Tom Girardi Found Guilty of Embezzlement

Believe it or not, the riches and lavish lifestyles depicted on some of your favorite reality shows aren't entirely genuine. On Aug. 27, 2024, jurors reached a verdict in the case of Los Angeles attorney Tom Girardi, the former husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne.

Though much of Erika's time on the show has been marked by expensive vacations and name-brand designers, it seems like Girardi was making some illegal moves to make this possible for his wife. The long-running legal proceedings are finally coming to a close as the jurors have made a decision in his case and the verdict has been read.

In the verdict reached by jurors on Aug. 27, Girardi was convicted of four counts of wire fraud, diverting at least $15 million away from his clients over the course of 10 years. The details of this case have already been explored in the Hulu docuseries The Housewife and the Hustler, though he's only just been found guilty of the charges.

"Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a 'Champion of Justice,'" U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement, per CBS News. "In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support of a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle."

Though Girardi initially denied the claims of fraud, he was found to intentionally be diverting millions in settlement money for a select few clients, some of whom were family members of victims in the October 2018 Lion Air Flight crash, which claimed the lives of 189 people.

Girardi has since been diagnosed with dementia and late-onset Alzheimer's disease, and he is currently living in a nursing home, though it's confirmed he could still face prison time for his crimes.