Real husband of Beverly Hills, Tom Girardi, indicted for alleged embezzlement

The fraud case that bled over onto The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills continues after the cameras stop rolling

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  February 2, 2023 | 12:22am
Aux News Tom Girardi
Real husband of Beverly Hills, Tom Girardi, indicted for alleged embezzlement
Erika Jayne, Tom Giardi Photo: Amy Sussman

Anyone watching the last few seasons of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills knows about Erika Jayne’s 83-year-old estranged husband, Tom Girardi. In the previous few seasons, Girardi became embroiled in a fraud case that, among other things, allegedly cheated clients out of millions of dollars. The story became a point of contention on the show with some of the Housewives because Jayne claimed to have no knowledge of her husband’s actions. However, even the Housewives were concerned about the accusations against Girardi. If Lisa Rinna thinks it’s a disgusting display of greed and power, it must be pretty bad.

And pretty bad it is because Girardi, once touted as one of
the best lawyers in America, was indicted today for allegedly embezzling more
than $15 million from his clients. Girardi and his partner
Christopher Kazuo Kamon are accused of mishandling settlement funds by telling clients that the money hadn’t come in or there was a payroll issue. Page Six
notes that Girardi and Kamon “duped clients that there were certain
requirements they had to meet in order to access their money,” which is
the same way people get robbed buying stuff on Craig’s List.

But the questions about Girardi’s innocence and Jayne’s involvement led to many questions on the last season of Housewives. One instance stood out in particular to them. Per The L.A. Times, Girardi allegedly defrauded the families of victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 crash for $3 million. What can we say? Swindling orphans and widows out of a plane crash settlement is pretty low. Though allegedly, he’s gone lower. One of the victims in the indictment was a child paralyzed in a car crash. In 2019, Giardi negotiated a $17.5 million settlement for the family, with $5,119,449 going right into his bank account.

Giardi moved into a senior living facility because he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia in March 2021, while Kamon is in federal custody. As for Jayne, the court filing refers to her as “as a ‘frontwoman’ of the operation, selling to the world
(including unsuspecting clients) that [Girardi’s law firm] was
successful. And she was exceptionally good in the role.” We should’ve listened to her when she said, “The strongest substance on Earth isn’t diamonds, it’s me.”

 
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