Tom Girardi's fate is now in jurors' hands

At 85 and with purported dementia, Tom Girardi seems like a sad figure. But the poor cognitive ability today of the formerly high-flying plaintiffs' attorney does not excuse his willful orchestration of a decade-long scheme that cheated several personal injury clients out of millions of dollars while he was living an extravagant lifestyle.

That was the message prosecutors sought to deliver to jurors on Monday as they wrapped up a three-week trial in which Girardi's former clients told of being cheated out of millions of dollars.

The defense, on the other hand, said that Girardi may have acted "dishonorably" and "deceitfully" but the government failed to prove he intended to steal money or violated federal law.

"I'm not saying Mr. Girardi never told lies. ... A lie alone does not equal fraud," Federal Defender Charles J. Snyder told jurors. "The price to be paid for bad management and stubbornness is not a criminal conviction."

U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton handed the case to the 12-person jury at around 2:30 p.m. The panel went home for the day shortly before 5 p.m. without reaching a verdict. U.S. v. Girardi et al., 2:23-cr-00047 (C.D. Cal., filed Jan. 31, 2023).

Throughout the trial that began Aug. 6, jurors heard voicemails and read letters and emails Girardi sent to four former clients who testified they were given nothing but excuses for months and years about why their money couldn't immediately be paid to them. Among the reasons Girardi gave were that he was working to exempt their injury claims from taxes and settlement checks had to be signed and approved by different judges.

Girardi, who took the stand last Thursday, said "every client got every penny" and he never withheld client funds for his own benefit unless there were holdbacks such as medical liens and requests by clients' family members.

However, none of the clients testified that they ever gave Girardi permission to hold their funds. Joseph Ruigomez, who was severely injured in a 2010 gas pipe leak, said it took him six years - only after filing a lawsuit - to recover the full sum of a withheld $53 million settlement that was reached in 2013.

"The only thing he seems to lie about is where these people's money is. Isn't that funny?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Moghaddas told jurors. "He wasn't fighting for people who couldn't fight for themselves. ... He was lying to them year after year after year. ... He didn't want to get them their money because it was gone."

During the final days of the trial, an IRS agent testified that his investigation of the Girardi Keese law firm uncovered some $70 million spent out of the firm's banking accounts between 2010 and 2020.

In several instances, after settlements for certain clients were deposited into trust accounts, immediate withdrawals for firm fees and costs occurred on the same day, the agent testified. In other instances, money was sent to Girardi's personal accounts, and later traced to memberships to private clubs, the agent said. Over $20 million was traced to the entertainment company of Girardi's now-estranged wife, who is known professionally as Erika Jayne.

Two of the four clients testified they still have not been paid, despite Girardi's testimony that implied otherwise.

While placing the blame on Girardi's cognitive impairment and Christopher Kamon - former Girardi Keese financial officer and severed defendant in the case - Snyder emphasized that a significant portion of the government's case rests on an assumption that the information Girardi was being given about his firm's finances was accurate.

"It's Christopher Kamon's scheme," Synder said. "When it comes to lies, Chris Kamon is truly in a league of his own. He's Michael Jordan." In some instances, Snyder referred to Kamon as "the $300,000-a-year accountant" who was found have spent over $50 million during the indictment period "while the head of the firm is going broke."

Snyder acknowledged that although the government's case may have proven some ethical boundaries Girardi breached, it wasn't enough to prove wire fraud. "If this were a bar trial, Mr. Girardi would be dead to rights. ... This is not a case about what he should've known, this case is about what he knew in the real world."

Girardi did not contest his disbarment after his firm collapsed and he was indicted.

Snyder argued that this case was about the intention to steal money and not to deceive and lie. He added that Girardi Keese, at the time, was a busy law firm that handled hundreds of cases and thousands of clients at a time. "Mr. Girardi had a plethora of demands on his time," Snyder said. "You hire people because you can't do it all. ... In the real world, he's essentially signing these checks blind and relying on Mr. Kamon to do his job."

Snyder then claimed the government "cherry picked" four out of thousands of cases to build a narrative that Girardi was an evil person who used clients to get rich. "He's a famous guy. This is a splashy case," Snyder said. "We haven't heard a single instance where Mr. Girardi said he intended to steal money."

Of the excuses Girardi gave to clients, Snyder said "That may be cowardly ... but that's not wire fraud.

"Mr. Girardi got old, got sick, and he lost his mind."

During a rebuttal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Paetty told jurors not to buy what Snyder was selling them and to not be swayed by sympathy.
"Tom Girardi's lies are the roadmap to this case," Paetty said.

"Mr. Snyder embraced it and called Chris Kamon Michael Jordan," Paetty said. Referring to Girardi, he added, "We're in Los Angeles. He's the Lebron James of liars."

Paetty assured jurors that Kamon's day in court is coming. "He learned from the master," Paetty added.

The prosecutor told jurors that it was Girardi's name that was on the door at his firm, and it was his responsibility to promptly pay his clients. "All Kamon did was uncover this sham faster," Paetty said.

"Regardless of how much Chris Kamon stole, it does not make Tom Girardi innocent. ... It just makes Girardi Keese a den of thieves. ... The house of cards of Girardi Keese crumbled around him because it was built on lies."

Paetty then gave an illustration for Girardi's defense that clients, such as Ruigomez, were paid years after their settlements were approved. "That's like a guy robbing a bank and later saying, 'Oh, here's your money back.' It's still a crime. ... That's not how the law works."