EXCLUSIVE: Erika Jayne New Embezzlement Nightmare — Bravolebrity's Attorney Accused of 'Stealing Millions of Dollars' from the US Government To Fund Her 'Lavish Lifestyle'
Erika Jayne's friend and attorney is facing legal action of his own.
Nov. 17 2025, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
A high-priced attorney and close friend of Erika Jayne has been accused of stealing millions of dollars in COVID relief funds to pay for her lavish lifestyle, RadarOnline.com can exclusively report.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star saw her bank account evaporate when her husband, Tom Girardi, was found guilty of embezzling money from his own clients.
The 'RHOBH' star and the attorney face competing lawsuits from a pair of designers.
Jayne is already facing a lawsuit from designer Christopher Psaila, who faced false federal fraud charges after being accused of charging over $800K on Jayne’s American Express card between 2014 and 2016.
After the charges against him were dropped, Psaila sued Jayne and two former Secret Service agents for $18million for allegedly violating his constitutional rights and engaging in malicious prosecution.
Now, Psalia has sued Jayne's attorney, James Wilkes, accusing him of being the "mastermind of a conspiracy" to delay and derail the designer's initial lawsuit, while also claiming Wilkes swindled government money to funnel to his friend.
'Stealing' COVID Funds
The attorney is accused of helping steal money to fund her lavish lifestyle after husband Tom Girardi was found guilty of embezzlement.
According to the federal lawsuit, which RadarOnline.com has obtained, "the source of the funds that Wilkes used to pay, invest in, or loan Erika Jayne and her team, and to pay attorneys to defend Erika Jayne and team in other lawsuits, were two Covid loans from the Paycheck Protection Program ('PPP Loans') in the amounts of $2,393,079 and $2,000,000.
"The U.S. Small Business Administration forgave both of these loans, which were meant for salaries for employees who would otherwise be laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
To score the big payout, Wilkes allegedly lied about how many employees were on payroll, and falsely "represented to the PPP that his firm had 40 full-time positions more than it actually had."
Wilkes has yet to respond to the lawsuit.
Designer Raid
The money was supposed to go to small businesses during the COVID pandemic.
As RadarOnline.com has previously reported, Psaila’s Marco Marco fashion house was raided by federal agents on January 11, 2017, in connection with the allegedly fraudulent charges.
The case against Psaila was ultimately dismissed in September 2021 – roughly five years after he was first indicted, but he argued he lost out on profits totaling “tens of millions of dollars” due to Jayne’s fraud allegations and the subsequent indictment against him.
Burned Designers Seek Millions
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The designers accused Jayne and Girardi of false prosecution.
Two years ago, Psaila and a business partner filed an $18.2million lawsuit against Jayne, the two former Secret Service agents, American Express, and others, alleging malicious prosecution, conspiracy, and violations of his constitutional rights.
The complaint argues: "Any investigation at all, or review of the evidence seized in January 2017, would have uncovered that Marco Marco and Psaila had documented proof that all costumes and services had been supplied to [Jayne], that all the charges were authorized, and that no fraud occurred.”
Meanwhile, the lawsuit suggested that Jayne and her embattled ex-husband made the $800K fraud claims against Psaila and Marco Marco in 2016 due to "mounting pressure" to pay for Jayne’s "extravagant lifestyle and clothing."
