The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star is trying to make amends with her ex's alleged victims.
Erika Jayne is putting in the work to make amends for alleged victims of her ex, Tom Girardi.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star recently met with multiple individuals her estranged husband allegedly cheated out of settlement money, according to Page Six.
"I came here with an open heart to listen to what's going on, hear what happened and figure out how to be a part of how to move forward together in a way that's beneficial for all victims," Erika told the outlet.
On Sunday, the 52-year-old singer was seen arriving at the Valley Inn Restaurant in Los Angeles for a Paul's Ice Cream event, wearing a pink top and black pants. The company was founded by Kathy Ruigomez and Kimberly Archie, a former employee at Tom's now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese.
Kathy is the mother of burn victim Joseph Ruigomez, whose $11 million settlement money was allegedly defrauded by Tom, stemming from a 2020 lawsuit after her son was critically injured in the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion. Joseph's story was featured in Hulu’s 2021 documentary, The Housewife and the Hustler, which chronicled Erika and Tom's legal troubles.
Erika also spoke with Josie Hernandez, who reached out to Tom for legal counsel in 2014 after becoming ill following several failed surgeries to get an implant for "incontinence issues" after childbirth. The Girardi-Keese firm settled the case for $135,000, but by 2019, Josie said she hadn’t seen a cent of her earnings.
In February, Tom was indicted for federal fraud charges by grand juries in Los Angeles and Chicago after allegedly embezzling more than $18 million from his clients.
The Justice Department announced the charges out of the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Illinois and the Central District of California. In the Illinois case, Tom is accused of stealing more than $3 million in settlement money intended to go to the family members who lost loved ones in the October 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash.
Tom, 84, and another California attorney were charged for a scheme prosecutors claim included Tom using the settlement money to fund his own lavish lifestyle and to allegedly pay off loans to keep his law firm afloat.
Tom was charged with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of criminal contempt of court. According to prosecutors, Tom and two other defendants represented five clients who were relatives of passengers killed in the 2018 crash in Java Sea. Prosecutors allege that after Boeing Co. settled the lawsuits in federal court, the plane manufacturer wired settlement funds to a trust account belonging to Tom's law firm.
Most of the money, prosecutors say, was intended to go to Tom's clients but instead he's alleged to have misappropriated more than $3 million "by diverting the money for improper purposes, including paying the firm's payroll and operating expenses, and funding settlements to other Girardi Keese clients, whose own settlement funds had been misappropriated by the firm."
As for the four counts of criminal contempt of court, prosecutors claim Tom and the two other defendants "attempted to conceal their misappropriation from the clients," so much so that, at one point, "they falsely told the clients that the COVID‑19 pandemic prevented the firm from distributing the settlement funds, while at other times they falsely claimed that 'serious issues' had arisen with Boeing that delayed the distributions."
Prosecutors say the defendants "made the false claims knowing Girardi Keese had already received the settlement funds from Boeing."
As part of the indictment, the feds also seek forfeiture from the defendants in the amount of $3,069,500.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, prosecutors allege Tom embezzled more than $15 million from a couple involved in a car accident and whose son, as a result of the accident, was paralyzed. For his alleged crimes, Tom is charged with five counts of wire fraud, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The former powerhouse lawyer had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf.
The indictment comes nearly a year and half after Tom was disbarred by the California Federal Court, a decision Tom reportedly did not contest, according to People.
In July 2021, Tom was placed under the care of his brother, Robert Girardi. The former attorney's younger brother filed official letters of conservatorship, making him the conservator of both Tom and his estate.
Court docs obtained by ET list Tom's dementia diagnosis as the reason for the conservatorship, stating that he has a "major neurocognitive disorder" and lacks the "capacity to give informed consent for medical treatment." The court also found that Tom is unable to provide for his personal needs, physical health, food, clothing or shelter and is substantially unable to manage his financial resources or to resist fraud or undue influence.
The letters of conservatorship came after a ruling where Robert was made conservator over Tom's person and estate, a decision Tom disagreed with.
"Obviously I disagree with the conservatorship altogether and we'll do everything we can to dissolve it as soon as possible," Tom said at the time. "I think we should put together reasons why the conservatorship should be dissolved and then we'll address the court. But right now, there's nothing to say to the court."
In January 2022, Erika was dismissed from Tom's Boeing lawsuit.
Erika, who has since filed for divorce from Tom after 21 years of marriage, addressed the speculation from her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills castmates and viewers that she was presenting herself as a victim.
"I have never said that I’m the victim. I am not a victim. I am simply surviving this," Erika said in a reunion episode of the Bravo series. "There is a very limited way in which I can express myself, because we all know everything will be picked apart, parsed and possibly turned against me."
"That is why you see me answer in certain ways," she continued, adding that, even though she knows this, she's still been as open and honest as possible, even to her detriment. "It is best in any of these situations to be quiet. What did I do? I chose to say as much as I possibly could, and I still may have f**ked myself up, all right?"
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