Girardi trial opens with some jurors recounting past lawyers who cheated them

Attorneys involved in Tom Girardi's $15 million wire fraud case told a 12-person Los Angeles jury late Tuesday afternoon two versions of how the final decade of his legal career unraveled.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Paetty told a story about four personal injury cases between 2010 and 2020 in which Girardi "violated the law ... and the trust of clients," when he purportedly lied to four of the clients about the availability of their multimillion-dollar settlement funds.

"He treated that client trust account like a personal piggy bank," Paetty said. In reference to one of those cases, the government prosecutor said it settled for $53 million. "[Girardi] told them it was $7 million ... and it just got worse from there," Paetty said.

Federal Defender Samuel O. Cross told a story about greed and deception that was carried out by a person he said Girardi trusted the most to handle his money: former Girardi Keese financial officer Christopher Kamon, a severed co-defendant in the case.

"This is not just the story of Tom Girardi, but Christopher Kamon," Cross said. "Unbeknownst to Tom, Kamon stole $50 million."

Cross continued, "This is also a story of Tom Girardi's mental decline. ... Tom got old. He started to lose a step."

In the government's opening, Paetty told jurors that they will hear about Girardi's 2021 dementia diagnosis. However, he said voicemails, emails and memos to be introduced into evidence over the next two weeks will show that Girardi, at the time, was aware of the purported scheme and was calculated with how he spoke to clients to keep the ruse running for as long as he could.

Paetty said this was done to pay off personal debts and support the lavish lifestyle of himself and his now-estranged wife, an entertainer known as Erika Jayne. who appears on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" television show on the Bravo network.

"In addition to the lies on paper," Paetty said, a voicemail the prosecutor played showed Girardi seemingly blaming a judge for why a portion of one of the alleged victim's settlement was missing.

"This is Tom Girardi. I know you're frustrated, and I would be too. There are court orders we have to get ... the courts are closed ... but I will send you my personal check for this amount because I know you're upset and I don't blame you. ... This isn't our fault, I promise you," according to the recording.

Paetty told jurors the court had not issued orders in that case for some time and all the money from that trust account had been issued "months ago."

Cross described the final 10 years of Girardi's legal career as "chaos" because 175 different bank accounts were running tens of thousands of dollars in transactions at once.

"Girardi was successful, more successful than any attorney in this room will likely be," Cross said. "But this was a lot to keep track of."

In addition, Cross said Girardi's mental state during this time was also failing and many Girardi Keese employees and attorneys noticed.

Over the late 2010s, Cross said Girardi stopped recognizing people he knew well, continually lost track of case information and would wear the same clothes. Cross said internal emails and memos at the defunct firm will back it up.

"Tom was an old man, whose mind was not once what it was. He was being defrauded by the man he trusted to make sure that the firm ran properly. ... Chris Kamon took everything," Cross said.

The long-awaited trial began with some prospective jurors saying they might be biased in the case because of past experiences with lawyers who cheated them.

Girardi quietly sat at the end of his counsel's table without showing any visible reaction. He was dressed in a grey suit jacket, collared shirt, baggy khaki pants and New Balance sneakers.

U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton conducted voir dire in the morning, asking the more than 60 prospective jurors if they had any preconceived notions about Girardi himself, potential witnesses in the case, the legal system, law enforcement and the media.

The indictment on four counts of wire fraud stems from allegations that the now disbarred plaintiffs' attorney misappropriated over $15 million in settlement funds from multiple former clients related to personal injury cases between 2010 and 2020.

Kamon, the former Girardi Keese financial chief, will face a separate jury later. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges. U.S. v. Girardi et al., 2:23-cr-00047 (C.D. Cal., filed Jan. 31, 2023)

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Moghaddas and Paetty.

Girardi is represented by Federal Defenders J. Alejandra Barrientos, Charles J. Snyder and Cross.

During jury selection, Staton asked the potential jurors several questions related to fairness as it relates to the law and whether their experiences would prevent them from keeping an open mind to Girardi's defense.

One prospect said she may have trouble separating her biases from Girardi because of a prior personal injury case she was involved in where she said her attorney stole her money.

Another prospect said she was involved in bankruptcy proceedings where the lawyer she hired stole her money after filing the case, retiring and leaving town. However, the prospect said her experiences with lawyers weren't all negative. She mentioned a divorce lawyer she hired who gave her a favorable outcome. "Boy, did he do his job," the woman told Staton.

Three other prospects said they could have problems separating biases because of their personal views against wealthy people and capitalism.

Staton also asked about their social media usage and news consumption, including any exposure to Erika Girardi's television show.

Five prospects told the judge they were aware of her name because they've watched other Bravo network programs, but did not know anything about the show specifically or its cast.