LOS ANGELES — Disbarred and disgraced Los Angeles celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi has been indicted in Chicago on charges of stealing $3 million from clients who lost family members in the 2018 Lion Air crash.
U.S. prosecutors say Girardi, another lawyer and his firm’s accounting chief misappropriated settlement funds intended for five clients who reached settlements with Boeing, makers of the 737 Max operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air that crashed into the Java Sea on Oct. 29, 2018 — killing 189 people. Girardi, who once played a supporting role on “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” which starred his now ex-wife Erika Jayne, was disbarred last summer for siphoning funds intended for clients. His firm Girardi Keese is bankrupt and he’s said to be suffering from dementia, according to a court conservatorship.
“The real story is one that seems like a tale out of a John Grisham novel: Girardi Keese was little more than a criminal enterprise, disguised as a law firm,” according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles by Edelson, the Chicago law firm. “Indeed, the Girardi Keese firm operated what we now know was the largest criminal racketeering enterprise in the history of plaintiffs’ law.”
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: chicagotribune - 🏆 8. / 91 Read more »
Source: ABC7 - 🏆 67. / 68 Read more »