Attorney Tom Girardi found guilty of wire fraud, embezzling more than $15 million from clients

Jurors reached a verdict Tuesday morning in the trial of Tom Girardi, the once high-powered Los Angeles attorney accused of running a 10-year Ponzi scheme that defrauded his clients of millions of dollars in settlement funds.

Girardi, 85, has been convicted of four counts of wire fraud for diverting at least $15 million away from four of his clients, some of whom suffered serious physical injuries as part of their cases. During his trial, prosecutors argued he spent the stolen money on private jets and jewelry, keeping up a luxurious lifestyle with a sprawling Pasadena estate that was depicted on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," the reality show in which his now-estranged wife Erika Jayne stars.

In 2021, the allegations against the former personal injury attorney were the focal point of the Hulu documentary, "The Housewife and the Hustler." He was disbarred in 2022.

"Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a 'Champion of Justice,'" U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement announcing Girardi's conviction. "In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support of a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle."

Federal prosecutors have argued that he misappropriated and embezzled millions from his clients between October 2010 and late 2020. Among the victims Girardi stole from, prosecutors say, were families of the victims in the October 2018 Lion Air Flight crash which left 189 people dead. That tragic crash was the first of two involving Boeing 737 Max 8 jets over just a five-month span.

By the end of 2020, prosecutors say, Girardi's firm was facing worsening financial issues that ultimately forced him into bankruptcy.

Girardi has long denied the claims. The federal public defender representing him, Charles Snyder, argued that Girardi's cognitive impairment has worsened following diagnoses with dementia and late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Snyder also said members of Girardi's now-closed Girardi Keese law firm were stealing funds "hand over fist."

Snyder said "Girardi was not paying close attention" to the firm's operations as he "got old, got sick, and lost his mind." 

But federal prosecutors have said Girardi's defrauding of clients was intentional.

"He wanted the outside world to believe he was fighting for people who couldn't help themselves," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Moghaddas said during closing arguments on Monday.

But those clients just kept waiting for the money to come in, and from there, "days turned into months and months turned into years," Moghaddas said.  

Check back for updates on this developing story.