Tom Girardi found guilty of wire fraud: “It wasn’t an easy choice,’ juror claims.
The verdict is the final word on a lengthy trial that lasted for weeks, marking the lowest point of disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi, who was once a legal giant.
By Brittny Mejia
Aug 27, 2024 10:32 PM
A federal court jury in Los Angeles found Tom Girardi, once a legal titan and now a disgraced former attorney, guilty Tuesday of wire fraud for leading a years long scheme in which he embezzled tens of millions of dollars.
The verdict was the culmination of an intense trial lasting 13 days in which the prosecution sought emotional testimony of former customers, such as victims of burns and widow whose husband was killed in a boating crash and former employees of the closed legal company Girardi Keese as well as an attorney from outside who fought to secure a woman settlement amount she’d been awarded.
While clients didn’t get paid the jury was told by prosecutors, Girardi spent money on private aircrafts, country clubs, and the career of his ex-wife, Erika Girardi who was a popular character on “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
Girardi 85 years old, he was a defendant in a trial for four charges of wire fraud. He was found guilty of all four counts.
A jury deliberated for nearly four hours before giving an verdict. Girardi wearing his same gray jacket he been wearing throughout the trial was swaying around in his chair while waiting to hear the verdict.
He sat back to watch the judge Josephine Staton as she read the verdict, her face apathetic. While she read out the verdict that was deemed to be final the judge rubbed his forehead. He could face as long as 80 years in prison.
Following the conclusion of the event, Girardi was asked by an interviewer if he would like to make a statement. He laughed and said, “No. No.”
Kathleen Ruigomez, the mother of a teen who was injured during an explosion, sat at the top of the row. She testified on behalf of the prosecution and wept when her verdict read.
Federal public defenders as well as the prosecution in the case were not able to speak.
However, in a news event outside the courthouse U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada called Girardi a “disgraced lawyer” who portrayed himself “as a champion for the little guy.”
“Mr. Girardi was no champion for justice, in fact he was a perpetrator of injustice, victimizing his own clients when they were most vulnerable and most in need,” Estrada stated. “This verdict represents a remarkable fall from grace.”
Sentencing is set for Dec. 6. Girardi is free until that date. Staton declared that he’s neither a threat to the community, nor an airline risk.
Outside the courthouse in the courthouse, Juror Miguel Lopez told The Times that the jury was convinced Girardi was guilty, because “all the evidence was there.” The jurors rely on the evidence which he said “it wasn’t a hard decision.”
In the course of this trial, the Girardi’s public defenders claimed they were unable to comprehend their client’s mental state and incapable of helping his own lawyers — or even maintain any short-term memory and suffering from dementia that was progressive.
“Mr. Girardi became old, he became sick and lost his mind.” the Deputy Public Defender Charles Snyder told the jury on Monday.
Snyder claimed that Girardi was in charge of the firm by name and called it an “Weekend at Bernie’s” situation where the partners of the company were “propping him up to keep the party going.”
The prosecution acknowledged that Girardi seemed to be facing cognitive issues by 2020 however, they also urged jurors to look back to 2010, when the program was first introduced — something which seemed to be in tune with.
“He has mental problems, but it just started right now,” Lopez stated about Girardi. “It wasn’t from before.”
The trial was going on and white-haired Girardi was shuffled from and to his seat in front of his lawyers, shaking his hands when he moved. A woman dressed in scrubs would sometimes guide him. In one instance, while the jury was not present in this room Girardi was adamant at one lawyer, trying to get him to the right seat.
“I know how to sit,” the defendant told.
It was not clear what exactly Girardi really was, since the scribe wrote notes on a legal pad that was yellow as witnesses testified on behalf of the prosecution. Sometimes, Girardi appeared to be trying to control his attorneys, and handed the lawyers a piece which he’d written notes on prior to the time taking the stand.
The guilty verdict is the most recent lowest level for Girardi who, during his career of more than 30 years, developed close relationships with governors, mayors judges, senators, as well as Supreme Court justices. A once legendary plaintiff’s lawyer, his name was sought out — and shunned by his fellow attorneys due to the settlements of nine figures he negotiated and the powerful people he counted as his friends.
In the news conference on the afternoon of Tuesday, Estrada confirmed the impact Girardi was able to exert on other legal professionals and even judges.
“Mr. Girardi was a lawyer with everything. He was regarded as to be one of the top lawyers in America and he was a partner in one of the largest and most profitable businesses within America,” Estrada said. “He was paid extremely good for everything his work however, this was not sufficient for his needs. He wanted more. His insatiable need for money is what drove him to the courtroom and caused this decision.”
Girardi’s defense lawyers placed on the responsibility for the huge corruption in Girardi Keese on company’s longtime chief financial officer Chris Kamon, accusing him of taking the sum of more than $50 million. Kamon is also accused of wire fraud relating to the theft of client funds as well as an additional case where Kamon is accused of embezzling funds from the company to fund the purchase of houses and an annual payment of $20,000 to his wife.
“This was Mr. Kamon’s scheme,” Snyder declared in his closing arguments. “This was absolutely not [Girardi’s] fraud.”
The law firm of Girardi collapsed in the last quarter of 2020, owing to evidence of him stealing payments from widows as well as orphans following unrelated Indonesian plane crash. In addition, thousands of his former customers and suppliers came forward declaring that they were stolen several million of dollars. The lawyer was disbarred in July 2022.
During the trial during the trial, former clients of the firm told jurors they were impressed by the success of Girardi’s firm and settlements, including the securing of the $333 million settlement against Pacific Gas & Electric featured in the film “Erin Brockovich.” He assured them to make sure everything was okay and advised them not to be worried, they claimed.
“I trusted him too much,” said Joseph Ruigomez, who suffered severe burn injuries when he was a teen in the 2010. San Bruno pipeline explosion, which caused the death of his girlfriend.
After Girardi reached a settlement of $53 million with the family Ruigomez along with his mother explained the reasons for their late payments and excuses that were piling up. A IRS agent later confirmed that a portion from the Ruigomez settlement money was used to pay compensation for others Girardi clients who’s settlements had been had misappropriated.
In letters and voicemails that were filed in the courtroom, Girardi repeated the same phrase to clients in frustration who wanted to know what they due: “Don’t be mad at me.”
“He picked these people in the darkest hour of their life and told them what he thought they’d believe,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Ali Moghaddas told the jury in closing arguments on Monday. “What you saw in this case is, for years, the defendant was running a Ponzi scheme.”
Lopez The juror stated that his most damaging testimony against Girardi was those lies that he told his clients. Lopez claimed that the money of the client should be deposited in the trust account and Girardi used the funds to fund “personal reasons.”
The juror admitted that he felt terrible for the victims who sat in court and included Ruigomez, Josefina Hernandez, who was injured through a medical device, and was fighting bankruptcy Judy Selberg, who lost her husband in a boating accident, and Erika Saldana, who’s one-year-old son was left paralyzed following drunk drivers struck the family’s car.
Saldana’s son later died. The family did not receive an unpaid $1 million that they were due.
“A lot of people were in pain, and he was taking advantage of them,” Lopez stated.
In the course of the trial the federal public defenders for Girardi summoned at least 10 witnesses which included The Dr. Helena Chui, who admitted that Girardi suffers from dementia; his housekeeper from around 20 years; and secretary at the firm that he worked for.
Lopez claimed that the jury believed that the doctor the prosecutors had summoned to the witness stand “because he has more information” and Chui “did not have enough information on the case.”
Girardi is set to stand trial again to be held in the year 2025 Chicago over allegations that he along with other employees of the company were able to steal payouts from Boeing to families of loved family members lost their lives from the crash of an Indonesian aircraft crash.
Times journalist Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.
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The original story was published in the Los Angeles Times.