Current:Home > MyDisbarred celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi found guilty of stealing millions from his clients-LoTradeCoin
Disbarred celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi found guilty of stealing millions from his clients
View Date:2024-12-23 19:57:47
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.
veryGood! (941)
Related
- Young Black and Latino men say they chose Trump because of the economy and jobs. Here’s how and why
- The Bachelor's Rachel Recchia and Genevieve Parisi Share Coachella Must-Haves
- ACM Awards 2023 Nominations: See the Complete List
- Ukraine can join NATO when allies agree and conditions are met, leaders say
- IAT Community Introduce
- Jason Wahler Shares Rare Glimpse Into His Friendship With Kristin Cavallari After Laguna Beach
- Gas prices got you wanting an electric or hybrid car? Well, good luck finding one
- U.S. soldier believed to be in North Korean custody after unauthorized border crossing, officials say
- Five best fits for Alex Bregman: Will Astros homegrown star leave as free agent?
- World Food Prize goes to former farmer who answers climate change question: 'So what?'
Ranking
- Man is 'not dead anymore' after long battle with IRS, which mistakenly labeled him deceased
- Eliminating fossil fuel air pollution would save about 50,000 lives, study finds
- Farmers in Senegal learn to respect a scruffy shrub that gets no respect
- Satellite photos show Tonga before and after huge undersea volcano eruption
- Will Trump curb transgender rights? After election, community prepares for worst
- To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas
- Encore: Tempe creates emergency response center to be a climate disaster refuge
- It's not too late to stave off the climate crisis, U.N. report finds. Here's how
Recommendation
-
Get Your Home Holiday-Ready & Decluttered With These Storage Solutions Starting at $14
-
Elton John testifies for defense in Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial
-
A new Iron Curtain is eroding Norway's hard-won ties with Russia on Arctic issues
-
Family sues over fatal police tasering of 95-year-old Australian great-grandmother
-
Is Veterans Day a federal holiday? Here's what to know for November 11
-
Oyster reefs in Texas are disappearing. Fishermen there fear their jobs will too
-
Making weather forecasts is hard. Getting people to understand them is even harder
-
Here's Proof And Just Like That... Season 2 Is Coming Soon