Tom Girardi, the former celebrity lawyer, received a federal prison sentence of seven years and three months for stealing $15 million from injured clients in a long-running Ponzi scheme.
LOS ANGELES — On Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced the disbarred lawyer, 86, for embezzling tens of millions from clients, including those with severe injuries and families of accident victims.
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U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton also fined Girardi $35,000 and ordered him to pay $2.3 million in restitution. A jury convicted him in August on four counts of wire fraud. He faced up to 80 years in prison.
Girardi, estranged husband of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne, appeared on the show dozens of times from 2015 to 2020.
Once a top lawyer representing disaster victims against major corporations, Girardi’s career included a lawsuit against California’s Pacific Gas and Electric utility that led to a $333 million settlement, famously depicted in the 2000 Julia Roberts film Erin Brockovich.
However, his legal empire collapsed, and he was disbarred in California in 2022 over client thefts.
Girardi has Alzheimer’s disease, and due to memory issues, a court placed him under his brother’s conservatorship. Yet, Judge Staton ruled he was mentally competent to be sentenced and had previously found him fit to stand trial.
He was allowed to remain free until sentencing but must surrender to authorities by July 17.
An email requesting comment from Girardi’s attorney went unanswered.
Former clients testified against him, including an Arizona woman whose husband died in a boat accident and victims burned in a 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion.
Prosecutors played voicemails where Girardi gave false excuses for not paying court-awarded money, blaming taxes, debts, and judge authorizations, often saying, “Don’t be mad at me.”
