How Tom Girardi went broke: alimony to ex, first accusation of theft, losing thousands and thousands on RHOBH spouse Erika Jayne

Thomas Girardi has been at the top of his game for decades, but today faces multi-million dollar lawsuits and potential bankruptcy. So what went wrong?

According to a new bombshell report, Thomas, who rose to fame after one of his cases inspired the 2000 film Erin Brockovich, began grappling with legal drama in 2015 and after seemingly borrowing more money than he could repay as he is now His legacy faces the probable death of after allegedly embezzling money from his clients.

A December 17 report in the Los Angeles Times found that Thomas was on the verge of losing everything important to him, including his Girardi Keese law firm and marriage to Real housewives from Beverly Hills star Erika Jayneand its reputation.

“At some point I had about 80 million or 50 million in cash. It’s all gone, ”Thomas admitted in a court certificate this fall. “I have no money.”

Although Thomas is known to earn up to 40 percent from his successful cases, he is accused of stealing millions of vulnerable customers, including the family members of victims of a fatal plane crash in Indonesia in 2018.

Regarding the start of Thomas’ money troubles, the Times announced that in 2015, five decades after starting his law firm, he was accused of pocketing too much of a $ 17 million settlement that cost 138 Senior women who had replacement therapy for cancer after taking hormones.

After lawyers representing the women accused Thomas of embezzling more than $ 10 million in a lawsuit filed against him, Thomas borrowed $ 12 million from the Law Finance Group at a high interest rate, plus an additional $ 5 million Dollars from a lender in Arizona.

An agreement was reached months later, but when it came to loaning Thomas, he was just getting started.

Although Thomas got it right after a long court battle with the Law Finance Group, he continued to borrow money at high interest rates and keep the companies that lent him money from informing each other.

As the Times stated, Thomas had promised the same securities to a number of different companies. However, since he seemed like a safe bet for the companies, he had no problem getting credit.

Just two years ago, Thomas said he had net worth of $ 264 million, including two planes, $ 9 million in jewelry, $ 3 million in antiques, art, and furniture, and a property in Pasadena that he owns held for $ 15.5 million.

“Conservatively, our 2016 fees will exceed $ 110,000,000,” he wrote in an affidavit filed with American Law Firm Funding in 2018. He also named assets including a Temecula real estate investment, stocks in a Nevada casino operator, and Erika’s music career.

“I believe that Erika Jayne’s record sales and performance will be worth a large sum of money, but I think it’s a little too speculative to make it through [a] a major factor, ”he explained.

Before reaching an agreement with the Law Finance Group, the company’s CEO, Alan Zimmerman, claimed that “very sizeable amounts, known as” loans, “went from Thomas’ corporate accounts to a company he founded for Erika’s musical endeavors, EJ Global LLC. According to the CEO, Thomas has more than 20 million in the brand US dollars sent.

In 2001, just a year after tying the knot with Erika, Thomas claimed his monthly income was nearly $ 263,000. In the years since, he appears to have spent much of that income on his wife’s career.

“He supported a billion percent,” wrote Erika in her memoir “Pretty Mess”.

In recent years, Thomas has funded Erika’s career and hired a number of high ups in the industry, including Michael Jackson’s choreographer, one of Madonna’s songwriters, and Lady Gaga’s costume designer, hoping to ensure their success.

Understandably, he was proud of his investment and didn’t hesitate to show it off to his colleagues.

While attending the Italian American Lawyers Association’s annual “Supreme Court Night” with attorneys and judges in 2011, Thomas, who was serving as president of this year’s association, held a screening of one of Erika’s music videos in which the RHOBH star was barely dressed and was seen circling.

Following the event, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise viewed the bash as a “fiasco”.

“At a smoke-filled party, if I am properly advised, the video plays a party woman pouring alcohol on a man’s bare chest and lapping him up,” wrote the editor Roger Grace, who said in a later interview that the judges were “absolutely beside themselves”.

Throughout their marriage, Thomas and Erika made significant political contributions, most of which went to the Democrats. According to a Times analysis, Thomas donated at least $ 7.5 million, while more than $ 1.3 million came from his wife.

The couple were also in the good grace of the Governor of California Gavin Newsomwho once told Andy Cohen that Thomas was “extraordinarily generous” to his campaigns, and because of this, Erika was his “favorite real housewife”.

In addition to the many lawsuits he currently faces, Thomas was sued once by a company providing back office services for $ 7.5 million, by an expert who wanted $ 40,000, and by a security company that claimed they owed $ 53,000 for guarding Thomas. At home.

Thomas has also faced legal drama in recent years from his first wife, who claimed he stopped paying her the $ 10,000 child support she owed after their 1983 split.

In September when discussing a $ 12 million settlement over burn victims Joseph Ruigomez During a debt investigation, Thomas, who paid the family just $ 1 million, said his stock portfolio of approximately $ 50 million was “all gone” and that he had “maybe a few thousand” dollars in his personal bank account.

“I haven’t taken a penny out of the company in over two years,” he said.

The report also goes into Erika’s involvement in the legal drama, as she has now been sued alongside Thomas more than once. In fact, the report states that Erika recently missed a filing, apparently linking it to her divorce.

“She was out of town on the date set for Jayne’s testimony, and it was postponed for January. She filed for divorce on election day, citing irreconcilable differences and stating that she intended to seek assistance from Girardi’s wife, ”the report said.

What is not clear is what exact date Erika was originally supposed to be deposed.

Photo credit: Jeffrey Mayer / MEGA, Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock