Tom Girardi officially disbarred by California Federal Court amid embezzlement scandal
Tom Girardi federally DISBARRED! Embattled former attorney expelled from practicing law by California Federal Court amid embezzlement scandal… but state disbarment still pending
- The Girardi Keese lawyer has been federally disbarred according to documents filed under the Central District of California on Friday August 20
- A state disbarment is still pending
- Tom reportedly ‘did not contest the decision’
- The 82-year-old formerly high powered attorney was placed under a conservatorship following a petition in February on account of a Dementia diagnosis
- He is currently in the midst of a massive embezzlement scandal for misappropriating settlement funds meant for victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and others
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Things are continuing to take a dark turn for embattled Girardi Keese lawyer Tom Girardi.
On Friday the 82-year-old former high powered attorney was federally disbarred according to documents filed under the Central District of California, which were obtained by PEOPLE.
Girardi — who was placed under a conservatorship on account of a Dementia diagnosis — reportedly ‘did not contest the decision,’ and a state disbarment is still pending.
Hot water: The Girardi Keese lawyer, 82, was officially disbarred according to documents filed under the Central District of California on Friday August 20 but a state disbarment is still pending; pictured 2019
News of Girardi’s federal disbarment was first revealed by a podcast host by the name of Emily Baker on Twitter.
In March the State Bar of California filed discipline charges against him as they accused him of misappropriating millions in client funds and cited more than 100 lawsuits filed, alleging ‘financial wrongdoing and theft,’ according to the LA Times.
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On May 27 legal documents showed that the Central District of California issued an order ‘to show cause’ why he ‘should not be disbarred’ which was due 30 days from the date of issue.
After failing to receive any response, Girardi was deemed ‘not eligible to practice law’ in a federal court but the state bar disbarment is still pending per Baker.
Breaking news: A podcast host by the name of Emily Baker was the first to reveal the news of his federal disbarment
Followup: Despite a federal court disbarment his state bar disbarment is still pending
Baker added that he ‘has not responded to either action’ at this time.
Tom — who was last seen out in public on August 3 with a massive bruise under his eye — was placed under the conservatorship of his younger brother Robert who first petitioned in February.
In June, Robert was made the permanent conservator of his estate and person after he was diagnosed with Dementia and late onset Alzheimer’s — both characterized as ‘major neurocognitive disorders.’
Girardi’s legal troubles first started in December 2020, when a federal judge in Chicago froze his assets, and said the famed LA based lawyer had ‘misappropriated at least $2 million’ meant for the families of those killed in the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia.
One month prior his estranged wife, Real Housewife Erika Jayne, had filed to divorce him — which many took as a ploy to preserve whatever remaining assets the former multi-millionaires had.
Down the drain: The former couple is in the midst of a massive embezzlement scandal after it was revealed that he had misappropriated millions in funds from victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia and countless other victims
In legal testimony from September 2020 Girardi confessed ‘At one point, I had about $80 million or $50 million in cash’ but said it was ‘all gone’.
In an early Edelson lawsuit it was said that Tom and his firm Girardi Keese were on ‘the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds.’
Girardi’s disbarment news come fresh on the heels of reports that Erika — who claimed to have no involvement in the ongoing embezzlement scandal as she was ‘kept away from the books’ — had spent $25 million on personal expenses from 2008 to 2020.
The breakdown of her hefty spending bill — which seemingly utilized settlement money intended for orphans and widows — reads as such:
$14,259,012.84 charged to her American Express card, $1,532,774.88 spent at the McDonald Selznick Associates Agency (which represents dancers and choreographers) and an additional $1,417,587.50 on unknown purchases.
His firm Girardi Keese has now begun to auction off a handful of Jayne’s personal memorabilia and collectibles including art and furniture to pay creditors amid the bankruptcy case.
Yikes: Girardi’s disbarment news come fresh on the heels of reports that Erika — who claimed to have no involvement in the ongoing embezzlement scandal as she was ‘kept away from the books’ — had spent $25 million on personal expenses from 2008 to 2020; Erika pictured in May
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