A few days after the judge sentenced his client to a seven-year prison sentence, his son-in-law (formerly a high-ranking lawyer for his now-repeated company) pleaded guilty to a federal complaint in Illinois.
David Lila, 65, of Pasadena, admitted one court empt on Thursday after defiing a Chicago judge’s order regarding the distribution of a settlement fund to a client whose relatives died in the 2018 crash of an Indonesian plane.
As part of a broader lawsuit to help Boeing take responsibility for the defects in the 737 Max jet, Lila and Girardi negotiated a total of $7.5 million in 2020 to a group of widows and orphans.
Later, evidence emerges that Girardi used his client’s money on a daily basis to take on a gorgeous lifestyle alongside his wife, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, Erica Jane.
Lila: “I knew that Girardi didn’t pay the Lion Air Client’s Settlement Fund in full. [U.S. District] Despite the orders of Judge (Thomas) Durkin [the Indonesian clients’] According to the judicial agreement filed Thursday, there are inquiries and requests regarding their settlements.
Durkin introduced the criminal investigation case, with Chicago prosecutors filing wire fraud and other charges against Lila and Girardi in 2021. Girardi was separately convicted of wire fraud last year in Los Angeles and was sentenced to seven years in prison this week.
Lila, who is married to Girardi’s daughter Jacqueline, began working for her father-in-law’s company in 1999. Girardi was the sole owner, but he was sometimes called a senior partner at the company.
Lila resigned from Girardi Keith about six months before the collapse of 2020, confronting her stepfather about the Lion’s aviation incident and demanding Girardi pay the victims. When he moved to another company, Lila did not warn the victims or authorities about mistreating Girardi’s money.
“The judicial agreement did not claim fraud on Lila’s part,” said Damon Cellonis, Lila’s defense attorney.
“Mr. Lila continued to ask Guirardi to pay these clients a legitimate settlement in accordance with court orders, but Girardi did not,” Cellonis said in a statement.
Lila is scheduled to be sentenced on October 8th. Prosecutors have not yet recommended a specific fine, but in the judicial agreement, Lila has shown that under the guidelines of a federal sentencing, Lila faces six to eight years of prison.
Girardi and Lila represented the victims of the lion’s air raid alongside Chicago-based lawyer Jay Edelson. It was Edelson in the end who brought the judge’s attention that the Indonesian client was not paid by Girardi.
“David Lila is pleased to finally admit that he is a criminal after years of portraying himself as an innocent bystander,” Edelson told The Times Thursday. “We hope that other criminals who helped Giraldi pull away from the biggest Ponzi scheme in plaintiffs’ bar history will also face rejection and long prison sentences.”
The widow and orphans were eventually paid for a settlement after Edelson’s insurance provider agreed to step in on the costs.
The state bar is pursuing disciplinary action against Lila, who worked for Girardi Keith, and two other lawyers. Lira continues to practice for a first-century city law firm, but restrictions imposed by a bar court judge prohibit him from dealing with clients’ money.
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