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Tom Girardi, the once-vaunted Los Angeles trial lawyer, was indicted by federal grand juries in two states on fraud expenses amid allegations of swindling thousands and thousands of {dollars} from injured and wounded purchasers, prosecutors introduced Wednesday.
In Chicago, Girardi and his son-in-law, lawyer David Lira, and the previous chief monetary officer of Girardi’s regulation agency, Christopher Kamon, had been charged with eight counts of wire fraud and 4 counts of contempt of courtroom. Prosecutors stated they misappropriated greater than $3 million in settlement funds from the kinfolk of those that died in an Indonesian airplane crash.
In Los Angeles, Girardi was charged with wire fraud following accusations of embezzling greater than $15 million from purchasers and utilizing the funds to cowl his regulation agency’s payroll and pay his private bills, together with a hefty American Categorical invoice and costs at two nation golf equipment. The L.A. case additionally contains expenses towards Kamon, the previous CFO, and signifies that he and his boss “devised, participated in, and executed a scheme to defraud victim clients” from 2010 till the agency, Girardi Keese, collapsed in late 2020.
The prosecution marks the most recent chapter in Girardi’s downfall and follows in depth reporting by The Occasions on how Girardi eluded self-discipline by the State Bar regardless of dealing with a long time of credible accusations of misappropriating his purchasers’ cash.
“Mr. Girardi and Mr. Kamon stand accused of engaging in a widespread scheme to steal from their clients and lie to them to cover up the fraud,” the U.S. lawyer in L.A., Martin Estrada, stated in an announcement. “In doing so, they allegedly preyed on the very people who trusted and relied upon them the most — their clients. Actions like the ones alleged in the indictment bring disrepute upon the legal profession and will not be tolerated by my office.”
In Chicago, U.S. Legal professional John R. Lausch Jr. stated of Lira and Girardi: “Attorneys who violate the trust of their clients and breach a fiduciary duty that is paramount to the practice of law must be held accountable.”
Representatives for Girardi, Lira and Kamon didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
The prosecution of the 83-year-old former lawyer, who was recognized with Alzheimer’s disease by a doctor in March 2021, units the stage for a authorized battle over whether or not Girardi is match to face trial.
Now dwelling in a reminiscence care facility in Orange County, Girardi is topic to a court-ordered conservatorship that offers his youthful brother, Robert, a dentist in Seal Seaside, authority to make selections for him about healthcare and funds.
Conservatorship data point out that Girardi has been prescribed remedy for dementia and can also be affected by blindness in a single eye and “hearing issues.”
In L.A. authorized circles, many have questioned whether or not the authorized legend claimed dementia to keep away from the implications of his misconduct. The primary assertion that he has severe cognitive issues was by a prison protection lawyer at a December 2020 hearing the place a federal courtroom choose was confronting him with proof that he had stolen thousands and thousands from purchasers.
Officers from the State Bar of California even went to courtroom to problem the conservatorship a number of weeks after the prognosis, saying that the continuing was occurring below “highly unusual circumstances” and that the proof of impairment was “sparse.” In a submitting, they famous that the month earlier than the declare of cognitive issues, Girardi had hosted a unbroken schooling class for attorneys on complicated litigation methods. Company officers requested for extra in depth neurological testing for the lawyer, however the request was denied.
Occasions investigation of Tom Girardi
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