Photo: SplashNews.com
Tom Girardi, the estranged husband ofReal Housewives of Beverly HillsstarErika Girardi, has arrived in court.
After the former attorney, 83, wasindicted on fraud chargeslast week for allegedly stealing from the families of victims in a 2018 plane crash, Girardi was photographed Monday arriving at a courthouse in Los Angeles beside his attorneys.
Along with two other employees of his law firm Girardi Keese, he allegedly stole more than $3 million intended for relatives of victims killed in the crash of Lion Air Flight 610, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, said in apress release.
David R. Lira and Christopher K. Kamon are both also charged with 12 criminal counts each. Kamon was head of the firm’s accounting and finance department.
Erika and Tom Girardi.Steve Eichner/AP
Girardi and Lira represented five clients whose family members were killed in the 2018 crash. They filed lawsuits against the plane’s manufacturer, Boeing Co., and settled the suits in 2020, according to the press release.
Along with Kamon, they are accused of stealing more than $3 million of settlement funds for “improper purposes, including paying the firm’s payroll and operating expenses, and funding settlements to other Girardi Keese clients.”
Tom Girardi.Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Erikafiled for divorcefrom her estranged husband in November 2020 after 21 years of marriage as the racketeering and embezzlementallegationswere rising. Allegations included both a criminal and civil suit, the latter of which named Erika as well.
Though acivil battle continues, it was recently concluded in one case that the plaintiffs suing Erika for “aiding and abetting” her estranged husband in alleged fraudfailed to prove she had any knowledge of the alleged crimes, which Erika took as a hopeful sign.
“Two years now, down the road, we’re getting some really great rulings, and I’m grateful for that,” she said during theRHOBHpanel in October atBravoCon 2022. “And more to go… SoI’m in a much better place, and I’m grateful for that.”
RELATED VIDEO: RHOBH’sErika GirardiHit with $745,000 Lawsuit from Nicolas Cage’s Ex-Girlfriend Christina Fulton
Amid hislegal woesand divorce from Erika, Tom was diagnosed withdementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s diseasein March 2021. That July, he was moved to anursing facilitywith 24-hour care.
During a May appearance onWatch What Happens Livewith Andy Cohen, Erika offeredan update on Tom’s health, telling hostAndy Cohenthat his condition had not improved.
“Tom lives in a memory care facility… Look, I can only say decline and further decline, it will not get better,” she said, noting that Tom still often reaches out, though their phone calls “last about five seconds.”
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Cohen then asked Erika how aware Tom is of his legal troubles, to which Erika responded, “He thinks he’s still practicing law.”
source: people.com
