Thomas Vincent Girardi, Wire Fraud, California 2024

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Disbarred Lawyer Tom Girardi Found Guilty of Wire Fraud

LOS ANGELES – In a shocking verdict, disbarred personal injury attorney Thomas Vincent Girardi, 85, of Seal Beach, was found guilty by a jury today of leading a years-long scheme in which he embezzled tens of millions of dollars of money that belonged to his clients.

Girardi, a once-powerful figure in California’s legal community, was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud. The scheme involved defendant Girardi stealing millions of dollars in client settlement funds and failing to pay Girardi Keese clients – some of whom had suffered serious injuries in accidents – the money they were owed.

According to evidence presented at a 13-day trial, Girardi ran the now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese. For years, Girardi misappropriated and embezzled millions of dollars from client trust accounts at his law firm. He diverted tens of millions of dollars from his law firm’s operating account to pay illegitimate expenses, including more than $25 million to pay the expenses of EJ Global, a company formed by his wife related to her entertainment career, as well as spent millions of dollars of Girardi Keese funds on private jet travel, jewelry, luxury cars, and exclusive golf and social clubs.

“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice,’” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle. Today’s verdict shows that the game is up – we can all now see this defendant for what he was and the victims he callously betrayed.”

“Mr. Girardi exploited his clients’ misfortunes on a grand scale,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. “His clients sought his help in the wake of significant trauma and injury, yet he violated their trust to steal from them and fund his own lavish lifestyle, and he will now face the consequences of his actions.”

United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a December 6 sentencing hearing, at which time Girardi will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count.

Relatedly, co-defendant Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 50, formerly of Encino and Palos Verdes and who was residing in The Bahamas at the time of his November 2022 arrest on a federal criminal complaint, awaits trial in this matter in January 2025. Kamon, the former chief financial officer at Girardi Keese, is charged with multiple fraud counts for allegedly assisting Girardi in the scheme.