Disbarred celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi found guilty of stealing millions from his clients

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disbarred celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi was convicted Tuesday of embezzling tens of millions of dollars from his clients, including several with severe physical injuries and families of people killed in accidents.

After a 13-day trial and less than a full day of deliberations, the federal jury in Los Angeles found the 85-year-old Girardi guilty of four counts of wire fraud.

Girardi is the estranged husband of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne and appeared on the show himself dozens of times between 2015 and 2020.

He was once among the most prominent lawyers in the nation, often representing victims of major disasters against powerful companies. One lawsuit against California’s Pacific Gas and Electric utility led to a $333 million settlement and was portrayed in the 2000 Julia Roberts film “Erin Brockovich.”

But his law empire collapsed, and he was disbarred in California in 2022 over client thefts.

Former clients who testified against Girardi included an Arizona woman whose husband was killed in a boat accident and victims who were burned in a 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, south of San Francisco.

“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice,’” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement after the verdict. “In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse.”

An email to Girardi’s attorneys seeking comment on the conviction was not immediately answered.

During trial, defense lawyers sought to blame the thefts on his firm’s chief financial officer, Chris Kamon, who is charged separately and has pleaded not guilty. They portrayed Girardi as a mere figurehead in recent years, with a valuable name.

Prosecutors played jurors voicemails in which Girardi gave a litany of false reasons why money that a court had awarded could not be paid, including tax and debt obligations and judge authorizations. He frequently told them, “Don’t be mad at me.”

Girardi’s attorneys also had argued that he was not competent to stand trial because he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Issues with his memory had led another court to put him in a conservatorship under his brother.

But prosecutors contended that Girardi was exaggerating his symptoms, and a judge ruled that he was competent for trial.

Girardi could get as much as 80 years in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for December. A judge has allowed him to remain free until then.

Girardi also faces federal wire fraud charges in Chicago, where he is accused of stealing about $3 million from family members of victims of a 2018 Lion Air crash that killed 189 people.