18 January 2024, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schwerin: ILLUSTRATION - A policeman holds handcuffs in his hand. Photo: Marcus Brandt/dpa (Photo by Marcus Brandt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Los Angeles, California – Thomas Vincent Girardi, a once-prominent California attorney celebrated for taking on powerful corporate interests, was sentenced Tuesday to seven years and three months in federal prison for embezzling tens of millions of dollars from his clients—many of whom were depending on those funds to recover from life-altering injuries. At 86 years old, Girardi is now facing the final chapter of his life not in the courtroom but behind bars.
Girardi, who was disbarred in 2022 and now lives in Seal Beach, was found guilty in August 2024 on four counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton sentenced him to 87 months in prison, ordered $2.3 million in restitution, and imposed a $35,000 fine. He is required to surrender to federal custody by July 17.
For decades, Girardi was a legal heavyweight in California, running the now-defunct Girardi Keese firm out of downtown Los Angeles. Behind its polished exterior, however, the firm was operating more like a financial trap than a legal sanctuary. Between 2010 and 2020, prosecutors said, Girardi stole client settlement funds, lied about delays, and used new settlements to pay off previous victims—tactics that effectively turned the law firm into a Ponzi scheme.
According to court documents, Girardi misled clients with excuses about tax obligations, court approvals, and bankruptcy issues—none of which were real. While his clients waited, Girardi funneled millions through the firm’s accounts for personal expenses, including funding his wife’s entertainment company, EJ Global, and paying for private jets, luxury cars, and exclusive memberships.
The sentencing marks the latest turn in a years-long unraveling of one of California’s most powerful legal figures. Girardi’s former CFO, Christopher Kazuo Kamon, who helped orchestrate the scheme, was sentenced in April to more than 10 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $9 million in restitution. Authorities arrested Kamonn the Bahamas in 2022. He has admitted to embezzling millions for himself and faces additional charges in Chicago alongside Girardi’s son-in-law, attorney David R. Lira.
The case underscores not just the scope of the fraud but the institutional failures that allowed it to continue unchecked. Girardi’s influence in legal and political circles was vast; his misconduct, long whispered about, rarely faced scrutiny until the collapse of his firm exposed the truth.
