Erika Jayne Dismissed From Fraud & Embezzlement Lawsuit Against Ex Tom Girardi
Terry Zeller
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Matt Baron/Shutterstock
The ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star and her estranged husband had been sued on behalf of the families of plane crash victims for allegedly embezzling settlement funds.
Erika Jayne has been dismissed from the fraud and embezzlement lawsuit against her and her estranged husband, Tom Girardi. “Pursuant to stipulation, plaintiff’s claims against defendants EJ Global LLC and Erika Girardi are dismissed without prejudice and without costs,” read legal documents from January 29, according to Page Six. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hillsstar and her husband were accused of misappropriating “at least $2 million in client money” due to the families of the victims of a 2018 Boeing jet crash in Indonesia. HollywoodLife has reached out to Erika’s reps for comment.
After Erika filed for divorce from Tom citing irreconcilable differences in November 2020, the couple were accused of faking the divorce to help conceal their involvement with the embezzlement case. In December of that year, Edelson PC, a class action firm, claimed their split was a “sham attempt to fraudulently protect Tom and Erika’s money,” according to court papers. The filing also alleged the pair “are on the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds.”The lawsuit also claimed Tom used the client’s money to fund his and Erika’s elaborate lifestyle, citing Erika’s songs and public remarks which touted her lavish conduct. “I think it costs $40,000 a month to do Erika Jayne,” the Bravo star said to E! Newsback in 2018. “So that’s hair, makeup, makeup, costumes, wardrobe, the whole production itself.”During the latest season of RHOBH, Erika was often questioned about the legal troubles she and her husband were facing. In one episode, she hit back at the accusations that her divorce filings were a just a cover-up to keep her out of hot water. “Divorce is very painful and then having it called a sham is even more painful,” she said in a confessional. “It took a lot of courage to leave and it took two seconds for some assh*** to say it was a sham and [for] everybody to believe it.”