Federal Judge Rejects Plea for Medical Placement, Orders Restitution and Prison Time
Disgraced former attorney Tom Girardi was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in federal prison for embezzling at least $15 million from his clients over a decade, in what prosecutors described as a sprawling Ponzi-style scheme that helped fund his lavish lifestyle.
U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton also ordered the 86-year-old Girardi to pay more than $2.3 million in restitution. He has been directed to report to prison by July 17.
The once-prominent legal figure, who made headlines both for his high-profile lawsuits and appearances on the reality TV series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, was found to have misappropriated funds intended for his clients to pay for personal luxuries, including private jets and expensive jewelry. Girardi’s actions, prosecutors said, violated the trust of vulnerable clients, many of whom were victims of catastrophic injuries or wrongful death.
Tom Girardi built his reputation on high-stakes class-action lawsuits, including the famed toxic groundwater case that inspired the film Erin Brockovich and the civil lawsuit filed by injured baseball fan Bryan Stow against Major League Baseball.
Defense attorneys had requested that Girardi be allowed to serve his sentence in a medical facility, citing his advanced age and a diagnosis of moderate dementia. Attorney Sam Cross called a traditional prison sentence “a meaningless punishment” given Girardi’s deteriorating condition. However, Judge Staton rejected that plea, ruling Monday that the Bureau of Prisons could provide sufficient medical care.
Girardi’s fall from grace was steep and public. Once considered a titan of plaintiff law in Los Angeles, he is perhaps best known to pop culture audiences as the former husband of Erika Girardi, also known as singer Erika Jayne, who filed for divorce in 2020 and has not been charged in connection with the criminal case.
