Erika Jayne is reportedly making an effort to hold on to her personal assets amid the ongoing bankruptcy case against her estranged husband, Thomas Girardi.
Months after filing for divorce, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member is said to be refusing to turn over gifts given to her by Thomas after allegedly receiving more than $20 million from him over the years.
On April 14, Radar Online obtained court documents revealing that the trustee working behind the scenes to sort through the remaining assets of Thomas, Jason Rund, believes Erika is either in possession or has transferred possession of those assets to third parties.
The outlet claimed Erika reportedly told the trustee she “does not have any community property in possession (except for certain household items) and that what she does have were alleged gifts from” Thomas. Erika also reportedly noted that the gifts Thomas has given her will not be turned over because the bankruptcy court and creditors have no right to the items, which include expensive jewelry and designer clothing.
According to the report, Erika is believed to have received over $20 million in transfers from Thomas in past years.
According to a second report shared by Us Weekly, the other trustee working on Thomas’ bankruptcy case, Elissa Miller, who is overseeing the assets of his law firm, Girardi Keese, filed a report on April 13 in which she revealed the firm owes at least $26 million in settlement funds to “anywhere from dozens to hundreds of clients.”
Around $2 million of that amount was due to the orphans and widows of victims of Lion Air Flight 610 crash in 2018. Another $11 million of it was meant for a family who suffered damages in a 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California.
The trustee said in her report that she found it “most distressing” to find “evidence that many cases had settled but the clients had not received the funds from the settlement.” She also noted that new claims regarding unpaid funds were being filed daily.
Also in her report, Elissa said the firm had offices filled with copies of publications in which they were mentioned.
“It appeared that if a publication featured Tom Girardi or the [firm] on the cover or featured the [firm] in an article, [Girardi Keese] ordered cases of the publication,” the report reads.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 11 premieres on Wednesday, May 19, at 8/7c on Bravo.