Former High-Profile Lawyer Is Charged With Embezzling More Than $18 Million - The New York Times

U.S.|Former High-Profile Lawyer Is Charged With Embezzling More Than $18 Million

Tom Girardi, a erstwhile high-profile proceedings lawyer known for winning a grounds colony for the biology activistic Erin Brockovich, has been indicted by national expansive juries successful Los Angeles and Chicago connected charges that helium embezzled much than $18 cardinal from clients, prosecutors said connected Wednesday.

Mr. Girardi was charged with 5 counts of ligament fraud successful Los Angeles for stealing wealth from clients from 2010 to 2020. In addition, Mr. Girardi and David Lira, a lawyer successful Mr. Girardi’s Los Angeles instrumentality firm, Girardi Keese, look 8 counts of ligament fraud and 4 counts of transgression contempt of tribunal successful Chicago for misappropriating much than $3 cardinal successful colony funds that were expected to spell to families of victims of the 2018 Lion Air clang successful Indonesia, according to prosecutors. Mr. Lira is Mr. Girardi’s son-in-law.

And Christopher Kamon, the erstwhile main fiscal serviceman of Girardi Keese, faces charges successful Los Angeles and Chicago.

“Mr. Girardi and Mr. Kamon basal accused of engaging successful a wide strategy to bargain from their clients and prevarication to them to screen up the fraud,” Martin Estrada, the U.S. lawyer for the Central District of California, said successful a statement. “In doing so, they allegedly preyed connected the precise radical who trusted and relied upon them the astir — their clients.”

In the statement, Amir Ehsaei, the acting adjunct manager successful complaint of the F.B.I.’s tract bureau successful Los Angeles, added that the defendants had exploited the hardships endured by their clients and “denied victims what was rightfully owed to them successful bid to money their lavish lifestyles.”

Mr. Girardi, 83, for years earned a estimation for being 1 of the country’s champion “toxic tort” lawyers, taking connected idiosyncratic wounded lawsuits against ample corporations for damages arising from vulnerability to chemicals and pollutants. He was portion of the ineligible squad erstwhile Ms. Brockovich went aft Pacific Gas & Electric successful 1993, a lawsuit that aboriginal inspired the 2000 movie “Erin Brockovich,” starring Julia Roberts successful the rubric role.

But successful caller years, Mr. Girardi’s estimation has fallen into disrepute. As erstwhile clients filed lawsuits against him for embezzlement, his steadfast was forced into bankruptcy, and astir of his assets were frozen. His wife, Erika Jayne, who appeared connected the world TV bid “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” filed for divorcement successful 2020 aft 2 decades of marriage. He was disbarred successful California past year.

Damon Cheronis, Mr. Lira’s lawyer, said that Mr. Lira intended to participate a plea of not guilty. “David Lira is not Tom Girardi — helium did not bargain from his clients and helium should not beryllium criminally charged for Girardi’s misconduct,” helium said. It was not instantly wide who was representing Mr. Girardi and Mr. Kamon.

According to the indictment successful Illinois, Mr. Girardi, Mr. Kamon, 49, and Mr. Lira, 62, stole wealth from 5 clients whose household members had been killed successful the 2018 level crash. Instead of giving the colony wealth to their clients, they utilized astir of it to settee the firm’s payroll and operating expenses, arsenic good arsenic to wage different clients whose ain colony funds had been misappropriated by the firm, according to the indictment.

In California, Mr. Girardi and Mr. Kamon are accused of pocketing astir of the colony wealth from clients and transferring conscionable a tiny magnitude to them. They told the clients that these tiny payments were simply advances and that the remainder of the funds had not yet been received, the indictment said.

In 1 illustration laid retired by prosecutors, Mr. Girardi successful 2019 negotiated a $17.5 cardinal colony of a suit related to injuries sustained successful a car mishap by 2 clients and their child, who was paralyzed successful the crash. Instead of transferring the child’s information of the colony wealth into a trust, Mr. Girardi and Mr. Kamon utilized the colony wealth to wage for the instrumentality firm’s operating expenses unrelated to the car mishap litigation, portion delivering clients conscionable a fraction of what was owed to them, prosecutors said.

Mr. Girardi is expected to look successful U.S. District Court successful Los Angeles connected Monday for arraignment. The California charges transportation a statutory maximum condemnation of 20 years successful national prison.