Tom Girardi, convicted of stealing millions from clients, seeks hospitalization instead of prison

Tom Girardi, the former high-powered Los Angeles attorney convicted of stealing at least $15 million from his clients, is seeking placement in a medical facility rather than prison to serve out his sentence.

Girardi, 85, was found guilty of four federal counts of wire fraud in August for embezzling millions from his clients, who were left waiting for their settlements while he stole the money through a 10-year Ponzi scheme. The now-disbarred lawyer had built a reputation representing clients in high-profile personal injury cases, such as the landmark Hinkley groundwater case which led to a then-record $333 million settlement and inspired the 2000 film starring Julia Roberts, "Erin Brockovich." 

In more recent years, he appeared a handful of times on Bravo TV's "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," which stars his now-estranged wife, Erika Girardi, a socialite and pop singer who performs as Erika Jayne. 

Some of his clients suffered serious physical injuries or lost loved ones as part of their cases, such as a man whose girlfriend died in a natural gas explosion in Northern California which left him with life-threatening injuries and severe burns all over his body. Girardi lied to the client and told him the case was settled for $7.25 million. In reality, Girardi had reached a $53 million settlement.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Josephine L. Staton ruled that Girardi, who has dementia, should be taken to a federal medical facility to undergo an evaluation to determine whether he will serve his sentence behind bars or being hospitalized. The hearing had initially been scheduled for Girardi's prison sentencing but Staton changed it to a status hearing earlier this week.

While prosecutors are pursing prison time, Girardi's lawyers have asked the judge to allow him to be placed at a medical facility — arguing in court filings this month he is an elderly first-time, nonviolent offender "who poses no ongoing or future threat to society." 

They have also said the federal prison system isn't equipped to medically care for him, an argument which prosecutors refute.

"Today, Tom Girardi is a broke, half-blind, incontinent, 85-year-old man with dementia. He has lost everything, from his possessions, to his reputation, to his mind," the court documents filed by his attorneys read. "He spends his days in a lockdown memory care facility where he occupies a shared room and requires round-the-clock assistance for basic tasks."

"He has to be tricked into taking a shower on the pretense of going to court, and spends his time writing pages of notes about imaginary legal cases and clients that do not exist," the court documents continue, alleging Girardi has no recollection of the trial or his guilty verdict and "often does not recall close family or his few remaining friends."

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors argued in court filings this week that while Girardi "shows some signs of cognitive impairment," all the resources he would need as an elderly dementia patient are available in the U.S. prison system. 

In a court filing Wednesday, prosecutors also said the true extent of Girardi's medical condition remains unclear, writing, "...the Court on numerous occasions noted that defendant has exhibited signs of malingering and has shown the ability to engage in sophisticated conduct designed to exaggerate the symptoms of mental decline for his own benefit."

"As a result of this malingering, it is difficult to accurately determine defendant's true level of impairment," the court documents read.

Following the Aug. 27 guilty verdict, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said Girardi could face up to 80 years in prison for the charges he was convicted, but the court would take other factors into consideration. "We are not going to prejudge that," he said of a potential sentence, while still noting that the possibility of prison time was not off the table.

"But the mere fact that he is older, an older adult, does not mean we will not seek prison time," Estrada said.

As he embezzled from clients, through a Ponzi scheme in which misappropriated funds from some of his clients' settlements to pay off other settlements, prosecutors said Girardi spent the money on things like private jets and jewelry as he lived out a lavish lifestyle, which was depicted on the reality TV show his estranged wife still appears on.

"Of course, he had a very lavish lifestyle," Estrada said. "You just have to watch a little bit of television to see how lavishly he was living."

In 2021, as growing allegations against Girardi surfaced, he was sued by an attorney who worked with him in representing families of those killed in the 2018 Lion Air plane crash which left 189 people dead. Girardi had been accused of embezzling from the clients.

"You have this kind of celebrity lawyer with his celebrity wife just spending it on who knows what. It really is hard to process," the Chicago-based attorney, Jay Edelson, said at the time.