Disbarred 85 year old plaintiffs’ personal injury attorney Thomas Vincent Girard,of Seal Beach California, was found guilty this week of leading a years-long scheme in which he embezzled tens of millions of dollars of money that belonged to his clients, some of whom awaited payment for treatment of severe physical injuries.He was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud.

Throughout his more than 50-year career, Girardi had two claims to fame: he played a key role in winning a $333 million settlement for residents of Hinkley, California, in their lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric, a case that later became the basis for the film “Erin Brockovich.” Decades later, he and his wife Erika Jayne were cast on the reality show “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

According to evidence presented at a 13-day trial, Girardi – a once-powerful figure in California’s legal community – 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. 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.

In carrying out this scheme, from October 2010 to late 2020, Girardi provided a litany of lies for failure to pay clients and directed a law firm employee to pay previously defrauded clients or other unrelated expenditures. Girardi sent lulling communications to the clients that, among other things, falsely denied that the settlement proceeds had been paid and falsely claimed that Girardi Keese could not pay the settlement proceeds to clients until certain purported requirements had been met. These bogus requirements included addressing supposed tax obligations, settling bankruptcy claims, obtaining supposedly necessary authorizations from judges, and satisfying other debts.

Girardi 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.

At the end of 2020, as Girardi and his law firm faced mounting legal problems related to his years-long theft of client funds, Girardi Keese was forced into involuntary bankruptcy. The State Bar of California disbarred Girardi in July 2022.

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 aiding and abetting Girardi’s scheme to defraud clients. Kamon allegedly also embezzled millions of dollars from the law firm’s accounts for his own personal enrichment. Kamon, who remains in federal custody, has pleaded not guilty to these charges.

Girardi, Kamon, and David R. Lira, Girardi’s son-in-law and a former lawyer at Girardi Keese, also face federal fraud charges in Chicago. Trial in that case is scheduled for March 3, 2025.