From “Erin Brockovich” to Inmate – Tom Girardi’s Stunning Legal Collapse

Ben Thomson, Lawfuel contributing editor

Tom Girardi’s name once rang out in legal circles as a titan of the plaintiffs’ bar—a courtroom brawler, the “Erin Brockovich” lawyer, and a Los Angeles legal celebrity whose reach extended from the courthouse to reality TV.

But today, his legacy is quite different, lying in ruins, his reputation irreparably scorched by one of the most stunning downfalls in American legal history.

Girardi, a frail 86-year-old, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison Tuesday for embezzling millions of dollars from former clients and U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton also ordered Girardi, 86, to pay $2.3 million in restitution to victims and a $35,000 fine.

He must surrender to prison authorities by July 17.

His firm shuttered and disbarred, Girardi the much-heralded law star and estranged husband of ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star Erika Jayne was sentenced for defrauding clients over a decade, including those killed in the 2018 Lion Air crash in the Java Sea, illiing 189 people.

Hollywood Fame and Legal Triumphs

Girardi’s star ascended with landmark wins, most famously the pollution case against Pacific Gas & Electric that inspired the Oscar-winning “Erin Brockovich.”

For decades, he was the go-to attorney for the catastrophically injured, a self-styled “champion of justice” who cultivated an aura of power, philanthropy, and Hollywood glamour. His marriage to “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne only amplified the celebrity shine.

The state courthouse in Los Angeles where he wrested nine-figure judgments from corporations on behalf of so-called “little guy” clients, was close to the scene of his sentencing by U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton.

The judge noted that, when Girardi’s clients — often terribly injured or grieving the loss of a loved one — asked for the money due them, he put them off by invoking his elite connections to judges.

The Fall: A Decade of Deceit

Behind the scenes, Girardi was orchestrating a massive fraud. From 2010 to 2020, he and his now-defunct firm, Girardi Keese, systematically siphoned tens of millions from client settlements—money meant for burn victims, widows, and families devastated by disaster.

Instead, those funds fueled a lavish lifestyle of private jets, country clubs, and supporting his wife’s entertainment ventures.

Prosecutors and the FBI described the operation as a “textbook Ponzi scheme.” Girardi would use new client money to pay off old debts, stringing along victims with excuses about tax issues, court approvals, or banking delays.

The betrayal was as calculated as it was cruel: “He was a Robin Hood in reverse, robbing the needy to maintain an extravagant Hollywood lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.

The Reckoning: Conviction and Sentencing

The facade finally crumbled in late 2020 as creditors forced Girardi Keese into bankruptcy, and the State Bar of California disbarred Girardi in 2022 after more than 200 complaints.

In August 2024, a federal jury convicted Girardi on four counts of wire fraud for stealing at least $15 million from clients. His longtime accounting chief, Christopher Kamon, also pleaded guilty to embezzling millions, further exposing the rot at the firm’s core.

On June 3, 2025—his 86th birthday—Girardi was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison.

Despite his defense team’s arguments about late-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia, Judge Josephine Staton was unmoved, declaring that age and illness did not outweigh the need for accountability. “This is not a greater punishment because he is old. It is lesser because he gives up less,” she said.

The Girardi saga is more than a personal tragedy; it’s a seismic event for the legal profession. Here was a lawyer who built his reputation on fighting for the vulnerable, only to victimize them in their darkest hour.

The fallout has prompted soul-searching across the plaintiffs’ bar, renewed scrutiny of trust accounting, and a reckoning with the dangers of unchecked power and celebrity in law.

As for Girardi, the man who once commanded courtrooms now faces his final judgment in a federal prison—his legacy a warning to lawyers everywhere about the corrosive effects of hubris and greed.