 2020 amid embezzlement allegations.
After more than two years out of the public eye, disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi is to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom today on a federal indictment that accuses him of embezzling millions of dollars from five clients.
It’s a momentous occasion for both the 83-year-old former king of mass torts and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, with top prosecutor Martin Estrada saying last week that the criminal probe is ongoing and wide-ranging.
Girardi’s prosecution already has been affected by the sprawling nature of the fraudulent activity that prosecutors say permeated his law firm, Girardi Keese LLP. The case was originally assigned at random to U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, but it was transferred to U.S. District Josephine Staton on Friday because it was deemed related to another criminal case against his co-defendant, former Girardi Keese Chief Financial Officer Christopher Kamon.
But Girardi won’t be appearing before Staton today: Arraignments are handled by U.S. magistrate judges, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Stevenson is scheduled to take Girardi’s plea at 1 p.m. today in courtroom 880 of the Roybal Federal Building. And it appears he’ll have public defenders by his side. Criminal defense attorney Evan Jenness was listed as his previous counsel in prosecutors’ Jan. 31 case summary, but deputy federal defenders Craig Harbaugh and Georgina Wakefield on Friday filed documents under seal to initiate their appointment as Girardi’s counsel.
Kamon already is represented by a private attorney in the other criminal case: Jack P. Dicanio, a partner in Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s Palo Alto office.
Kamon has been in custody since his arrest in Baltimore in November and is being held without bail. His case alleges embezzlement from Girardi Keese separate from the client-theft Ponzi scheme the new indictment outlines. Notably, Kamon last month waived his indictment, which means the case will proceed not through a grand jury indictment but through charges filed by prosecutors based on a written complaint. That signifies cooperation on Kamon’s part.
Meanwhile, Kamon’s five new wire fraud charges with Girardi in California involve amounts between $15,000 and $4 million, but the indictment puts the total amount stolen by Girardi and Kamon at “in excess of” $15 million. Further, while Estrada said at the presser said Girardi embezzled “tens of millions,” the description of the settlements at issue - particularly the $53 million settlement passed off as $7.25 million - indicates an amount far greater than $15 million.
All that will matter a great deal if Girardi is ever convicted of any of the wire fraud charges, as sentences for wire fraud depends on the dollar amount involved.
But as last week’s press conference previewed, Girardi’s mental competency is going to be a big and immediate issue. It’s something we could be hearing about during the arraignment, particularly is prosecutors ask for him to be detained. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Moghaddas is prosecuting. He’s also prosecuting Kamon’s other case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Paetty.
Needless to say, Girardi’s appearance should be pretty wild. I’m planning to get to the courthouse early enough to catch him going in and will be sharing any footage I get on my new YouTube channel; stay tuned. (Subscribe to my channel here.) I’ll also link to it on Twitter, where I’ll share other updates from the courthouse.
Keep in mind: Girardi hasn’t been seen in the media outside tabloid photos since his life fell apart in late 2020 amid embezzlement allegations lodged against him by co-counsel in the settlements over the deadly 2018 Lion Air plane crash.
His marriage to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne unraveled about the same time Chicago-based lawyer Jay Edelson told U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin of the missing settlement money. Erika publicly divulged his affair with now-retired California Court of Appeal justice Tricia Bigelow, whose has since relinquished to the bankruptcy trustee jewelry that Girardi gifted her. The trustee is busy trying to clawback money Girardi stole from his clients through adversary cases in U.S. Bankruptcy Court against recipients such as Erika, who was targeted over a $750,000 pair of diamond earrings Girardi bought her using client money.
It all happened amid the revelations in Chicago federal court, which included Judge Durkin referring Girardi and associates to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for criminal prosecution. Prosecutors there unveiled their indictment the same day Los Angeles prosecutors announced the five-count indictment against Girardi and Kamon.
The Chicago case charges Girardi, Kamon and 62-year-old David Lira, who is Girardi’s son-in-law, with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts brought under the federal law that criminalizes contempt of court. U.S. Code title 18, section 401 also criminalizes misbehavior by officers of the court in their official court business and disobedience or resistance to court orders.
Chicago prosecutors say Girardi, Kamon and Lira’s alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars meant for family members of Lion Air crash victims qualifies.
It’s not a charge I’ve seen in the Central District of California: Prosecutors here didn’t bring it against Michael Avenatti, the former lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels sentenced to 14 years in December for stealing $12 million from four client settlements. They also didn’t bring it against low-profile disbarred lawyer Philip James Layfield, who embezzled $5.5 million from clients and was sentenced last year to 12 years in prison.
But prosecutors in Illinois included it with their wire fraud charges, and Girarid is scheduled to be arraigned there next month. They’re also seeking forfeiture in the amount of $3,069,500.
Their indictment describes Girardi’s “lulling” tactics with the clients, including sending one a letter in May 2020 that said in part, “I think you are going to love me in 30 days.” Prosecutors say that was Girardi’s way of “falsely implying and promising” that the client would soon see a payout.
An arraignment had been scheduled for Tuesday in Chicago, but Lira’s was moved to Friday and will be conducted via video. Girardi’s was moved to March 3 and also will be conducted via video.
In California, prosecutors say Girardi and Kamon used the money they stole from clients to partially pay other clients who’d settlements they’d stolen, pay law firm expenses and to bankroll personal expenses, including luxury car leases and country club memberships. The men concealed their crimes by lying to the victims and giving them a false sense of security that the attorneys were merely addressing legal requirements.
The first client Girardi is accused of victimizing is a San Bruno man enlisted him in 2010 to sue a public utility company for an explosion that severely burned him. Girardi settled his case for $53 million, told him it was only $7.25 million, then eventually sent him $2.5 million from another, unrelated settlement.
The second client lives in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and was due 67 percent of a $504,400 settlement in a lawsuit over the death of her husband in a boating accident. After threatening to report Girardi to the California State Bar, she received only $150,000 in two payments from other settlements as Girardi repeatedly lied to her.
The third client resides in Castaic and was represented by Girardi in a lawsuit against a medical provider over a defective device that several damaged organs. The case settled for $128,500, but prosecutors say Girardi and Kamon stole the money then repeatedly lied to the client about the settlement status.
The final two clients enlisted Girardi in December 2019 to sue over a car crash that paralyzed their son from the neck down. The indictment alleges Girardi and Kamon stole the $17.5 million settlement, then. paid the couple incremental “lulling payments” to trick them into thinking nothing was wrong.
Asked at a press conference in Los Angeles last week about judges, mediators and arbitrators who aided Girardi’s defrauding of his clients, Estrada said the investigation is ongoing and wide-ranging.
“We are looking at all time frames and of course encouraging victims to come forward,” Estrada said. “We have resources from the IRS. We have resources from the FBI. We have AUSAs form my office working diligently on this case. We’re continuing to pursue multiple angles in this investigation.”
I detailed Girardi’s legal situation in a YouTube video you can check out here. Please subscribe to my channel if you are so inclined.
Thank you for reading this special edition of Legal Affairs and Trials with Meghann Cuniff. Sign up for free and you will have a collection of my latest Los Angeles Magazine articles, photography, videos, Twitter threads and exclusive insights sent to your email inbox every week. I will be back with the regular roundup on Friday.