REAL HUSBAND, REAL CONSEQUENCES: Tom Girardi Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison

Tom Girardi, the once-powerful Los Angeles trial attorney and former husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star A federal judge in Los Angeles Tuesday sentenced disgraced attorney and power broker Tom
Girardi to more than seven years in prison for his conviction last year on charges he stole
millions from clients of his law practice. U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Stanton also ordered
Girardi, 86, to pay $2.3 million in restitution and a $35,000 fine.

A federal jury convicted Girardi in August 2024 of four counts of wire fraud for a years-long
scheme in which he embezzled tens of millions of dollars of settlement money from his clients.
Those clients included people counting on money for medical bills and the survivors of
passengers killed in a plane crash off the coast of Indonesia.

Girardi is the estranged husband of reality television star Erika Girardi, one of the cast members
of the Bravo series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. He was disbarred and his law firm,
Girardi Keese, dissolved after his crimes were discovered by federal investigators. Prosecutors
say he used the stolen millions to pay for an extravagant lifestyle for his wife and himself, and
to pay for Erika Girardi’s career as a recording artist and nightclub performer.

A release from the of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California said, “Girardi
diverted tens of millions of dollars from his law firm’s operating account to pay illegitimate
expenses, including more than $25 million to pay the expenses of EJ Global, a company formed
by his wife related to her entertainment career, as well as spent millions of dollars of Girardi
Keese funds on private jet travel, jewelry, luxury cars, and exclusive golf and social clubs.”

The criminal case ultimately forced Girardi into bankruptcy. Girardi and his wife are the
defendants in a lawsuit in federal court in Illinois filed by attorneys representing the families of
those killed on Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018. Many of those families never received funds won in a
settlement after the crash. The suit also names Erika Girardi as a defendant, claiming the stolen
settlement funds were directed to her entertainment business.

As ExhibitAList.com has reported, some of that money is alleged to have gone to pay American
Express credit card bills for Erika Girardi’s entertainment business expenses. Erika accused
costumer Marco Marco of running up hundreds of thousands of dollars in unauthorized
charges. and received a $787,000 refund from American Express. One of the owners of Marco
Marco, Chris Psaila, was indicted for wire fraud in 2017. Federal prosecutors dropped the case
after admitting investigators had mishandled evidence in the case. Psalia and his business
partner, Marco Morante, are each suing Erika Girardi for defamation.

Tom Girardi’s head of accounting, Christopher Kamon, pleaded guilty to his part in the scheme
in October 2024. Kamon was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to pay fines
and restitution. Kamon has also agreed to plead guilty in Illinois, where he and Tom Girardi’s
son-in-law, David Lira, also face charges stemming from the theft scheme. Tom Girardi was
dismissed from the Illinois case after his conviction in California.

Federal authorities are hailing this outcome. “This self-proclaimed ‘champion of justice’ was
nothing more than a thief and a liar who conned his vulnerable clients out of the millions of
dollars,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli.

Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge of Criminal Investigations for the Internal Revenue
Service, Los Angeles, added, “This sentencing brings a level of recompense for countless victims
of Mr. Girardi’s long-running scheme to enrich himself on the backs of clients who trusted him
in some of their worst days.”

Erika Girardi filed for divorce from Tom Girardi in 2020. To date, she has not been charged with
any crimes in this or any other investigation.

Exhibit (A)-List has a series of reports on Erika Girardi’s involvement in the failed prosecution of
Chris Psaila, the lawsuits pending against her in California, Florida and Illinois and the sources of
financial support she received from her friend, Tampa attorney Jim Wilkes,