Erika Jayne’s Estranged Husband Tom Girardi’s Former Law Firm Allegedly Owes More Than $500 Million to Creditors
11.03.2022 - 00:21
/ usmagazine.com
More money, more problems. Tom Girardi’s former law firm, Girardi Keese, allegedly owes even more to its creditors than initially estimated.
As of Tuesday, March 8, the now-defunct company has 522 claims filed against it that total more than $517 million, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly. The amount is made up of $363 million in unsecured claims, $17 million in priority claims, $137 million in secured claims and $250,000 in administrative claims.
In bankruptcy cases, secured claims involve collateral. However, unsecured claims do not include collateral, meaning creditors cannot sell property to satisfy the debt. Priority claims are entitled to special treatment and will be paid ahead of other claims. Administrative claims are linked to the necessary costs of preserving an estate.
The trustee handling Girardi Keese’s bankruptcy case previously claimed in August 2021 court documents that the firm owed more than $101 million to creditors but only had approximately $4 million in assets. An auction held in September 2021, which included “Erika Jayne collectibles,” raised more than $200,000.
Tom’s legal woes came to light in December 2020 when he and estranged wife Erika Jayne were accused of embezzling $2 million in settlement funds from plane crash victims. (She was later dismissed from the case in Illinois.) The former attorney, 82, also allegedly mishandled his clients’ money on more than one occasion. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, who has denied any wrongdoing, filed for divorce from Tom in November 2020 after 21 years of marriage.
Erika, 50, was sued in February for allegedly aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty and financial elder abuse. Court documents obtained by Us at the time