Closing arguments are set Monday in the federal criminal trial of Tom Girardi, the disbarred attorney accused of stealing at least $15 million from former clients and spending it on private jets, jewelry and the career of his now-estranged wife, "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne.
Girardi, 85, a former plaintiff's lawyer and ex-owner of the firm Girardi Keese, is charged with four counts of wire fraud after allegedly cheating injured clients and lying about it.
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On Thursday, Girardi was the final witness called by his lawyers to testify, claiming "every client got every penny that every client was supposed to get."
The once-high-powered litigator, who suffers from dementia but was deemed able to assist in his own defense, blamed his now-closed firm's former bookkeeper, Chris Kamon, for the alleged thefts.
In his opening statement Aug. 6, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Paetty told the jury in L.A. federal court that Girardi treated client trust accounts as "his personal piggy bank," adding that some clients never saw anything of their settlements.
"He lied to his clients, stole their money, violated their trust and broke the law," the prosecutor said.
However, federal public defender Sam Cross painted a different picture, telling the panel that the defendant became forgetful and confused as the years rolled by, and Kamon took advantage of Girardi Keese's weakened leader.
Kamon "is the man Tom Girardi trusted to handle the money," but the defendant had no clue the accountant was looting the firm, Cross said in his statement.
"Tom got old," the defense attorney said, and the law firm descended into "chaos. Some people took advantage."
Prosecutors contend that Girardi and Kamon embezzled and pocketed millions that belonged to clients from 2010 to 2020. Kamon, 50, is scheduled for trial separately in January.
From the witness stand Thursday, Girardi said Kamon "was pretty clever in stealing millions of dollars."
Earlier this year, after several days of hearings, Girardi was found competent to stand trial despite his claim that he has Alzheimer's disease and is incapable of assisting his lawyers. He is free on $250,000 bond and lives in the secure memory ward of an Orange County nursing home.
During the trial, alleged victims testified, telling of settlement funds that never arrived and promises broken.
Once known as a defender of the powerless in class-action lawsuits against corporations, Girardi represented plaintiffs in a number of high- profile cases, including Bryan Stow's civil suit against Major League Baseball. Stow was the San Francisco Giants fan who sustained severe injuries during an attack in a Dodger Stadium parking lot.
Girardi also represented plaintiffs in the toxic groundwater case against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. that was dramatized in the Oscar-winning 2000 Julia Roberts movie "Erin Brockovich."
Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in 2020 after a 21-year marriage. Following the split, the couple listed their Pasadena home for sale at a price of $13 million. Jayne has not been charged in the case against her husband.
After Girardi was disbarred in 2022, the State Bar of California reported it had received 205 complaints against him alleging he misappropriated settlement money, abandoned clients or committed other serious ethical violations over the course of his four-decade career.
Girardi Keese collapsed in late 2020 after Girardi was accused in a Chicago lawsuit of embezzling money meant for clients the firm was representing in litigation over an airplane crash in Indonesia. The lawsuit brought by plaintiffs' firm Edelson PC has since been transferred to Los Angeles.
Girardi is in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, as is the now- shuttered Wilshire Boulevard law firm that bore his name and that faces more than $500 million in claims.
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