'RHOBH' Erika Jayne's Ex Husband Tom Girardi Slammed With Wire Fraud Guilty Verdict

Erika Jayne seems to have escaped persecution for her estranged husband's crimes, but Tom Girardi wasn't as lucky.

The disgraced attorney famous for his marriage to the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star has been found guilty of wire fraud. He was accused of embezzling more than $15 million from former clients.

Erika Jayne's name initially popped up next to Tom Girardi when the allegations surfaced in 2020; however, she had filed for divorce a month before the drama began.

On Tuesday, August 27, a federal jury in Los Angeles found Girardi guilty of orchestrating a fraud scheme between 2010 and 2020. They held him accountable for stealing millions from settlement funds on all four counts of wire fraud.

Girardi's defense attorney, Charles Snyder, tried to plead his client's innocence by blaming the fraud scheme on his now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese. The legal rep claimed the funds were stolen amid the 85-year-old's declining mental health.

The "RHOBH" alum's estranged husband has been battling dementia in recent years; however, he was deemed medically fit to stand trial. Girardi even defended himself in his testimony, claiming that "every client got every penny that every client was supposed to get."

Unfortunately, the jury didn't believe Girardi's story and sided with the prosecution. They began deliberations on Monday before returning their verdict less than a day later, per TMZ.

When Girardi's embezzlement allegations surfaced in December 2020, his estranged wife had filed for divorce a month earlier. However, their split didn't stop others from claiming she was involved in the scheme.

The allegations implied that part of the stolen money was used to fund her entertainment career; however, Jayne was eventually not charged. Last year, The Blast reported she met the fraud victims to listen to their stories.

The meeting took place at the Valley Inn Restaurant in Los Angeles during a Paul's Ice Cream event, with the reality TV star telling sources:

"I came here with an open heart to listen to what's going on. I want to hear what happened and figure out how to be a part of how to move forward together in a way that's beneficial for all victims."

Kimberly Archie, a former employee at the now-defunct Girardi Keese law firm, commended Jayne's decision to talk to fraud victims. She believed it was "irrational to think Erika knew" about her estranged husband's scheme.

"I never thought she stole the money or anything like that. My only thing was really just how it came across to the victims," Archie continued, adding:

"And now this erases any of that obviously because she's making a concerted effort to make the victims feel better."

Jayne's meeting with the victims was seen as a significant step forward in the fight for justice for the victims of Girardi's embezzlement scheme.

Following her meeting with Girardi's fraud victims, Jayne was slammed alongside her estranged husband in an extortion lawsuit. The Blast reported that Christopher Psaila, co-owner of Hollywood costume firm Marco Marco, accused the pair of the crime.

Psaila claimed the duo employed the Secret Service to pursue legal action against him unfairly in 2017. He alleged they did so to obtain nearly $800,000 in refund from American Express.

His alleged issues with the pair began when Jayne authorized him and his store to charge her credit card for costumes he created and supplied for her performances. He stressed that she and her assistants were fully aware of these services.

However, Jayne and her team misrepresented the situation to federal agents and the credit card company. Psaila claimed they falsely asserted that the charges made to her card were unauthorized.

The designer claimed that Jayne and Girardi used their connection to the Secret Service to suppress evidence that could have cleared his name. He believed they bribed the former head of the Secret Service's Los Angeles office, Robert Savage.

According to Psaila, the estranged couple convinced Savage to initiate a criminal investigation and press charges against him. However, the former Secret Service agent denied having connections to Jayne and Girardi.

"This case reflects the corruption of the federal judicial system. The Secret Service and [the] United States should have never presented the case to the grand jury for indictment and never proceeded with the prosecution," Psaila's lawsuit partly read.

Although Erika Jayne escaped being charged in Tom Girardi's wire fraud case, will she be able to score another victory in the extortion case?