Bombshell Lawsuits Filed Over $250K That Tom Girardi’s Firm Spent On 'RHOBH' Star Erika Jayne, Demands For Jewelers To Return Money From 'Fraudulent Transfers'
Dec. 27 2022, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Tom Girardi allegedly spent hundreds of thousands on his wife Erika Jayne despite allegedly knowing his law firm’s finances were in shambles — and now a bankruptcy trustee has filed lawsuits demanding the return of the money to pay back countless victims of the disgraced disbarred lawyer, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the trustee presiding over the involuntary Chapter 7 for Girardi’s firm Girardi Keese filed the cases last week.
Girardi stands accused of running his once-powerful firm like a Ponzi scheme. Many ex-clients had the same story — Girardi had excuse after excuse when it came time to pay out a settlement, which he secured them in a legal dispute.
Girardi has been accused of embezzling his client’s money to fund his lavish lifestyle with Jayne. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. The trustee sued Jayne for the return of $25 million Girardi Keese spent on bills for her company, EJ Global.
In court, Girardi has been accused of owing money to orphans, widows, and a fire burn victim. Recently, Jayne had to turn over a pair of pricy diamond earrings after it was discovered they were purchased with his client’s funds. The earrings were sold off at a public auction.
Now, the trustee wants to recover any money Girardi spent in the years before he was forced into bankruptcy. The suit reads, “the world eventually learned that Girardi Keese was nothing more than an illicit and felonious business operated to line the rather large pockets of Thomas, his wife, and numerous cohorts. While the Trustee continues to investigate the magnitude of the fraud that spanned decades, it is obvious that millions of dollars of client funds were stolen and diverted to fund the lavish lifestyles of Thomas and other non-deserving parties.”
The first lawsuit was filed against a company named M.M. Jewelers aka/dba MM Jewelers. The suit said Girardi made 2 payments to the company totaling $209k.
The trustee said when Girardi’s firm made the payments it was in a “precarious financial state and was not paying creditors.”
“Girardi Keese began a systematic process of draining the available cash, often times consisting of stolen client trust funds, by, among other things, making distributions to certain preferred creditors or third parties from funds of Girardi Keese’s estate,” the suit reads. “During the seven-year period prior to the Petition Date, with the assistance of various partners, employees, and family members, Thomas and Girardi Keese conspired by purpose and design to abscond and secrete the assets of Girardi Keese for the purpose of defrauding Girardi Keese’s creditors."
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The trustee said in regard to the transfers to M.M. Jewelers, “with respect to the Fraudulent Transfers, these were on account of luxury jewelry purchased for, or that solely benefitted, Thomas and Erika Girardi aka Erika Jayne, and had no relation to the operation of, and did not benefit, Girardi Keese.”
The second lawsuit was filed against Dan Levy Fine Gems for $40K Girardi sent them for items for Jayne.
Attorney Ronald Richards was the first to report the news.
