Disbarred lawyer and estranged husband of ‘Real Housewives’ star is charged with stealing $18M; is he competent for trial?
Helen Saulnier
3 min read
Legal Justice
Disbarred lawyer and estranged partner of ‘Real Housewives’ star is charged with stealing $18M is he knowledgeable for demo?
Tom Girardi was disbarred in June 2022. Picture by Sipa United states by means of the Linked Push.
Disbarred plaintiffs’ law firm Tom Girardi has been federally indicted in Chicago and Los Angeles for allegedly embezzling far more than $18 million from shoppers.
Girardi, 83, is the estranged husband of Erika Girardi, who appeared on The True Housewives of Beverly Hills actuality Television set clearly show. He was also an adviser to the motion picture Erin Brockovich and portion of the prosperous authorized group portrayed in the film that sued over contaminated groundwater, in accordance to the New York Times. His now-defunct California regulation agency was Girardi Keese.
In Los Angeles, Girardi is charged with 5 counts of wire fraud for allegedly embezzling a lot more than $15 million from many purchasers, in accordance to a Feb. 1 press launch summarizing an indictment unsealed Wednesday. Prosecutors allege that he negotiated settlements on behalf of clients and then lied about how considerably cash he recovered and how the proceeds had been dispersed.
Settlement revenue was applied to pay back other clientele whose money had been misappropriated, to shell out Girardi Keese’s payroll and to pay credit card expenses for Girardi’s individual charges, prosecutors alleged.
In Chicago, Girardi is charged with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of prison contempt, according to a Feb. 1 push release. He is accused of misappropriating more than $3 million in settlement funds for 5 family members of victims killed in the October 2018 crash of Indonesia’s Lion Air Flight 610.
Also charged in Chicago are previous Girardi Keese attorney David R. Lira, 62, and previous Girardi Keese controller and chief monetary officer Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 49. They are billed with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of prison contempt of court docket in the Chicago indictment. Kamon is also accused of doing work with Girardi to aid the embezzlement in the California indictment.
Lira is Girardi’s son-in-law, the New York Times stories.
Other publications masking the indictments consist of Law360, Law.com, Reuters, Courthouse News Support and Bloomberg Regulation.
Kamon was arrested in November on a federal demand of wire fraud when he returned to the United States from the Bahamas. He was charged in a prison grievance with running a “side fraud” plan at Girardi Keese.
Damon Cheronis, Lira’s law firm, instructed the New York Periods that his shopper will plead not responsible.
“David Lira is not Tom Girardi—he did not steal from his customers and he ought to not be criminally billed for Girardi’s misconduct,” Cheronis explained.
There could be a court docket battle about Girardi’s fitness to stand demo and his mental ability when the crimes transpired, supplied his analysis of Alzheimer’s ailment, Regulation360 reports.
Throughout a press conference, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada of Los Angeles said prosecutors assume that Girardi was competent through the time of the alleged embezzlement, which was from 2010 to 2020.
Criminal defense attorney Frank Perri, an adjunct professor at DePaul College, instructed Law360 that defendants identified incompetent for demo are addressed in hopes that they will grow to be qualified. But they could also be located to be forever unfit.
“I’ve experienced purchasers in that age group who have been uncovered unfit and they are not ever going to be uncovered in shape,” Perri explained to Legislation360. “It’s just not heading to take place.”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Litigation lenders bankrolled Tom Girardi irrespective of his obvious ‘proclivities’ for thieving from shoppers, accommodate says”
ABAJournal.com: “‘Real Housewives’ attorney experienced near ties to some point out bar officers, never ever faced ethics expenses irrespective of accusations”
ABAJournal.com: “California bar opened 205 ethics issues about this lawyer, who wasn’t disbarred right until this year”
ABAJournal.com: “Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi’s auction goods incorporated Persian rugs, bronze statues, holographic Pokémon card”
ABAJournal.com: “Disbarment advised for Tom Girardi, lawyer whose law firm was portrayed in ‘Erin Brockovich’ movie”
