Tom Girardi was found guilty Tuesday in an LA court of running a years-long Ponzi scheme where he conned clients out of millions of dollars in settlement funds.
Disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi was convicted Tuesday of defrauding clients in a years-long Ponzi scheme through his now defunct Girardi Keese law firm.
Following a 13-day trial, Girardi, 85, was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud by a jury. Girardi faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count.
Girardi, who was disbarred from the State Bar of California in July 2022, was known for his work representing plaintiffs against major corporations, specifically in the Pacific Gas & Electric case that inspired the 2000 film « Erin Brokovich. »
He found fame later on in life as the husband of « Real Housewives of Beverly Hills » star, Erika Jayne.
When Girardi won the $333 million settlement for the residents of the town of Hinkley, California, in the monumental 1996 PG&E case, it was, at the time, the largest ever paid direct-action lawsuit.
« 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 release following Girardi’s guilty verdict.
« In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle.
