Erika Jayne is still dealing with legal issues four years after her split from Tom Girardi.
At the age of 53, Erika, a star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, provided an update on the numerous legal battles she has been involved in following accusations against her estranged husband for embezzling millions from clients at his law firm, Girardi Keese, in order to support their extravagant lifestyle.
Speaking on the RHOBH After Show on Wednesday, December 17, Erika shared, “It’ll be four years in two weeks that I left home and everything happened. In that four years, I’ve been able to accept a lot of things, heal through a lot of things, and I will continue to do that.”
However, according to Erika, she is still facing legal woes four years later.
She went on to say, “I’m not completely out of the woods. I’m still being sued in a lot of places, but those things will resolve. It is what it is. I just try to maintain the healthiest attitude possible going forward.”
Girardi’s legal woes went public in November 2020 after Erika filed for divorce after 21 years of marriage. One month later, the pair were accused of embezzling funds meant for families of plane crash victims. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star was dismissed from the case in January 2022.
More than one year later, Girardi was indicted in the embezzlement case. He was charged with five counts of wire fraud at the time, to which he pleaded not guilty. Jayne, for her part, was not accused of any crimes. Girardi was disbarred by the State of California in 2022.
In August, Girardi, 85, was found guilty of embezzling “tens of millions of dollars” from clients. Prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for Girardi. His sentencing hearing is set to take place on Friday, December 20.
“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,” prosecutors argued in a December 6 sentencing memo obtained by Reuters.
Following Girardi’s conviction in August, United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a press release, “Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice. In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support of 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.”
Per the press release, Girardi diverted millions of dollars from his law firm’s operating account to pay expenses outside of work including his and estranged wife Erika Jayne’s company EJ Global plus funded private jet travel, jewelry, luxury cars, golf and social clubs.
