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The Finance Base
client settlement funds

Tom Girardi, Erika Jayne’s Estranged Husband, Convicted of Wire Fraud

Tom Girardi was convicted of four federal wire-fraud counts involving clients’ settlement funds and sentenced to 87 months in prison. Here’s what happened and why Erika Jayne’s separate civil case should not be confused with his conviction.

By TheFinanceBase Team 2 min read
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Tom Girardi was convicted of four federal wire-fraud counts for taking clients’ settlement money and sentenced on June 3, 2025, to 87 months in prison. The U.S. Department of Justice said the scheme involved tens of millions of dollars, including money owed to clients with serious injuries. Erika Jayne is relevant as Girardi’s estranged wife and a public figure, but her association with him does not establish involvement in his criminal conduct.

What was Tom Girardi convicted of?

A federal jury found Girardi guilty in August 2024 of four counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors said he led a years-long scheme to embezzle settlement funds entrusted to him through his plaintiffs’ law practice. The funds belonged to clients whose legal cases had generated money for them, but some were left waiting for payment. The Justice Department’s sentencing announcement said some clients needed the money to pay for treatment of severe physical injuries.

The scale of the alleged theft and the criminal sentence’s restitution order are different figures. The Justice Department described the embezzled funds broadly as tens of millions of dollars. The Associated Press reported that the sentence included $2.3 million in restitution and a $35,000 fine; that restitution order is not a complete accounting of all funds described as embezzled.

What sentence did Girardi receive?

On June 3, 2025, a federal court sentenced Girardi to 87 months in prison. The Associated Press reported that the sentence also included a $35,000 fine and a $2.3 million restitution order. These are consequences of his criminal case, separate from the broader amount of client funds the Justice Department said the scheme involved.

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How were clients affected?

The money at issue was settlement money intended for clients after their cases produced funds. Withholding those payments mattered especially to people facing the costs of serious injuries. AP’s sentencing coverage described affected clients connected to a fatal boating accident and the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion. The available reporting does not support assigning a specific amount to any one client here.

How the case unfolded

  • End of 2020: Girardi Keese entered involuntary bankruptcy amid mounting legal problems, according to the Justice Department.
  • 2022: California disbarred Girardi over client thefts, according to The Guardian.
  • August 2024: A federal jury convicted him of four wire-fraud counts, as reported by AP.
  • June 3, 2025: The court imposed the 87-month prison sentence.

A court-record index for United States v. Girardi, case 2:23-cr-00047, summarizes convictions involving five clients and discusses issues addressed at trial, including attorney duties, trust-account instructions, business records and competency. It is an index summarizing court records, not the official docket.

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Why is Erika Jayne part of the story?

Girardi was publicly associated with Erika Jayne, his estranged wife, who appeared with him in the context of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. That celebrity connection explains the framing of many headlines, but Jayne’s public profile and relationship with Girardi do not make her a party to his criminal conviction.

Separately, the Los Angeles Times reported on May 22, 2026, that Jayne settled a $25 million civil bankruptcy lawsuit. The suit alleged she should have known she benefited from funds linked to Girardi Keese. That was an allegation in a civil dispute that was settled, not a criminal finding against Jayne or an admission of wrongdoing.

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