Thomas Girardi Found Guilty by Jury of Defrauding Clients
Thomas V. Girardi, the once-lauded pioneer of toxic tort litigation, was convicted of four counts of wire fraud Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court.
Jurors reached their verdict unanimously, convicting the disbarred lawyer made famous by his connection to Erin Brockovich and from appearances on “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” after four hours of deliberation that followed twelve days of trial in the US District Court of the Central District of California. Judge Josephine Staton set Dec. 6 for Girardi’s sentencing hearing, where he could be sentenced to as many as 80 years in federal prison.
Girardi, 85, smiled on his way out the courtroom, chuckling as he declined to comment to reporters. Kathleen Ruigomez, who called Girardi a ‘kingpin’ in her testimony, hugged Assistant US Attorney Scott Paetty after the verdict was announced.
It wasn’t a difficult decision for the jury, juror Miguel Lopez said after the verdict was announced. The group wasn’t persuaded by Girardi’s confused testimony or his doctor’s analysis, finding that Girardi understand what he was doing before 2020.
Lopez said “right now his brain is not there.”
The charges against Girardi centered on thefts from clients who turned to him at some of the darkest hours of their lives: A young man whose body burned as his home exploded, killing his girlfriend next to him. A woman who was forced to file bankruptcy as she recovered from a defective medical device. And a mother who spent the final year of her son’s life pleading with Girardi for funds to purchase an accessible home after a drunk driver left him immobilized.
The defense had argued that Girardi’s cognitive decline left him incapable of forming an intent to defraud clients. Prosecutors said Girardi kept the story straight, feeding the same clients with the same excuses for why they weren’t receiving their payments: made-up tax issues, medical liens, a pending signature from a judge who no longer worked on the case.
In reality, Girardi couldn’t pay his clients because the money was gone—he had spent it, prosecutors said.
“It’s a simple and sad story of betrayal, theft, and greed,” said Paetty on Monday during his rebuttal in closing arguments. “He chose himself over his victim clients.”
Girardi racked up more than 200 misconduct complaints before the State Bar of California over four decades, but avoided disciplinary action through close personal relationships with its officials.
His co-defendant, ex-CFO Christopher Kamon—upon whom Girardi’s defense unsuccessfully attempted to thrust the full blame for the fraud—is set to stand trial in Los Angeles court for this case and for separate charges later this year and in the beginning of 2025.
He faces additional client fraud charges in Illinois federal court, as well as numerous civil lawsuits from former clients. His firm, Girardi Keese, was forced into bankruptcy in 2020.
Though the trial focused on four cases of fraud, other Girardi victims will have the right to address the court and their stories will be considered during sentencing, US Attorney Martin Estrada said.
“We want to do a comprehensive look at everything Mr. Girardi is responsible for,” Estrada said at a press conference following the verdict.
Four senior lawyers at the firm were revealed during the trial to have received target letters from the federal government, meaning they could also face criminal charges.
