Disbarred Los Angeles plaintiffs’ lawyer Thomas Vincent Girardi, 83, of Seal Beach, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on five counts of wire fraud for allegedly embezzling over $15 million in client settlement funds, the Justice Department announced today. The charges carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison per count.
Girardi, once a titan of California’s personal injury bar, now stands accused of orchestrating a decade-long fraud scheme alongside Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 49, the former controller and CFO of Girardi Keese. Kamon, arrested in November 2022 while residing in The Bahamas, remains in federal custody and is named in the same indictment unsealed today.
From 2010 to December 2020, Girardi and Kamon allegedly diverted client settlement proceeds meant for victims of personal injury and wrongful death into attorney trust accounts they controlled. Despite settlements being finalized, the pair concealed the true terms and lied to clients, claiming funds had not yet been received—while siphoning money for personal and firm expenses.
Those expenses included paying other clients whose funds had already been stolen, covering Girardi Keese payroll, and footing personal credit card bills for Girardi and Kamon. The indictment paints a picture of a collapsing house of cards, sustained by lies and misappropriated trust funds to keep the firm—and their lifestyles—afloat.
“Mr. Girardi and Mr. Kamon stand accused of engaging in a widespread scheme to steal from their clients and lie to them to cover up the fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “They preyed on the very people who trusted and relied upon them the most—their clients.”
“They created a mirage over several years to disguise the fact that they were robbing clients,” said Amir Ehsaei, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. Girardi, disbarred in July 2022, is set to appear for arraignment Monday, February 6, in U.S. District Court. IRS Criminal Investigation labeled the betrayal a direct assault on the integrity of the legal system.”
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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