Thomas Girardi, husband of ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star Erika Jayne, indicted in Chicago
Erika Jayne attends the 2019 E! People’s Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on November 10, 2019 in Santa Monica, California.
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A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted the lawyer husband of embattled “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne for allegedly stealing more than $3 million in legal settlement money from family members of Lion Air Flight 610 crash victims.
Thomas Girardi, 83, is charged with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of criminal contempt of court. Also charged is onetime Girardi Keese law firm attorney David Lira, 62, as well as the firm’s onetime head of accounting and finance, Christopher Kamon, 49.
All three are based in California and face the same charges. Jayne has not been criminally charged.
Girardi and Kamon also face a separate, broader federal indictment in Los Angeles.
Lira’s Chicago-based attorney, Damon Cheronis, told the Sun-Times in a statement that “David Lira was not involved in a scheme to defraud — he is innocent of these charges.”
“Mr. Lira is a well-respected lawyer and has been for over three decades. He plans on entering a plea of not guilty to all the charges and we intend on defending the case vigorously,” Cheronis wrote.
Girardi and Jayne have been embroiled for more than two years in the scandal stemming from the deadly plane crash, and the controversy has become an ongoing “Real Housewives” storyline.
The Chicago-based law firm Edelson PC first sued Girardi and Jayne in December 2020, alleging they had embezzled the settlement money to fund their “notoriously lavish lifestyles.”
U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin held Girardi in civil contempt shortly after the filing of the Edelson lawsuit — and he said he planned to refer the matter to the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago.
Now, federal prosecutors here allege that Girardi, Lira and Kamon diverted more than $3 million in settlement money to fund Girardi Keese’s payroll and operating expenses, as well as to fund settlements to other Girardi Keese clients.
Those clients’ settlement funds had also been misappropriated by the firm, according to the feds.
Girardi, Lira and Kamon allegedly tried to hide their scam by telling clients that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the firm from handing out settlement money, and at other times they falsely claimed that “serious issues” had arisen and delayed the payments.
This is a developing story.