Thomas Girardi Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Annenberg Space for Photography
Tom Girardi has been sentenced in his California wire fraud case after being found guilty.
NBC News confirmed on Tuesday, June 3, that Girardi, 86, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. He was also ordered to pay over $2 million in restitution to victims.
Federal prosecutors filed a sentencing memo in December 2024 requesting a 14-year prison sentence for Girard according to Reuters. The outlet reported that prosecutors acknowledged the disbarred lawyer’s advanced age and the fact that he has “some cognitive impairment” but argued that he should still receive a “significant custodial sentence” in federal prison.
“His years-long theft of client funds from his law firm’s trust accounts and the myriad lies he told to cover up his theft represent a calculated and devastating betrayal of the very people that turned to him for help in their darkest hour,” the prosecutors said.
Pat the … divorce papers. After Erika Jayne went to court to end her marriage to Tom Girardi, Bravo fans were shocked to learn that what seemed like one of the strongest couples in Real Housewives history was not so picture-perfect after all. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star announced in November 2020 that […]
On the other hand, Girardi’s federal public defenders suggested that he be sentenced to life in a medical facility, claiming that he would be “one of the nation’s most-compelling candidates for medical release” from prison. (Girardi was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia in March 2021, but a judge ruled in January that he was competent to stand trial.)
Erika Jayne Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Live Nation Las Vegas
Us Weekly confirmed in August that Girardi — who is the estranged husband of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne — was found guilty on four counts of fraud, with his trial determining that he embezzled more than $15 million from multiple clients, “some of whom awaited payment for treatment of severe physical injuries.”
“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice,’” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a press release at the time. “In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support 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.”
Two sides to every story. Erika Jayne has been candid about her highs and lows with estranged husband Tom Girardi amid their ongoing legal battles. The pair were married for 20 years before Erika filed for divorce in November 2020. Ahead of their split, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star frequently defended the duo’s […]
Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, added: “Mr. Girardi was retained to advocate for clients who put their trust in him, but instead, lied to them and stole their money to fund his lavish lifestyle. Girardi falsely promoted himself in the media as a pillar of the legal community with a heightened sense of justice, but the clients he wronged for many years have now found actual justice in today’s verdict.”
Girardi was indicted in February 2023 on five counts of wire fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty. The indictment accused Girardi and his colleague Christopher Kazuo Kamon of fraudulently obtaining millions that belonged to Girardi Keese clients between the years of 2010 and 2020.
Being a Real Housewife isn’t all diamonds and rosé — just ask the many Bravolebrities who’ve legal woes have played out in the spotlight. While some franchises tackle the lawsuits on air — including Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa and Joe Giudice’s fraud case, Real Housewives of New York City’s Sonja Morgan’s bankruptcy filing […]
One month before Girardi’s legal woes made headlines, Jayne, 53, filed for divorce after nearly 21 years of marriage. She has not been charged with any criminal offenses, but earlier this month, she provided an update on the various lawsuits she faced after Girardi was accused of embezzling money to fund their lifestyle.
“I’m not completely out of the woods. I’m still being sued in a lot of places, but those things will resolve,” Jayne said on the RHOBH After Show. “It is what it is. I just try to maintain the healthiest attitude possible going forward.”
