According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Tom Girardi, the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Girardi, was secretly hospitalized for a “serious illness” in recent months.
Keith Griffin, an attorney at Girardi’s firm, claimed in court on Monday, December 14, that he was “unavailable in recent weeks due to a serious illness that caused him to be hospitalized for which he sought treatment” amid his fraud case.
Per the docs, Girardi “couched everything” related to the case in July due to his illness, which caused him to be away from his firm for several weeks. He also cited his hospitalization as the cause of the “mistake” of not getting some of the families paid in full.
While details of his illness are unknown, The Los Angeles Times reported that one of Girardi’s recently hired attorneys Evan Jenness told the judge on Monday that he did not assist them in preparing for the hearing, which Girardi attended over the phone.
“I’m unsure that he understands either the nature or the gravity of the current situation,” Jenness told the judge, noting that they wanted Girardi to go through a mental examination. During the hearing, the judge froze Girardi’s assets.
As previously reported, the 81-year-old lawyer has been accused of embezzling “at least $2 million in client funds that were due to the families of those killed in the crash of a Boeing jet in Indonesia” in 2018. Griffin told the court that he “could not elaborate on why such an amount was still owed to certain clients or what the status of the remaining settlement proceeds was because Girardi is the sole equity owner of [his firm Girardi Kesse] with sole and exclusive control over the firm’s bank accounts, including its client trust accounts.”
The news comes one month after the Pretty Mess singer filed for divorce from Tom after 21 years of marriage. “After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi,” Erika said in a statement. “This is not a step taken lightly or easily. I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we built together. It is my absolute wish to proceed through this process with respect and with the privacy that both Tom and I deserved I request others give us that privacy as well.”
Erika cited irreconcilable differences and is seeking spousal support from Tom. She also wants the court to determine their shared property and confirm that any gifts and inheritances are still hers.
On November 25, Tom requested to terminate the court’s ability to award spousal support to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star. He also asked that she pay his attorney’s fees.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, December 2, Edelson PC sued the pair for fraud and embezzlement. In court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the class action firm alleged that the estranged couple “are on the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds” in addition to calling their separation “a sham attempt to fraudulently protect” their money from debt collectors.
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