A Chicago federal judge detained “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” husband’s lawyer Star Erika Jayne and her law firm in civil contempt on Monday when she was unable to explain what happened to at least $ 2 million due to people who lost their families in the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 .
U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin also froze the assets of attorney Thomas Girardi and law firm Girardi Keese, explaining that the “easy way to cure all of this” is to pay at least four clients, according to him, they owe half a million dollars each.
“They’re widows and orphans,” Durkin said. “Half a million dollars for any of these families is a significant amount of money. Change of life, given the tragedy they lived.
Although Girardi attended Monday’s hearing over the phone, he only spoke once for the judge to hear his voice. When Durkin asked him to explain what happened to the money, a lawyer representing him told the judge, “I advised him to dismiss this.”
He also said Girardi was unable to pay the $ 2 million. According to the judge, a fifth client may not have been paid. Durkin said he planned to refer the matter to the U.S. prosecutor’s office. Following that referral, Chicago federal prosecutors asked the judge Monday afternoon to give them and other law enforcement personnel access to sealed files of the case.
Chicago law firm Edelson PC named Erika Girardi, also known as Erika Jayne, in a lawsuit this month accusing Thomas Girardi of embezzling money from settlements related to the Lion Flight 610 accident. Air. to maintain the couple’s celebrity status and to “project a public image of obscene wealth at all times and at all costs.”
Edelson also sought resolution of contempt against law firm Girardi Keese in a related dispute chaired by Durkin. Attorney Jay Edelson told Durkin Monday that Thomas Girardi called him last week and offered him money to make the dispute go away.
Complaints against the couple revolve around the case in Durkin court, which stems from the October 2018 crash of the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane after it took off from Jakarta, Indonesia. The lawsuit said Boeing reached individual settlements with customers and families represented by Girardi Keese and Edelson, with the main terms reached in early 2020.
The lawsuit describes multiple attempts by Edelson to find out if customers had been paid, allegedly leading to mixed responses. He also accused Girardi and his wife of leading “opulent” and “lavish” lifestyles, noting that $ 40,000 a month would be spent by Jayne on her “look” and Girardi’s daily reservation and Morton’s exclusive table The Steakhouse in Los Angeles. Angeles.
“Erika even performs a song called ‘Exxpen $ ive,’ with the hook ‘it’s expensive to be me,'” the lawsuit states.
He claims the couple “faces growing pressure to effectively pay off their debts” and alleges that their publicly filed divorce “is a simulated procedure” designed to protect creditors ’assets. He also says “Girardi and Jayne withdrew large sums of money from lenders and customers” and withdrew them from Girardi Keese’s bank accounts “for personal use.”
Hours after the lawsuit was filed Dec. 2, Jayne posted a photo of herself on her Twitter account accompanied by two words: “High drama.”