Career In Ruins: Hollywood Designer Claims Erika Jayne's Accusations Of Alleged Fraud & Tom Girardi Ties To Secret Service Nearly Destroyed His Business
Feb. 13 2023, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Designer Christopher Psaila revealed his career was nearly left in ruins after being charged with swindling roughly $800,000 from reality star Erika Jayne back in 2017, accusations he claimed are entirely unfounded.
At the time, Psaila and his business partner, designer Marco Morante, were creating a name for themselves in the fashion industry, making couture pieces for stars like Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Cardi B, and contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race.
RadarOnline.com has learned that Psaila said he was left in utter shock during the raid on January 11, 2017, when agents with warrants to search the premises informed the duo that they were looking into $800,000 in allegedly fraudulent charges to Jayne's American Express card.
"We couldn't even fathom that. It just seemed insane to us," explained Morante.
Psaila also said he was eager to set the record straight, revealing to the LA Times that he suggested, "Let's solve this here and now."
At her first fitting, Psaila tried to present her with an invoice, but she waved him off, which he found "bizarre."
Their fashion house, Marco Marco, designed outfits for Jayne that had become staples, and the workflow became steady as their business relationship blossomed from 2014 to 2016.
Psaila said she accounted for roughly between 20 and 30 percent of the business.
However, the lack of a full and detailed paper trial at the time blew up in his face when the Secret Service got involved.
Drama ensued after Jayne had accused the designer of over-billing her for costumes.
Jayne allegedly called in a favor with a friend of her husband, Lorenzo Robert Savage III, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service Los Angeles Field Office, who assigned the complaint to Secret Service agents.
After presenting Jayne with the invoices he had, Psaila said there did seem to be "excess billing" of "just over $100,000" that he blamed on a bookkeeper who was later revealed not to have any involvement.
Jayne informed him the amount was $800k. "There's a million dollars, well, eight hundred, nine hundred thousand, well, whatever, of my husband [Tom Girardi]'s money that is gone," she alleged.
"It was one of the most humiliating moments among many," he said of the raid. Months later came a nine-count indictment on aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and use of an unauthorized access device against Psaila alone.
Agent Savage retired in 2018 after Girardi represented him in a eyebrow-raising case against a car manufacturer.
"While we were friends I was unaware of any allegations of misconduct, as were many other local, state and federal officials," Savage told The Times about Girardi.
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Psaila was later informed that his case was being dismissed.
Jayne was outraged. "How could you do this to me? I am at a terrible point in my life … This makes me look like a liar," she said during a call with the main case agent.
"I'm totally a shell of a human now," admitted Psaila after Girardi was indicted in two states on criminal charges for his own alleged misdeeds.
Girardi has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia and it is unknown if he will be deemed fit enough to stand trial.
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