In the past year, Erika Jayne has been accused of aiding and abetting her husband's alleged embezzlement crimes in order to hold up her glamorous lifestyle. And her legal woes have only appeared to worsen. A few months ago, a judge ruled that Tom Girardi’s victims could sue Erika Jayne for amounts owed to them. Now, the trustee of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is moving forward against the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star by actually suing her in court.
In court documents obtained by Page Six, it was revealed that the trustee in the bankruptcy case is suing Erika Jayne for the alleged amount she received from Tom Girardi’s law firm to finance her businesses. The sum is reportedly more than $25 million, and the suit is asking for that and interest as well. The lawsuit also stipulated that it would be a “miscarriage of justice” for Erika Jayne to not pay the amount. It continued:
She attempts to create a distinction between handing her money directly versus paying all of her bills directly. The distinction, like her prior motion for reconsideration is meritless. Any payments made for her benefit are her responsibility.
A judge had ruled months prior to this that Erika Jayne had to turn over key financial documents in the bankruptcy case. It seems that the trustee finally obtained these documents. In its new lawsuit, the trustee alleges that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star personally signed off on the financial documents, which include tax returns and various credit card slips, and was “well aware” of where the money she was receiving was coming from. The suit describes Erika Jayne's perspective on the matter as a “feigned willful blindness and ostrich approach.”
For her part, Erika Jayne has maintained publicly, and throughout the current season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, that she didn't know what husband Tom Girardi was allegedly up to. However, she has rationalized on the show that Girardi had suffered a “mental decline” in the past few years, with the implication that it might have caused the alleged misappropriated funds for creditors and clients to take place.
Ronald Richards is the trustee’s attorney in the bankruptcy case, who has also gone back and forth with Erika Jayne's legal team in the public eye on a few occasions. After news of the lawsuit against Erika Jayne broke, Richards stated to Page Six that the evidence against the reality star is “undeniable.” He also said:
We are hopeful that Ms. Girardi comes down the mountain from a place of privilege and obscene wealth and returns some of these expenses so the former clients and creditors of this law firm can mitigate the horrific and unfair losses perpetrated by her husband and others.
Court documents from earlier this week, obtained by Radar Online, revealed that Tom Girardi is in over $101 million of debt. He and his team are in fact in the process of auctioning off several valuable assets – one item being some lingerie that reportedly did not belong to Erika Jayne.
The new lawsuit is a huge development concerning Erika Jayne’s reported involvement with Tom Girardi’s affairs. Only time will tell if it actually has enough merit for a judge to sign off against her.
