Nine months after Erika Jayne’s estranged husband was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud related to an embezzlement scheme at his law firm Girardi Keese, he was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison, according to U.S. attorney Bilal A. Essayli.
“This self-proclaimed ‘champion of justice’ was nothing more than a thief and a liar who conned his vulnerable clients out of the millions of dollars,” Essayli said in a June 3 press release. “My office will vigorously prosecute corrupt lawyers and those who assist them in criminal activities.”
In addition to Girardi’s time behind bars, the 86-year-old has been ordered to pay a $35,000 fine and $2,310,247 in restitution to the victims of his embezzlement scheme, in which he was convicted of stealing millions of dollars from his clients—including relatives of victims of a 2018 plane crash that killed 189 people—to pay for both his law firm’s and his own personal expenses.
“Mr. Girardi, once a self-proclaimed ‘legal legend’ who purported to fight corporate greed, will now find himself on the opposite end of justice as he serves out his lengthy prison sentence,” the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis said in the release. “Years of hard work went into this case by agents and prosecutors motivated to pursue justice for the victims who were betrayed by Girardi after putting their trust in his corrupt law firm in their time of need and while enduring personal hardship.”
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Girardi, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges ahead of his trial, has been ordered by the court to surrender to federal authorities by July 17.
E! News has reached out to Girardi’s attorney for comment and has not heard back.
Though Jayne had been previously named in a 2020 fraud lawsuit as a person who aided and abetted her estranged husband’s alleged crimes, she was found in 2022 to have “no actual knowledge” of Girardi's dealings, according to court documents obtained by E! News.
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