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California powerbroker Tom Girardi’s epic fall, one of the nation’s most frightening trial lawyers, flaunting his wealth with “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” and came to conclusions Tuesday when a judge sentenced him to seven years in prison for stealing from his client.
US District Judge Josephine Staton issued the verdict in a courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, not far from Girardi’s former influence scene. He took nine-figure judgment on behalf of his “Little Guy” client. A palm restaurant where he served lunches from a California bar, where investigators were soaked in wine. And a lawyer hoping to become a judge groped to get his approval.
The judge noted that when Giraldi’s clients often get so badly injured or saddened the loss of a loved one, he put off by calling for elite connections with the judge when they asked for money for them.
“He made it [the clients] I feel the whole legal system was on his side,” Staton said.
The truth was that their settlement was being used to take on the lifestyle of what the judge described as “private jets and country clubs” for himself and his wife, star Erica Jane, the “real housewife of Beverly Hills.”
Staton said Girardi has caused immense damage to the legal profession by exploiting those who went to him for justice “at the lowest point of his life.”
Girardi, who turned 86 on Tuesday, was convicted of wire fraud last year after the collapse of Girardi Keith, a 2020 law firm on Wilshire Boulevard. The trial was concerned about misappropriation of about $2 million from the four settlements, but prosecutors allege that they committed a much wider range of fraud by sucking up $100 million from their client accounts.
Following a report by the Times, the state bar admitted to receiving more than 200 complaints against Girardi in the 1980s. None of the complaints led to disciplinary action until his company collapsed. During this period, Girardi maintained friendly relations with high-ranking judges, including justice in the state Supreme Court, showering state employees with cash, work for children, travel to private planes and free legal representation.
State bars have instituted measures to prevent corruption. The lawyer must disclose details of the bank account that holds the client’s money. The state bar has issued a new rule requiring that peers be reported to lawyers about alleged misconduct.
It is unclear whether other people in Girardi’s company have been accused. The Times reported last year that several former lawyers from his company received letters informing them that they were targets in a criminal investigation.
Outside the court, we asked whether additional individuals could face prosecution. Bill Essayri said, “We investigate with everyone and everyone, but in some cases there is a potential law in the issue of limitations.”
Girardi was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years ago, but his level of disability is a hotly controversial issue in court cases, with prosecutors suggesting he is malicious. In Tuesday’s verdict, Girardi stared vaguely at the judge as he read a string of his misdeeds.
When given the opportunity to address the court, he accused the poor accounting of the client of not making money, claiming that the situation had been fixed and that he had not personally benefited.
“I think it’s obvious that some negligence was involved, but everyone got everything they were supposed to get, and that’s important,” he said.
However, prosecutors have rejected the statement as the latest in a series of falsehoods.
“We’re here today for Tom Girardi’s lies,” said assistant Us Atty. Scott Petty was sought a 14-year sentence. He pointed to Joseph Louisomez, a client of Girardi, who was burned more than 90% of his body in the 2010 gas line explosion in San Bruno, California. Girardi told Louis Gomez that he secured a $7 million payment from PG&E. The actual settlement amount was $53 million.
In a victim’s impact statement, lectured a few feet from Girardi, Louis Gomez said preying on by a lawyer “presumably a beacon of hope” was a “nightmare” that lasted for years. Another victim, Josie Hernandez, said her failure to pay a settlement with the medical device company forced her to go bankrupt. She said the internet memes and clips of Girardi’s estranged wife, depicting herself as a “real housewife” as a victim of his plan, were “extremely unbearable to deal with.”
At the height of his career, Girardi was a fellow governor and advised Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown on his judicial pick. The self-proclaimed “limosine liberal” donated millions of dollars to Democratic candidates and held a 2019 fundraiser for Jonathan Club in his first race with Donald Trump at the Jonathan Club.
No one in those circles has publicly supported Girardi since his arrest, and Staton said he was struck by the thousands of “little guys” clients Girardi represents who have not written letters on his behalf.
Staton ordered Girard to report to prison by July 17th. She rejected a suggestion from his lawyer that he would be allowed to serve the sentence at the locked Alzheimer’s care facility at Seal Beach Nursing Facilities, where he lived for several years.
Defence counsel Samuel Cross told the judge that given Girardi’s dementia and other health issues, voluntary behind bars would likely be a life sentence.
“Should Tom Girardi die in prison?” he repeatedly asked the judge in his remarks. Cross said Girardi has no short-term memories. He described Guilardi’s mind as “frozen in Amber 30 years ago” when he was a successful lawyer living in the Pasadena mansion at the palace.
“If he’s in prison, he wouldn’t understand why,” Cross said.
Staton said she wasn’t impressed with what she called “cognitive decline,” and said that his advancement in age and various illnesses meant that his imprisonment made it less than when he was at the pinnacle of his power.
“This is not a big punishment as he’s getting older. It’s not a big deal because he doesn’t give up,” the judge said.
Girardi’s lawyers at the federal public defense attorney’s office said they plan to appeal his conviction in court.
Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.
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