Tom Girardi declared competent to stand trial in embezzlement case

A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi is competent enough to stand trial on embezzlement charges despite his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

The decision was announced on Tuesday and filed by U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton. In a brief notation on the case docket, the sealed order stated, “defendant competent to stand trial.”

Attorneys for both sides will have five days to decide whether any information, such as health records or other sensitive material, should remain confidential and the seal should remain intact.

The decision comes after the federal judge presided over a three-day hearing which began on Aug. 3.

The former high-powered Los Angeles attorney, 84, who worked on cases like the one featured in the film “Erin Brockovich” and is best known for appearing on the “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” with his estranged wife Erika Jayne, will now face charges for allegedly embezzling $15 million from his former clients from 2010 to 2020.

Girardi was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in March 2021.

The ruling marks a significant victory for prosecutors and countless of Girardi’s former clients who feared that his dementia diagnosis might shield him from accountability and a proper trial.

“He’s not above the law,” said former client Danny Barnes to the Los Angeles Times. “He’s done a lot of harm to people.

Barnes believes he was cheated out of about $2 million from the 1990s for Lockheed settlement for workers who said they were poisoned by chemicals used at the aerospace facility.

“He’s damaged families,” Barnes added. “He stole our money and our heritage. He knows it, so he should be afraid.”

Joseph Ruigomez, one of Girardi’s victims named in the indictment who suffered severe burns in the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion and was “surprised” by today’s ruling.

“I thought they were going to let them off easy,” Ruigomez said.

If convicted of the wire-fraud charges, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years, Girardi may die in prison.

In December 2020, Girardi and Jayne were sued by Edelson PC, a class-action firm, on behalf of a number of Boeing plane crash victims for allegedly embezzling settlement funds meant to help the victims of Lion Air Flight 610.

The suit claimed that Girardi and his law firm Girardi Keese “are on the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds” and his “need to fund outrageous lifestyles for himself and his soon-to-be ex-wife Erika Jayne” is the reason for her well-timed divorce filing.

“While Erika publicly filed for divorce this month, on information and belief, that ‘divorce’ is simply a sham attempt to fraudulently protect Tom’s and Erika’s money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom and his law firm GK,” the lawsuit alleged.