Tom Girardi, the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, is currently being sued for alleged embezzlement. According to his former clients (plane crash victims and orphans), he took settlement money that belonged to them.
The clients claim Tom withheld $2 million. His wife Erika is also named in the suit, but she insists she had no knowledge of what her husband was doing.
According to legal papers obtained by Radar Online on January 4, Bravo and RHOBH producers were just slammed with subpoenas. The documents were filed by the crash victims’ legal team.
More than likely, the lawyers are trying to discover Erika’s salary at Bravo. The subpoena was filed in October of last year.
The documents state that both sides are “engaged in an effort to resolve potential disputes.” The RHOBH production company is cooperating to provide any relevant information.
The documents reveal that Erika will eventually be deposed. The pop singer was recently hit with a $25 million suit, and the plaintiffs claim Erika should pay back money her husband put in EJ Global (Erika’s entertainment company).
According to Radar, the plaintiffs want to examine Erika’s American Express bills. They hope to discover what she spent money on during the time of Tom’s alleged embezzlement.
The recent motion stated: “The trustee’s review did reveal, however, substantial payments made by the Debtor to American Express.”
“While the Debtor’s bank statements contain general line item entries relating to the payments, no additional information was found in the Debtor’s records that sheds any light on the nature of the payments made, or if the Debtor received reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the payments.”
The plaintiffs claim Tom’s law firm gave credit cards to Erika and several employees. Edelson PC believes Erika is “beginning to unravel the numerous transactions which may be avoidable and recoverable for the benefit of creditors.”
Erika’s legal team believes the plaintiffs are using her public image to bolster their case in the press, without using concrete facts.
So far, the judge hasn’t yet decided to grant Edelson’s request.