Tom Girardi lawyers want NEW trial for bizarre reason after conviction for $15million wire fraud

As a seasoned legal professional with decades of experience, I find this case to be truly heart-wrenching. The story of Thomas Girardi is not just about a Ponzi scheme and extravagant lifestyle; it’s about the betrayal of trust, the violation of the sacred bond between attorney and client.

Lawyers representing Tom Girardi are advocating for a fresh court hearing, asserting that his mental state at the time of his initial trial for wire fraud in August rendered him incapable of standing trial fairly.

In a court verdict, the 85-year-old former lawyer, who is estranged from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne and has faced scandal, was found guilty of defrauding his unfortunate or bereaved clients out of approximately $15 million in settlement funds on four counts.

On December 6, it is necessary that he goes back to court for sentencing. However, Girardi’s legal representatives, who previously mentioned his 2021 diagnosis of late-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia, have submitted a request for acquittal due to worries that he may not have comprehended the trial proceedings.

Despite this, the lawyers have bizarrely requested that Girardi have a new trial in another motion – ‘if Girardi can regain competency.’ 

‘As we’ve previously suggested, the court should rule in favor of an acquittal for all charges because it is unlikely that a fair-minded juror could have determined that the government provided enough evidence to prove each part of each offense, or any part of any offense, beyond any reasonable doubt.’

As a die-hard supporter of Girardi’s case, I humbly request the court to consider granting him a retrial, using the guidelines provided by Rules 29(d)(1) and/or Rule 33. This would ensure that justice is served fairly and thoroughly in this matter.

According to the records, Girardi often struggled to recall events between one trial day and the next, or sometimes even from one witness to another.

He found it hard to recall specific details such as who the witnesses were, their connection to his allegations, and who his lawyers were representing.

The defense’s dismissed filing contains details that have been supported by Tanya McAlprin, Girardi’s caretaker, in a recent statement (exhibit B of this motion). This declaration asserts that Mr. Girardi was unable to recall the course of his trial from one day to another.

‘Despite the court observing Mr. Girardi’s note-taking during the trial, he nevertheless struggled to follow the course of the proceedings as it unfolded over time.’

Although Girardi is scheduled for trial in January 2024, the motion argues that the initial assessments of his competency by two government experts were based on insufficient information. This includes the fact that they weren’t aware of how Girardi Keese lawyers asked Girardi’s non-lawyer wife to intervene in the Hollywood Land Development Company matter due to allegations of elder abuse against Nicholas Phipps White, who was involved with Girardi at that time.

The motion also claims: ‘He could not name any of the attorneys who worked on the Girardi Keese client matters despite having sat through testimony of some of the lawyers, including Alexa Galloway. 

‘He did not know who Nicole Rokita was, despite sitting through her notable testimony about her relationship to Christopher Kamon and Kamon’s multimillion dollar theft from Girardi Keese. 

It seems that, during his tenure as an attorney at Girardi Keese, he didn’t remember writing a letter regarding a potential billion-dollar legal issue with the “Hollywood Land Development Company” to Vice President Joseph Biden.

According to the court document, it’s proposed that the court should arrange a new trial for Mr. Thomas Girardi based on Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33. This is because at the time of the original trial and even now, Mr. Girardi was deemed unfit to stand trial. Information presented during the trial necessitated the court to investigate his competency further.

Given the circumstances, it would be appropriate for the court to overturn the current ruling. If attorney Girardi is able to restore his mental capacity, let’s schedule a fresh trial instead.

In January 2024, it was determined that Girardi was fit to proceed with a trial, as U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton ruled he was mentally capable, despite his Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.

Previously, a court-assigned psychologist had deemed Girardi as mentally sound in June. However, his legal team continuously raised objections.

According to neuropsychologist Dr. Diana Goldstein, she has finished evaluating [Girardi] and believes, along with other points, that he is capable of facing a court trial. The reason behind this judgment and her complete assessment are not specified in the statement.

Goldstein’s report was privately submitted with certain parts blacked out by lawyers representing Girardi. The authorities who engaged Goldstein can’t access the full report, as per a Yahoo News update.

As an ardent follower, I can’t help but share this revelation: In a solemn declaration, the esteemed California forensic and clinical psychiatrist, Dr. Nathan Lavid, stated that Girardi has been diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia – quite a staggering piece of information, indeed!

In February 2021, when Girardi was evaluated mentally, his brother, Robert, stepped up to act as his legal guardian or conservator, according to reports from The New York Post.

Girardi appeared expressionless during Judge Josephine Staton’s announcement of the verdicts in August, with potential sentences of up to 20 years imprisonment for each charge not causing much visible reaction from him.

In stark contrast, Girardi appeared almost unrelated to the renowned attorney known for his expensive designer attire that earned him a spot on best-dressed lists and who graced the covers of magazines due to his significant victories in personal injury cases.

The jury, comprising seven men and five women, came to their decisions in just about four and a half hours, resulting in guilty verdicts.

In simpler terms, the well-known lawyer, Girardi, who established the esteemed law firm Girardi & Keese following his battle against a significant California utility company that served as the basis for the Academy Award-winning film Erin Brockovich, is facing four charges of wire fraud. However, he has pleaded not guilty to all these accusations.

In 2020, his extravagant profession suffered a major collapse as allegations emerged that he had embezzled millions from compensation settlements he received on behalf of victims from the 2018 Lion Air plane crash in Indonesia.

The ongoing criminal charges against Girardi stem from a fatal plane crash, where 189 lives were lost. Likewise, he has entered a ‘not guilty’ plea for these accusations too.

At the trial, it was testified that the disgraced lawyer treated his clients’ settlement money as if it were his own savings account from 2010 to 2020.

In the court on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Paetty characterized Girardi Keese as a nest of swindlers, with Tom Girardi being the foremost deceitful figure among them.

‘Girardi Keese was a house of cards built on the lies of Tom Girardi.’

Girardi was found to have orchestrated a vast ‘pyramid scheme,’ deceiving clients and utilizing the unjustifiably taken millions of those clients to finance his opulent lifestyle, which included private jets, high-end automobiles, elite club subscriptions, costly jewelry for his third wife Jayne, who is a former go-go dancer aged 52, as well as $20 million to support her acting endeavors.

For two decades, the pair had been a couple, but their divorce proceedings have been stalled since Jayne initiated them shortly after the Lion Air accusations. This was followed by Girardi Keese declaring bankruptcy in 2021 with over $100 million in outstanding debts. Interestingly, Jayne failed to attend the trial of her soon-to-be ex-husband.

In 2022, after accusations were made against him, Girardi’s legal team depicted him as struggling with dementia.

‘He got old, he got sick, he lost his mind,’ his attorney Charles Snyder told the court.

‘All the lights were on but there was nobody home. He lost touch with reality.’

Additionally, Girady’s legal representatives have accused another individual, Christopher Kamon (age 49), the Financial Chief of Girard Keese, for allegedly misappropriating funds worth anywhere between $50 million to $100 million from the corporation.

Kamon is facing an upcoming separate trial in which he’s charged with similar counts to Girardi’s.

In the courtroom proceedings, the prosecution informed the jury that Girardi targeted his clients during their most vulnerable times, when they were grappling with grave injuries or grieving the loss of loved ones.

In 2020, Joe Ruigomez, who urgently required funds to cover massive medical bills due to severe injuries sustained in a gas explosion at his home that tragically claimed the life of his girlfriend, was misled by Girardi about his settlement from PG&E utility. Instead of receiving $5 million as he was informed, he should have received $50 million.

A different client of Girardi, Judy Selberg, enlisted the services of the previously renowned attorney in order to file a wrongful death claim, following her husband Paul’s passing in a boating incident that occurred in April 2018.

Four years after the settlement, Girardi is yet to receive a significant chunk of the $500,000 she was awarded.

He also held up Erica Saldana’s $2.5 million settlement which she needed to pay the medical bills for the devastating injuries her one-yer-old son suffered in a car crash.

Due to attorney Girardi not fulfilling his financial obligations, Josie Hernandez was forced to file for bankruptcy as a result of an unpaid settlement stemming from her medical device-related injury.

In each of these instances, when clients inquired about their pending payments from Girardi, he would present various justifications such as a claim of a lien or delay on the settlement, mentioning an IRS complication or waiting for a judge’s approval before the funds could be released. However, all these assertions turned out to be unfounded.

The assistant U.S. attorney stated in court that the individual repeatedly deceived his clients regarding why they weren’t being paid. He did this, as he had no intention of giving them their money because it had already been spent.

Hidden from sight, he was secretly misusing his clients’ assets. Such actions were heartless and unfair towards those affected.

In a nutshell, he acquired not one but two luxury private jets, all the while his clients were yet to receive their payments. Essentially, this tale serves as a stark reminder of broken trust and unchecked ambition.

Read More

• TOMI PREDICTION. TOMI cryptocurrency
• BCH PREDICTION. BCH cryptocurrency
• BAG PREDICTION. BAG cryptocurrency
• ETH PREDICTION. ETH cryptocurrency
• RTM PREDICTION. RTM cryptocurrency
• EUR USD PREDICTION
• BNB PREDICTION. BNB cryptocurrency
• KDA PREDICTION. KDA cryptocurrency
• STORJ PREDICTION. STORJ cryptocurrency
• UFT PREDICTION. UFT cryptocurrency

2024-10-10 00:23