1 00:00:00,590 --> 00:00:03,670 You're watching CNBC On Demand. 2 00:00:07,570 --> 00:00:13,710 In this episode of American Greed, he's a powerhouse litigator who eats big 3 00:00:13,710 --> 00:00:15,270 corporations for lunch. 4 00:00:15,990 --> 00:00:22,770 Super lawyer Tom Girardi is worth $100 million, but says he's a champion of the 5 00:00:22,770 --> 00:00:23,770 little guy. 6 00:00:23,850 --> 00:00:24,850 Tom was. 7 00:00:25,530 --> 00:00:29,690 one of the most respected trial lawyers in U .S. legal history. 8 00:00:30,070 --> 00:00:33,770 He wins billions in settlements for clients around the globe. 9 00:00:34,050 --> 00:00:36,050 As a lawyer, sometimes you feel pretty good. 10 00:00:36,390 --> 00:00:41,710 Girardi makes his fortune in the courtroom, but his reputation is all 11 00:00:42,130 --> 00:00:46,190 He said, I was in that, I'm the Aaron Brockowitz lawyer, and that's Doc. 12 00:00:46,390 --> 00:00:51,650 And whether he's taking on Big Pharma or Major League Baseball, he's a legal 13 00:00:51,650 --> 00:00:53,650 legend. They did the wrong thing. 14 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:55,120 You've got to make it right. 15 00:00:56,140 --> 00:01:02,640 Girardi's got the mansion, the cars, the swagger, and the glamorous real 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,400 housewife of Beverly Hills. 17 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,540 He said stuff like, forget about it, baby. That's showmanship. 18 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:14,580 But clients claim that this showman is really a swindler who allegedly siphons 19 00:01:14,580 --> 00:01:18,540 tens of millions in settlements to fund a gilded lifestyle. 20 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,840 It's about a lot of people who have been victimized. 21 00:01:22,570 --> 00:01:24,270 Once, twice, three times. 22 00:01:24,530 --> 00:01:28,670 And his victims trust American Greed to tell their stories. 23 00:01:29,010 --> 00:01:30,330 They're ruining lives. 24 00:01:30,630 --> 00:01:32,510 They're ruining thousands of lives. 25 00:01:32,870 --> 00:01:37,530 Until this accused conman counselor's world starts to crumble. 26 00:01:37,750 --> 00:01:41,770 That's what's been happening the whole time. The old man went through all the 27 00:01:41,770 --> 00:01:46,750 money. And Girardi's days of making headlines are far from over. 28 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:48,179 Is it greed? 29 00:01:48,180 --> 00:01:49,580 Yes. Is it pride? 30 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,820 Absolutely. Is it ego? Is it prestige? 31 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:54,400 It's all of the above. 32 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:56,060 But it's not a mistake. 33 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:21,720 Tom Girardi's illustrious career as a personal injury attorney has made him an 34 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:23,380 all -American success story. 35 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:29,120 The flashy Uber lawyer is a multimillionaire with a lifestyle most 36 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:30,120 dream of. 37 00:02:30,740 --> 00:02:37,180 It's on display every week, along with his beautiful, much younger wife, Erica 38 00:02:37,180 --> 00:02:41,440 Jane, who shares the intimate details of their marriage on the hit reality 39 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:45,040 series, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. 40 00:02:46,540 --> 00:02:52,380 But on November 3rd, 2020, the press catches wind of a bombshell. 41 00:02:53,180 --> 00:02:55,180 Erica's filing for divorce. 42 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,700 This was wife number three. He'd already had an armload of mistresses. 43 00:02:59,980 --> 00:03:02,400 You know, you keep watching to see what will happen. 44 00:03:04,220 --> 00:03:11,000 Her soon -to -be ex -husband isn't nearly as famous as Erica, but Girardi 45 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,940 flamboyant character in his own right, at least in the courtroom. 46 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,440 In the legal world, it is the case about Tom Girardi. 47 00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:22,220 In the reality world, it's about Erica Jane's husband. 48 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:29,480 Erica says she wants a divorce because, she contends, Tom cheats and treats her 49 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:30,480 poorly. 50 00:03:31,180 --> 00:03:34,320 But could there be another reason for the split? 51 00:03:35,180 --> 00:03:40,240 Tom Girardi's financial life is crumbling to pieces, as the public will 52 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:41,240 find out. 53 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,420 17 counts of federal criminal indictments. 54 00:03:44,990 --> 00:03:50,670 And a torrent of civil lawsuits will later claim Tom stole client funds. 55 00:03:50,870 --> 00:03:56,510 And Erica knew it. We sued under a federal statute, RICO, which is the 56 00:03:56,510 --> 00:03:58,510 that you use to go after the mob. 57 00:03:58,810 --> 00:04:04,090 A collapsing marriage and an avalanche of legal woes are just the beginning of 58 00:04:04,090 --> 00:04:05,090 Tom's troubles. 59 00:04:05,130 --> 00:04:10,270 Teetering on bankruptcy, Girardi risked losing what, according to Erica, might 60 00:04:10,270 --> 00:04:11,430 matter most to him. 61 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,000 His sole identity as a great lawyer. 62 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:24,300 In 1964, seven years before his third wife Erica is even born, 63 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:31,280 Girardi graduates from Loyola Marymount Law School in L .A. He establishes a 64 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:37,500 personal injury law practice and scores early victories, including a big claim. 65 00:04:38,060 --> 00:04:41,440 Just a few years out of law school, Tom made a name for himself by being the 66 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:47,400 first lawyer in California to win a medical malpractice judgment of more 67 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:48,399 million. 68 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:54,460 And he was always an expert at marketing himself, so he would turn every single 69 00:04:54,460 --> 00:04:56,540 victory into three more. 70 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,440 Including a victory that will make him famous, the so -called Aaron Brockovich 71 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:03,440 case. 72 00:05:03,740 --> 00:05:06,780 The Aaron Brockovich case put him on the map nationally. 73 00:05:07,790 --> 00:05:12,810 Before the world knows her as a character that wins Julia Roberts an 74 00:05:12,810 --> 00:05:18,230 Best Actress, Erin Brockovich is a real -world legal clerk. 75 00:05:18,750 --> 00:05:23,750 She works with her boss, attorney Ed Mastry, to lead a class -action lawsuit 76 00:05:23,750 --> 00:05:29,070 against Pacific Gas and Electric for releasing cancer -causing chemicals into 77 00:05:29,070 --> 00:05:30,070 groundwater. 78 00:05:30,450 --> 00:05:33,790 It's called a toxic mass torch case. 79 00:05:36,010 --> 00:05:40,590 When Massery runs out of money, he turns to Tom Girardi for help. 80 00:05:41,030 --> 00:05:47,010 With Girardi on Massery's team, in 1996, PG andE settles for 81 00:05:47,010 --> 00:05:48,870 $333 million. 82 00:05:50,210 --> 00:05:55,070 The attorneys pocket $133 million in contingency fees alone. 83 00:05:56,590 --> 00:06:01,730 Aaron Brockfitt was a defining case for a lot of us, and the movie compelled a 84 00:06:01,730 --> 00:06:04,130 lot of us to go to law school and fight for the underdog. 85 00:06:04,799 --> 00:06:09,860 Girardi name -dropped his A -list connection to the movie for decades. In 86 00:06:09,860 --> 00:06:13,760 promotional interviews, he sounds like he has a starring role. 87 00:06:14,340 --> 00:06:18,360 Shooting that movie, I was on the set every day. I got to know Julia Roberts. 88 00:06:18,660 --> 00:06:24,000 And to this day, we still have the chance to say hello now and then. 89 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:30,820 Except in the film, Tom's not important enough to score an on -screen knock. 90 00:06:31,729 --> 00:06:36,050 Writers invent a composite they call Kurt Potter. 91 00:06:36,470 --> 00:06:39,950 Aaron, I was just talking about you. This is our new partner, Kurt Potter. 92 00:06:39,950 --> 00:06:40,950 be handling Hinkley now. 93 00:06:41,330 --> 00:06:43,490 Oh, I see what you mean about a secret weapon. 94 00:06:44,070 --> 00:06:46,770 Aaron, it's great to meet you. You've done a fabulous job. 95 00:06:47,090 --> 00:06:49,590 He immediately latched onto it and said, that's me. 96 00:06:50,270 --> 00:06:53,710 So even though they never said Tom Girardi, he said, I was in that. I'm the 97 00:06:53,710 --> 00:06:55,890 Aaron Brockovich lawyer, and that's Doc. 98 00:06:56,130 --> 00:07:00,830 And he realized that that fame got him an incredible amount of power. 99 00:07:01,789 --> 00:07:04,850 Powerful lawyer, even better businessman. 100 00:07:05,550 --> 00:07:11,530 In glossy advertising, he's Girardi Keith's best hype man. And in PR 101 00:07:11,850 --> 00:07:16,230 seizes every opportunity to pitch his firm's signature calling card. 102 00:07:16,710 --> 00:07:20,130 And we're interested in doing one thing, and that's helping the little guy. 103 00:07:20,450 --> 00:07:25,330 Giving the guy a voice who's been harmed, who otherwise wouldn't have a 104 00:07:25,990 --> 00:07:28,810 Girardi thrives on high -profile cases. 105 00:07:29,420 --> 00:07:30,700 that earn him headlines. 106 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,680 He even takes on the L .A. Dodgers in 2014. 107 00:07:36,620 --> 00:07:41,380 Police in Los Angeles arrested a suspect today in the brutal beating of a San 108 00:07:41,380 --> 00:07:44,480 Francisco Giants fan outside L .A.'s Dodger Stadium. 109 00:07:44,820 --> 00:07:49,320 Beaten so badly that he remains in a coma in a San Francisco hospital. 110 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:56,560 Girardi sues the victim's attackers and the Dodgers, blaming negligent security 111 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,160 for his client's trauma. 112 00:07:59,410 --> 00:08:04,430 Investigative reporter Brandon Lowry covers the trial and gets a front row 113 00:08:04,430 --> 00:08:05,910 to the Girardi show. 114 00:08:07,090 --> 00:08:12,870 When I first met Tom, he was in the middle of the Brian Stowe case. He was 115 00:08:12,870 --> 00:08:14,510 representing the fan against the Dodgers. 116 00:08:14,810 --> 00:08:18,150 And he does it all with dramatic panache. 117 00:08:19,050 --> 00:08:22,610 The Dodgers should be paying the medical expense for this man and his family 118 00:08:22,610 --> 00:08:23,610 right now. 119 00:08:23,950 --> 00:08:27,570 Hey, man, we made a mistake. We're so sorry. And instead you come in here and 120 00:08:27,570 --> 00:08:28,770 you deny what the law is. 121 00:08:29,170 --> 00:08:31,750 You deny you have any ability to keep the pledge safe. 122 00:08:32,850 --> 00:08:34,690 People get hurt too bad. 123 00:08:35,270 --> 00:08:39,110 In and outside the courtroom, Lowry is impressed. 124 00:08:39,870 --> 00:08:44,710 He remembered my name the first time I told it to him. The next day he came up 125 00:08:44,710 --> 00:08:45,169 to me. 126 00:08:45,170 --> 00:08:46,210 Brandon, great story. 127 00:08:46,590 --> 00:08:49,890 He was just a really nice guy. 128 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:55,280 Girardi's closing argument is a folksy masterclass in persuasion. You know 129 00:08:57,500 --> 00:08:58,860 You're going to do the right thing. 130 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:00,440 I know you will. 131 00:09:00,740 --> 00:09:06,880 Tom Girardi's clients needed a win. He was the man who was going to solve their 132 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:08,640 problems. He was their hero. 133 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,440 The jury awards Girardi's clients nearly $18 million. 134 00:09:14,540 --> 00:09:17,400 I didn't know who he was. I mentioned this to one of my colleagues, and he was 135 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,680 like, oh, yeah, he's kind of a big deal. You know, he was one of the Aaron 136 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:24,240 Brockovich lawyers, and his wife's on Real Housewives. And I was like, wow, 137 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:28,800 guy remembered me. I can only imagine how clients would have felt being 138 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:30,320 like they really mattered to him. 139 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:36,860 Six years later, and only days before Erica Jane files for divorce, Tom will 140 00:09:36,860 --> 00:09:41,340 give his last known on -camera interview to personal injury attorney Daniel 141 00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:47,410 Faruzan. who lands Girardi as a marquee guest on his Schmoozin' with Faroozan 142 00:09:47,410 --> 00:09:48,410 podcast. 143 00:09:52,270 --> 00:09:55,890 Hi, my name is Daniel Faroozan, and welcome to the first episode of the 144 00:09:55,890 --> 00:09:57,270 Schmoozin' with Faroozan podcast. 145 00:09:57,470 --> 00:10:01,330 I went in there thinking to myself, oh, wonderful, I got a big name for the 146 00:10:01,330 --> 00:10:02,510 first episode of my podcast. 147 00:10:02,810 --> 00:10:05,490 That's all I knew, and I was excited to listen to him and learn. 148 00:10:06,090 --> 00:10:08,990 Sharing that interview exclusively with American Greed. 149 00:10:09,550 --> 00:10:13,770 Perusin learns that Girardi's happy to talk shop about his Dodgers win. 150 00:10:14,230 --> 00:10:21,110 Not too long ago, sir, I was listening live to your closing in the Bryan Stowe 151 00:10:21,110 --> 00:10:24,750 case. And now here I am sitting across from you getting to ask you all these 152 00:10:24,750 --> 00:10:28,510 questions. I can't tell you how excited I am. I got all the accolades. 153 00:10:28,790 --> 00:10:29,790 Girardi won. 154 00:10:30,370 --> 00:10:31,610 Forget about it, baby. 155 00:10:32,250 --> 00:10:38,110 It was that wonderful, sweet client that those jurors really liked. 156 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,000 He says things like, forget about it, baby. 157 00:10:41,260 --> 00:10:44,900 And I'm thinking to myself, oh, my God, I'm in Dick Tracy. What's going on here? 158 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:50,020 Do we still speak like that? At the time, I found that charming because no 159 00:10:50,020 --> 00:10:51,320 else has ever spoken to me like that. 160 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,920 But clients say Girardi's charm never lasts for long. 161 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:02,560 Coming up, Tom Girardi plays Erica Jane's Prince Charming. 162 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,420 He had so much power and influence and money that he could take kind of a 163 00:11:07,420 --> 00:11:09,360 nobody. and make her into a star. 164 00:11:09,620 --> 00:11:13,180 But who's really funding their fairytale lifestyle? 165 00:11:32,460 --> 00:11:38,830 As a hotshot L .A. lawyer, Tom Girardi cultivates a big -spending, showy 166 00:11:38,830 --> 00:11:39,830 reputation. 167 00:11:40,290 --> 00:11:47,070 Since the 1980s, he had a mansion in Pasadena, and he would 168 00:11:47,070 --> 00:11:52,670 entertain politicians, he'd entertain other lawyers, and this goes back long 169 00:11:52,670 --> 00:11:53,670 before Erica. 170 00:11:53,970 --> 00:11:59,490 By the late 90s, when he meets 27 -year -old cocktail waitress Erica Jehoi, 171 00:11:59,710 --> 00:12:02,290 they're a match made in Hollywood. 172 00:12:03,130 --> 00:12:08,310 Tom Girardi and Erica are two peas in a pod. And when they met, it was like a 173 00:12:08,310 --> 00:12:10,390 stereotype ran into a cliche. 174 00:12:10,850 --> 00:12:17,050 They marry in 2000, and the one -time exotic dancer begins her metamorphosis 175 00:12:17,050 --> 00:12:24,030 Erica Jane, the aspiring singer and celebrity, bankrolled by her new 176 00:12:24,030 --> 00:12:25,390 years her senior. 177 00:12:26,090 --> 00:12:30,810 Author Kathleen Sharp will spend years investigating Tom Girardi. 178 00:12:31,420 --> 00:12:36,060 They're very similar, their ambitions and their public personas. 179 00:12:37,180 --> 00:12:40,460 She was very clever to pitch her star to him. 180 00:12:40,940 --> 00:12:46,320 But at the same time Erica's star is rising, Tom Girardi is about to take 181 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:51,040 another big swing at Pacific Gas and Electric, the company that made him rich 182 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:52,040 and famous. 183 00:12:52,500 --> 00:12:55,760 They're behind another devastating disaster. 184 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:01,060 And for Girardi, it's a new opportunity to cash in on tragedy. 185 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:13,720 On a warm September evening in 2010, Joe Rugomez is a teenager at home 186 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,040 watching a football game with his girlfriend. 187 00:13:17,060 --> 00:13:19,980 Suddenly, his entire neighborhood explodes. 188 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:26,160 This theory reeling from an explosion so powerful, it claimed lives and forever 189 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:27,560 charred the landscape here. 190 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:32,760 The local gas company, Pacific Gas and Electric, says a 30 -inch gas line 191 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:33,760 ruptured. 192 00:13:35,100 --> 00:13:39,080 With burns covering his body, Joe clings to life. 193 00:13:40,900 --> 00:13:45,000 Amazingly, this is his second appearance as a victim on American Greed. 194 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:50,700 His first was in season 14, episode 11, Burned by Greed. 195 00:13:51,070 --> 00:13:55,830 recounting how he survived the explosion caused by PG andE's negligence. 196 00:14:09,590 --> 00:14:16,450 Joe's girlfriend, Jessica, perishes, along with seven others 197 00:14:16,450 --> 00:14:17,610 in San Bruno. 198 00:14:21,990 --> 00:14:24,130 Joe, we don't know if he's going to make it. 199 00:14:24,470 --> 00:14:29,950 And he's hooked up to a million tubes and covered in bandages all over. 200 00:14:30,410 --> 00:14:32,490 You can't recognize him. 201 00:14:34,570 --> 00:14:40,270 Kimberly Archie, a close friend of Joe's mother, knows many lawyers in her work 202 00:14:40,270 --> 00:14:42,210 as a youth sports safety advocate. 203 00:14:42,470 --> 00:14:45,550 Some of them have high praise for Tom Girardi. 204 00:14:45,870 --> 00:14:50,410 All they ever talked about was Tom Girardi. Tom Girardi this, we'll take it 205 00:14:50,410 --> 00:14:57,320 Tom. And when it comes to winning against PG andE, no one has a better 206 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:03,620 I ran the meeting initially when they met Tom because this was just a horrific 207 00:15:03,620 --> 00:15:06,060 nightmare for them. 208 00:15:06,500 --> 00:15:12,600 But with a home in ashes and facing a mountain of medical debt for Joe, the 209 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:18,160 Gomez family, like so many of Girardi's clients, are vulnerable, as Joe's sister 210 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:19,800 Jamie recalls. 211 00:15:20,460 --> 00:15:26,680 We thought, wow, like, he's an amazing lawyer. He's so well -known. We had no 212 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:31,520 experience in that world. Like, we were a middle -class, blue -collar family. 213 00:15:32,660 --> 00:15:37,400 The Rue Gomez family signs on with Gerardi Keys, and their celebrity L .A. 214 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:41,860 lawyer fights for them, suing PG andE for negligent procedures. 215 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:45,780 I was in a coma for most of that. 216 00:15:46,170 --> 00:15:48,410 And I woke up and they said, this is our lawyer. 217 00:15:48,630 --> 00:15:51,530 You know, every time I'd talk to him, he'd whisper me sweet nothings all the 218 00:15:51,530 --> 00:15:55,770 time. You know, talk a good game. It just seemed logical to trust him. 219 00:15:57,790 --> 00:16:02,890 As their case winds through the court, Joe's family friend Kimberly starts 220 00:16:02,890 --> 00:16:08,470 working closely with Tom as a litigation consultant, giving her an up -close 221 00:16:08,470 --> 00:16:10,810 look at Girardi's outrageous spending. 222 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:19,340 He leases not one, but two private jets and drives a rotating fleet of luxury 223 00:16:19,340 --> 00:16:20,340 cars. 224 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:27,740 Tom showers Erica with jewels, including the piece de resistance, $750 ,000 225 00:16:27,740 --> 00:16:28,800 diamond earrings. 226 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:34,600 His estimated net worth peaks at $100 million. 227 00:16:35,340 --> 00:16:39,540 Yet, for all his wealth, Archie notices... 228 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:41,920 something doesn't quite add up. 229 00:16:42,180 --> 00:16:48,280 I kept thinking, how is he living like a billionaire on millionaire money? I 230 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:51,940 never thought he made that kind of money just on settlement. 231 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:53,920 She might be right. 232 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:56,360 She just doesn't know it yet. 233 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:10,369 Three years into their lawsuit against PG andE, Tom Girardi has exciting news for 234 00:17:10,369 --> 00:17:11,369 the Rugomez family. 235 00:17:11,770 --> 00:17:14,510 He's won them a multi -million dollar settlement. 236 00:17:15,710 --> 00:17:21,290 Most is earmarked for Joe, who's already endured dozens of surgeries and will 237 00:17:21,290 --> 00:17:24,050 require extensive medical care for the rest of his life. 238 00:17:24,450 --> 00:17:28,430 I didn't have any money at the time. Everything that me and my family owned 239 00:17:28,430 --> 00:17:29,430 up in smoke, literally. 240 00:17:30,110 --> 00:17:35,630 But Joe's sister, Jamie, says Girardi isn't explaining the details of their 241 00:17:35,630 --> 00:17:37,750 settlement. We didn't see any paperwork. 242 00:17:38,150 --> 00:17:44,750 And once my mom started pressing him, he pretty much cut off communication with 243 00:17:44,750 --> 00:17:47,850 her. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. 244 00:17:48,490 --> 00:17:53,590 And when Tom tells the family how much money they'll receive, instead of 245 00:17:53,590 --> 00:17:56,950 comforted, Jamie recalls feeling judged. 246 00:17:58,190 --> 00:18:03,710 He made me feel like I was being an ungrateful brat, as if he was expecting 247 00:18:03,710 --> 00:18:09,370 to jump for joy that I got this money, but I lost everything that was important 248 00:18:09,370 --> 00:18:10,169 to me. 249 00:18:10,170 --> 00:18:14,330 On top of that, Girardi's smarminess makes her suspicious. 250 00:18:15,070 --> 00:18:20,170 He called everybody, like, oh, baby, and, like, stuff like that, and he just 251 00:18:20,170 --> 00:18:23,190 tried too hard, and it was phony. He even called my father baby. 252 00:18:23,390 --> 00:18:24,490 Like, what are you doing? 253 00:18:25,550 --> 00:18:26,550 Coming up. 254 00:18:26,730 --> 00:18:32,890 More families in dire straits depend on Tom Girardi to be their champion of the 255 00:18:32,890 --> 00:18:33,649 little guy. 256 00:18:33,650 --> 00:18:38,890 We need this money for help. We don't want this to go by lavishly. 257 00:18:39,370 --> 00:18:43,850 But their lawyer does, and it will lead to his downfall. 258 00:18:44,190 --> 00:18:46,330 This was not a small criminal operation. 259 00:18:46,630 --> 00:18:50,750 It was large. It was unwieldy. That is something out of a John Christian novel. 260 00:19:03,050 --> 00:19:08,290 In California, while the Lugomes family trusts Tom Girardi to deliver millions 261 00:19:08,290 --> 00:19:13,370 in settlement money from the PG andE explosion lawsuit, halfway across the 262 00:19:13,370 --> 00:19:18,470 country, the Jones family is counting on him to answer their prayers. 263 00:19:25,310 --> 00:19:29,850 In Linden, Kansas, they're represented by Tom's firm as... 264 00:19:30,110 --> 00:19:34,730 part of a 2012 lawsuit against the Johnson and Johnson drug Risperdal. 265 00:19:35,870 --> 00:19:40,870 After taking the drug as a child, Holly and her husband Michael's son Matthew, 266 00:19:41,070 --> 00:19:47,250 who is autistic, develops gynecomastia, male swelling of breast tissue. 267 00:19:47,950 --> 00:19:51,610 Insurance won't cover the corrective operation that he needs. 268 00:19:53,210 --> 00:19:58,130 It broke my heart to see him going through that. 269 00:19:59,830 --> 00:20:02,410 I couldn't make it better right away. 270 00:20:03,350 --> 00:20:09,810 When Michael dies from lung cancer in 2016, Holly and her children are left 271 00:20:09,810 --> 00:20:12,130 reeling and financially strapped. 272 00:20:12,370 --> 00:20:16,550 Holly suffers brain and physical injuries, leaving her disabled. 273 00:20:16,970 --> 00:20:21,770 They hope for a miracle settlement for Matt and a little money to repair their 274 00:20:21,770 --> 00:20:24,430 home, if there's anything left over. 275 00:20:24,850 --> 00:20:26,870 And it's not that we want this money. 276 00:20:27,370 --> 00:20:29,670 It's that a lot of us can't afford this stuff. 277 00:20:29,930 --> 00:20:32,050 We can't afford mass surgery. 278 00:20:33,230 --> 00:20:39,170 Though Girardi -Keese advertises that we treat our clients like family, the 279 00:20:39,170 --> 00:20:42,430 Joneses say they receive hardly a word of correspondence. 280 00:20:43,030 --> 00:20:46,970 We kept getting pushed off and pushed off and pushed off and pushed off, and 281 00:20:46,970 --> 00:20:47,970 needed to help. 282 00:20:47,990 --> 00:20:54,270 Something just wasn't right in the way they handled you, the way they treated 283 00:20:54,270 --> 00:20:59,450 you. Finally, after seven years, Girardi Keys notifies Holly that they've 284 00:20:59,450 --> 00:21:02,710 negotiated a settlement with Risperdal's manufacturer. 285 00:21:03,230 --> 00:21:08,910 It will allow the Joneses to pay for Matt's surgery and fix up their home. 286 00:21:08,910 --> 00:21:11,490 amount is modest, just $12 ,000. 287 00:21:11,890 --> 00:21:17,770 And for the Jones family, it's life -changing. For the Girardis, $12 ,000 is 288 00:21:17,770 --> 00:21:18,770 night out. 289 00:21:22,580 --> 00:21:27,560 Erica's video, Expensive, lays out her thoughts on money management. 290 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:34,280 Erica was the perfect mate in that she loved to spend money just as much as Tom 291 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:40,120 did, if not more. It was a trophy to him to say, like, I paid for her music 292 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:46,500 video. As reality TV royalty, Erica reportedly tallies more than $14 million 293 00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:48,680 in American Express charges. 294 00:21:49,530 --> 00:21:52,590 But her celebrity seems to pay off for Tom. 295 00:21:52,870 --> 00:21:57,450 How has the reality television affected your career? How has it affected the 296 00:21:57,450 --> 00:21:58,570 marketing for your office? 297 00:21:58,870 --> 00:22:00,970 I would be in a hotel in New Orleans. 298 00:22:01,290 --> 00:22:03,190 Twenty people come running up. 299 00:22:04,170 --> 00:22:05,810 Are you Erica's husband? 300 00:22:09,230 --> 00:22:16,070 Erica talked about enlisting a $40 ,000 a month glam squad and goes on eye 301 00:22:16,070 --> 00:22:17,450 -popping spending sprees. 302 00:22:20,970 --> 00:22:25,470 Tom and Erica had money to buy whatever they wanted. They didn't necessarily 303 00:22:25,470 --> 00:22:27,150 have the most taste. 304 00:22:27,370 --> 00:22:31,270 And I think that's really where the spirit of greed comes from, people who 305 00:22:31,270 --> 00:22:32,510 have an empty want. 306 00:22:33,310 --> 00:22:38,990 Yet while Tom's living it up with Erica, his clients are just trying to survive. 307 00:22:40,350 --> 00:22:45,210 He was brilliant at getting the recovery, getting a payment made by the 308 00:22:45,210 --> 00:22:46,830 defendants in these lawsuits. 309 00:22:47,050 --> 00:22:48,610 He just wasn't very good at it. 310 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:51,320 allocating those funds where they should have been paid. 311 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,900 The Rue Gomez family discovers that firsthand. 312 00:22:55,500 --> 00:23:00,560 They've asked American Greed to keep the exact amount confidential, but by 2018, 313 00:23:00,900 --> 00:23:05,340 they allege that Girardi pays them only a small fraction of their multimillion 314 00:23:05,340 --> 00:23:09,940 -dollar settlement, telling Joe he'll eventually get the rest. 315 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,600 At first, Girardi's rationale sounds plausible. 316 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,490 You're going to get... Payments every five years, lump sums every five years, 317 00:23:18,550 --> 00:23:20,610 and then they're going to get annuity every month. 318 00:23:21,090 --> 00:23:23,830 And I'm like, oh, that makes sense. I'm young, you know. 319 00:23:24,570 --> 00:23:28,770 Neil Wortlieb is a lawyer and ethics expert in California. 320 00:23:29,190 --> 00:23:34,030 The client, they don't really have the access to the information to figure out 321 00:23:34,030 --> 00:23:38,290 what they're entitled to, unless the lawyer does what they're supposed to do, 322 00:23:38,310 --> 00:23:42,950 which is to tell them precisely what's been received, account for it basically 323 00:23:42,950 --> 00:23:43,950 to the penny. 324 00:23:44,410 --> 00:23:48,530 and whatever balance is remaining, all of that is supposed to be allocated to 325 00:23:48,530 --> 00:23:49,530 the clients. 326 00:23:49,710 --> 00:23:55,270 Instead, his clients allege Girardi evades their pleas to see the actual 327 00:23:55,270 --> 00:23:59,670 paperwork from their settlement. They claim that he hedges on showing them his 328 00:23:59,670 --> 00:24:02,510 itemized fees, and he's late with payments. 329 00:24:03,190 --> 00:24:05,510 It's just another excuse, another excuse. 330 00:24:05,890 --> 00:24:08,730 That's when some red flags started popping up. 331 00:24:09,190 --> 00:24:11,470 Red flags are just the beginning. 332 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:16,040 Time would go on, and then finally, if you press them enough, they'll finally 333 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:17,040 pay you something. 334 00:24:17,580 --> 00:24:19,380 And then eventually that just stopped. 335 00:24:19,700 --> 00:24:24,680 And back in Kansas, the Jones family says that Girardi Keys plans to keep 336 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,080 of their tiny $12 ,500 settlement. 337 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:35,240 They were going to take 40%, and they were also going to take 338 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:41,940 $3 ,500 for postage and copies and filing fees. 339 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:44,460 I know they did not spend that much. 340 00:24:44,940 --> 00:24:49,500 Holly claims she doesn't get an itemized bill and pushes back. 341 00:24:50,020 --> 00:24:52,300 Eventually, they settled it for $6 ,000. 342 00:24:53,180 --> 00:24:55,700 Well, they said, okay, we'll pay you in a month. 343 00:24:55,940 --> 00:24:56,940 Month goes by. 344 00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,280 Nothing happened. 345 00:24:59,860 --> 00:25:03,240 We kept calling them and calling them and calling them, and they would not 346 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:04,240 respond to us. 347 00:25:05,260 --> 00:25:11,020 Up next, when an Indonesian air disaster leaves widows and orphans in its wake. 348 00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:13,240 Tom Girardi is on the scene. 349 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,880 Past clients warn, check your pockets. 350 00:25:17,380 --> 00:25:24,160 If you're unlucky enough to touch Tom Girardi, he probably had your 351 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:25,160 wallet. 352 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:46,880 By 2018, Chicago consumer law attorney Jay Edelson has a chance to collaborate 353 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:53,560 as a co -counsel with the man who has helped inspire his career, Tom Girardi. 354 00:25:54,340 --> 00:26:00,460 But Edelson is about to find new truth in an old saying, never meet your 355 00:26:00,660 --> 00:26:02,360 you'll only disappoint. 356 00:26:02,780 --> 00:26:04,360 He operated like a mob boss. 357 00:26:04,780 --> 00:26:08,040 You know, what you see in The Sopranos, where they're at the restaurant all day, 358 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:10,520 and if you want a meeting with them, you've got to come to the restaurant. 359 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,280 It wasn't like any other attorney I'd ever met in my life. 360 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:19,340 And talking about the opioids case they might work on, in Jay Edelson's opinion, 361 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,340 Tom is shockingly charmless. 362 00:26:22,860 --> 00:26:25,340 Within 30 seconds, you realize he's a horrible person. 363 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:26,900 And it was clear he was foolish. 364 00:26:27,260 --> 00:26:29,020 It was just clear from the very beginning. 365 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:30,840 He didn't know anything about the case. 366 00:26:31,230 --> 00:26:34,350 He had no strategy other than just to wield his influence. 367 00:26:34,830 --> 00:26:36,350 It was not a good match. 368 00:26:36,870 --> 00:26:41,850 But against his better judgment, Edelton will give Girardi a second chance. 369 00:26:47,980 --> 00:26:52,060 None of that growing air disaster mystery, a Boeing passenger plane, the 370 00:26:52,060 --> 00:26:56,620 company's most recent design, suddenly plunging into the sea, likely killing 371 00:26:56,620 --> 00:27:01,220 189 people on board. And the question is, what caused a brand new plane to go 372 00:27:01,220 --> 00:27:02,280 down in clear skies? 373 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:09,560 When a Boeing 737 MAX owned by Lion Air crashes in Indonesia, Gerardi 374 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:15,000 Keese swoops in to represent a dozen grieving family members, most of them 375 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,460 widows and orphans. 376 00:27:16,940 --> 00:27:21,040 in a lawsuit against Chicago -based Boeing and others. 377 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:26,940 A few months later, we got a call from Tom Girardi's firm saying, we're going 378 00:27:26,940 --> 00:27:29,760 file the case in Chicago and we'd like you to help out. 379 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:35,900 When Edelson confirms that Girardi won't be directly involved with the legwork, 380 00:27:36,060 --> 00:27:37,320 he signs on. 381 00:27:38,260 --> 00:27:42,180 Both firms agree to a 50 -50 fee split. 382 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,100 And in February of 2020, 383 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:49,720 Girardi and Edelson celebrate a multi -million dollar settlement for their 384 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:55,220 clients. Girardi Peace is responsible for promptly paying the families and 385 00:27:55,220 --> 00:27:56,900 cutting co -counts of their share. 386 00:27:57,340 --> 00:28:03,760 But as a federal judge will later find, by that September, Edelson's firm hasn't 387 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:04,840 seen a dime. 388 00:28:05,580 --> 00:28:10,040 We were calling every week, trying to get more information, and we kept 389 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:11,040 stalled. 390 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:14,080 The Rue Gomez family knows the feeling. 391 00:28:14,830 --> 00:28:20,270 After years of runaround, they've started sleuthing into Girardi's past 392 00:28:20,270 --> 00:28:24,710 discovered a laundry list of complaints against him they find online. 393 00:28:26,230 --> 00:28:29,370 They tell their friend, Kimberly Archie, what they found. 394 00:28:31,410 --> 00:28:37,330 As a host of civil lawsuits will later allege, Tom Girardi seems to have been 395 00:28:37,330 --> 00:28:41,910 regularly transferring client settlements into his own bank accounts 396 00:28:41,910 --> 00:28:43,630 his obscene spending. 397 00:28:44,540 --> 00:28:47,880 When money comes in as client money, you have to put it in a separate account. 398 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:49,500 It is sacrosanct. 399 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:55,280 Client funds are supposed to be kept in a trust account that's registered and 400 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,380 regulated by the California State Bar. 401 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:03,400 Lawyers are also bound to follow specific payment procedures. 402 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:09,780 Let's say it's $100 ,000 in the trust account, and I have a 40 % contingency 403 00:29:09,780 --> 00:29:13,880 on that. So if I get my client $100 ,000, I will take the $40 ,000. 404 00:29:14,300 --> 00:29:18,420 Move it out of the trust account, put it in my operating account before I ever 405 00:29:18,420 --> 00:29:20,860 touch a penny or a nickel of that money. Why? 406 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:23,240 While it's in your trust account, it's not your money. 407 00:29:23,700 --> 00:29:25,340 That belongs to your clients. 408 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:30,120 Bankruptcy trustees will later claim, not if you're Tom Girardi. 409 00:29:31,300 --> 00:29:36,880 He took the funds for his own use, his own personal expenses, for gifts to his 410 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:38,240 wife, whatever it might have been. 411 00:29:38,700 --> 00:29:41,660 It's called commingling client funds. 412 00:29:42,890 --> 00:29:46,910 The amount of money that was involved here became very attractive. 413 00:29:47,290 --> 00:29:52,630 Perhaps he saw those funds and thought, I've earned it, I deserve it, I want it. 414 00:29:53,170 --> 00:29:58,690 Co -mingling funds is the fast track to getting disbarred, or it was supposed to 415 00:29:58,690 --> 00:30:01,390 be the fast track of getting disbarred. 416 00:30:01,930 --> 00:30:07,430 Instead, the California State Bar inducts Girardi into the Trial Lawyer 417 00:30:07,430 --> 00:30:08,430 Fame. 418 00:30:08,530 --> 00:30:12,530 On the surface, this is about a celebrity couple, but... 419 00:30:12,810 --> 00:30:16,570 What it's really about, it's about a lot of people who have been victimized 420 00:30:16,570 --> 00:30:19,530 once, twice, three times. 421 00:30:20,030 --> 00:30:23,170 The Rue Gomez family knows that feeling as well. 422 00:30:24,030 --> 00:30:29,030 It really is a slap in the face because we'll just sit there watching TV and be 423 00:30:29,030 --> 00:30:31,390 like, oh, that's what our money's being spent on. 424 00:30:31,730 --> 00:30:35,930 Oh, that's what all the other victims' money is being spent on. Oh, that's what 425 00:30:35,930 --> 00:30:36,930 you're doing with it. 426 00:30:37,010 --> 00:30:40,390 Joe Rue Gomez copes with constant daily pain. 427 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,600 But Girardi seems untouchable. 428 00:30:45,100 --> 00:30:47,240 Nobody's looking at any of this stuff. 429 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:49,380 How could he have done it? Nobody knew. 430 00:30:50,540 --> 00:30:57,120 Up next, Girardi has seemingly perfected hiding dirty little secrets in plain 431 00:30:57,120 --> 00:30:58,120 sight. 432 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:04,940 Tom Girardi was not a work in progress. He was already a made man in the most 433 00:31:04,940 --> 00:31:06,340 corrupt way. 434 00:31:20,170 --> 00:31:26,690 In 2019, Tom Girardi is regarded as one of the most successful litigators in 435 00:31:26,690 --> 00:31:33,350 America. Author Kathleen Sharp has known better since the 1990s. Tom was an 436 00:31:33,350 --> 00:31:34,630 operator way back when. 437 00:31:34,870 --> 00:31:40,670 Way back in 2000, she writes a searing expose on the Erin Brockovich case. 438 00:31:41,250 --> 00:31:46,590 Victims from that early PG andE case accused Tom of the same lying and 439 00:31:46,590 --> 00:31:47,590 embezzlement racket. 440 00:31:48,140 --> 00:31:51,940 that he's been accused of repeating with scores of complaining clients after 441 00:31:51,940 --> 00:31:57,340 them. Here were these poor people who had suffered for years and years, and 442 00:31:57,340 --> 00:32:02,460 trusted Girardi to make them, if not whole again, then at least to get them 443 00:32:02,460 --> 00:32:04,740 money so they could take care of their medical problems. 444 00:32:05,020 --> 00:32:06,700 And that never really happened. 445 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:08,360 But there's more. 446 00:32:09,020 --> 00:32:13,540 What I found was sort of a goldmine, which is the arbitration system. 447 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:19,800 Voluntary arbitration allows Girardi to steer some of his famous cases, 448 00:32:19,820 --> 00:32:25,940 including the Erin Brockovich case, into negotiation instead of a full -blown 449 00:32:25,940 --> 00:32:27,300 trial before a jury. 450 00:32:28,380 --> 00:32:32,040 Private retired judges administer those cases. 451 00:32:32,540 --> 00:32:37,600 They were earning hundreds of millions of dollars, paying judges two or three 452 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,400 times what they had earned in the public sector. 453 00:32:41,070 --> 00:32:44,470 Perhaps surprisingly, this is perfectly legal. 454 00:32:45,190 --> 00:32:50,530 It wasn't just arbitration. It was him making friends with some of these 455 00:32:50,530 --> 00:32:53,270 judges. But Tom took it a little bit farther. 456 00:32:54,750 --> 00:32:57,750 Girardi wines and dines judges in L .A. 457 00:32:59,270 --> 00:33:04,610 He flies them to baseball games in his Gulfstream jet and even charters 458 00:33:04,610 --> 00:33:10,260 Mediterranean cruises that his judge pals later called educational seminars. 459 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:17,720 There would be butlered waiters with silver trays full of champagne or bikini 460 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:21,120 -clad ladies frolicking on the sun -drenched decks. 461 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:24,320 It gave decadence a bad name. 462 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:31,880 With arbitration, results are veiled in secrecy. So Girardi's payouts 463 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:32,880 escape scrutiny. 464 00:33:33,220 --> 00:33:38,760 And in this good old boy culture, Girardi's official record with the 465 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:45,240 bar remains spotless, which is remarkable because zooming ahead to 466 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:51,400 2022, the bar will disclose a jaw -dropping number of complaints and 467 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:57,920 more than 200, dating all the way back to the early 1980s. 468 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:04,890 They taught me a thing or two about not only how to fleece, your 469 00:34:04,890 --> 00:34:06,650 clients, but how to get away with it. 470 00:34:07,030 --> 00:34:13,510 Girardi quietly settles some of the cases in a Ponzi -like way, paying off 471 00:34:13,510 --> 00:34:14,770 debts with new money. 472 00:34:15,570 --> 00:34:20,750 Other times, court findings show he simply runs out the statute of 473 00:34:21,949 --> 00:34:26,270 And Girardi thumbs his nose at a mandate from the California bar. 474 00:34:26,929 --> 00:34:32,170 There were 37 cases where he was required to report himself. 475 00:34:32,389 --> 00:34:33,790 The bar trusted him. 476 00:34:34,170 --> 00:34:39,670 to report his own misconduct, and he just didn't. Basically, if you're 477 00:34:39,670 --> 00:34:45,150 enough to have touched Tom Girardi, he probably had your wallet. 478 00:34:47,489 --> 00:34:54,389 But by 2019, the Rue Gomez family has had enough of Tom Girardi. They not only 479 00:34:54,389 --> 00:34:56,590 fire him, they sue him. 480 00:34:57,230 --> 00:34:59,610 The day that Kathy's... 481 00:34:59,980 --> 00:35:04,060 Family sued Tom was the beginning of the end. That unraveled everything. 482 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:09,700 The judge issues Erica Jane Girardi two subpoenas, asking for shared financial 483 00:35:09,700 --> 00:35:16,620 records. That's what led to Erica being served and finding out 484 00:35:16,620 --> 00:35:19,460 that really Tom has no money. 485 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,980 Though Erica has publicly blamed Tom's alleged cheating as her reason for 486 00:35:24,980 --> 00:35:28,360 divorcing him, Jay Edelson doesn't buy it. 487 00:35:29,230 --> 00:35:32,430 It didn't make sense until Erica filed for divorce. 488 00:35:32,850 --> 00:35:37,230 Then we said, that's what's been happening all the time. The old man went 489 00:35:37,230 --> 00:35:38,230 through all the money. 490 00:35:40,270 --> 00:35:41,270 Up next. 491 00:35:41,530 --> 00:35:48,250 At that point, he was known to be a crook. His whole reputation ended like 492 00:36:04,710 --> 00:36:09,510 A lawsuit against Tom Girardi, brought by his former clients, the Rue Gomez 493 00:36:09,510 --> 00:36:11,830 family, has ruptured his reputation. 494 00:36:12,110 --> 00:36:14,550 And now all hell is breaking loose. 495 00:36:15,010 --> 00:36:18,830 When they brought their suit and started having success, the lenders started 496 00:36:18,830 --> 00:36:19,828 cutting him off. 497 00:36:19,830 --> 00:36:24,890 He was relying on a lot of outside money to keep it going. And that stopped 498 00:36:24,890 --> 00:36:25,890 that. 499 00:36:26,290 --> 00:36:29,810 Girardi is dangerously deep in debt, baby. 500 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:34,040 as he reveals in a video deposition for the Rugomez case. 501 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:40,760 At one point, I had about $80 million or 502 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,760 $50 million in cash. 503 00:36:44,660 --> 00:36:45,660 That's all gone. 504 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:52,300 I also had a stock portfolio of about $50 million, and that's all gone. 505 00:36:58,090 --> 00:37:04,210 In Chicago, Jay Edelson is deeply worried about his clients and is 506 00:37:04,210 --> 00:37:07,590 discover that they've received barely half of their settlement money. 507 00:37:07,870 --> 00:37:12,070 And we now know the clients were saying to them, we're screaming, where's our 508 00:37:12,070 --> 00:37:13,070 money? 509 00:37:16,310 --> 00:37:18,810 On December 2nd, 2020. 510 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:25,220 Jay Edelson files a 30 -page, five -count civil complaint against Tom, 511 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:27,500 and other Girardi Peace Associates. 512 00:37:28,140 --> 00:37:33,060 In my view, it is a crime family. That's what it is. That is how they operate 513 00:37:33,060 --> 00:37:39,480 it. Just two weeks later, on December 14th, Judge Thomas Durkin calls 514 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:45,520 behavior unconscionable and demands $2 million to be paid to the Lion Air 515 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:48,140 families. But Tom Girardi... 516 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:49,520 is broke. 517 00:37:49,540 --> 00:37:51,480 The court issued the judgment. 518 00:37:51,720 --> 00:37:52,960 They froze his assets. 519 00:37:53,220 --> 00:37:55,000 A criminal investigation started. 520 00:37:55,340 --> 00:37:56,960 He then was forced into bankruptcy. 521 00:37:57,240 --> 00:38:03,760 And at that point, he was known to be a crook. His whole reputation ended like 522 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:04,760 that, overnight. 523 00:38:05,420 --> 00:38:10,480 Over the next two years, new civil lawsuits filed by Jay Edelson pour in, 524 00:38:10,580 --> 00:38:16,900 alleging Tom embezzled funds And Erica helped him hide more than $20 million in 525 00:38:16,900 --> 00:38:20,640 assets through loans to her company, EJ Global. 526 00:38:21,020 --> 00:38:26,560 We sued under a federal statute, RICO, which is the statute that you use to go 527 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:31,680 after the mob. We know that she knew that the money had run out at a time 528 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:32,680 she was pretending otherwise. 529 00:38:32,900 --> 00:38:36,300 That's why we claim she was the front woman of Enterprise. 530 00:38:37,290 --> 00:38:42,610 In a statement to American Greed, Erica's attorney vocally denies all the 531 00:38:42,610 --> 00:38:47,370 lawsuit's claims against her, writing that they are disappointed with the 532 00:38:47,370 --> 00:38:50,810 on Erica, which has been used as a distraction tactic. 533 00:38:51,470 --> 00:38:57,930 She had no knowledge of and did not participate in any misconduct, and she 534 00:38:57,930 --> 00:39:01,270 turned over her earnings to her husband and his law firm. 535 00:39:01,660 --> 00:39:08,040 But Erica doesn't turn over those infamous $750 ,000 earrings from Tom 536 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:11,000 court order demands she submit them for auction. 537 00:39:11,460 --> 00:39:14,280 I'm angry. I'm upset. 538 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:19,480 Here you are flashing all this stuff off, and that shouldn't be your stuff. 539 00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:24,980 All of that should be gone. All of that should be money towards the people who 540 00:39:24,980 --> 00:39:25,980 need it. 541 00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:29,420 Auctioneers sell them for $312 ,000. 542 00:39:30,230 --> 00:39:35,390 After months in foreclosure, Tom's opulent Pasadena mansion sells for $8 543 00:39:35,390 --> 00:39:36,390 million. 544 00:39:36,950 --> 00:39:41,910 The expensive treasures left inside fetch less than a half a million. 545 00:39:42,410 --> 00:39:47,990 While the Girardi's divorce languishes in limbo, Tom lives in a memory care 546 00:39:47,990 --> 00:39:51,950 facility, reportedly due to advancing Alzheimer's disease. 547 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:56,800 Eighteen months after suspending Girardi's law license due to his 548 00:39:56,800 --> 00:40:02,380 cognitive decline, the California State Bar permanently disbars him, later 549 00:40:02,380 --> 00:40:08,000 writing that Girardi caused irreparable harm to hundreds of his clients. 550 00:40:08,820 --> 00:40:14,340 Tom does not represent all lawyers. The vast majority of lawyers I know get up 551 00:40:14,340 --> 00:40:16,960 in the morning and do good work on behalf of their clients. 552 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:21,440 Tom Girardi's attorney responded to American Greed with... 553 00:40:21,900 --> 00:40:22,900 No comment. 554 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:28,720 And though at least one court has found no evidence that Erica participated in 555 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:34,060 any wrongdoing, in a suit brought by Girardi's former colleagues, she and Tom 556 00:40:34,060 --> 00:40:38,680 still face a slew of civil cases, including Edelson's. 557 00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:44,240 Whatever role she may have played in this pales in comparison to the roles 558 00:40:44,240 --> 00:40:48,880 played by numerous people whose names we don't know. 559 00:40:49,670 --> 00:40:54,170 Tom would never have gotten as far as he did without all of these other people 560 00:40:54,170 --> 00:40:57,410 and enablers, the other attorneys, the partners. 561 00:40:58,250 --> 00:41:02,950 Every time you pull a thread, it kind of goes in 15 different directions. 562 00:41:03,790 --> 00:41:08,070 That's the difficulty in this case, that it really was a sprawling criminal 563 00:41:08,070 --> 00:41:09,450 conspiracy for decades. 564 00:41:11,030 --> 00:41:17,050 Girardi's estimated debt is at least $100 million, with another $700 million 565 00:41:17,050 --> 00:41:18,590 lawsuit claims against him. 566 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:23,080 The Jones family has launched a GoFundMe campaign. 567 00:41:23,500 --> 00:41:27,280 And Holly wonders what justice might look like for the Girardis. 568 00:41:27,880 --> 00:41:33,700 This may sound harsh, but I want them to live like we have to live. And I want 569 00:41:33,700 --> 00:41:39,420 justice for all the clients who have been stolen from. 570 00:41:39,820 --> 00:41:44,300 Jamie Rue Gomez, whose family is still fighting to secure the rest of Joe's 571 00:41:44,300 --> 00:41:46,580 settlement, has another thought. 572 00:41:47,130 --> 00:41:51,050 I don't care how old he is. No one should be above the law. He should be in 573 00:41:51,050 --> 00:41:52,650 prison. That's where I want him. 574 00:41:52,890 --> 00:41:54,950 And that could be a possibility. 575 00:41:56,170 --> 00:42:02,330 In November 2022, federal agents in Baltimore arrest Tom Girardi's former 576 00:42:02,510 --> 00:42:05,610 Chris Kamen, on criminal charges for wire fraud. 577 00:42:06,010 --> 00:42:11,310 Though they declined to comment, FBI and IRS agents are reportedly pursuing 578 00:42:11,310 --> 00:42:14,990 investigations against Girardi and his associates. 579 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:21,740 Would it be a happy ending to see an oxygenarian in prison after he's already 580 00:42:21,740 --> 00:42:26,340 harmed everybody? The happiest ending we could hope for is that people start 581 00:42:26,340 --> 00:42:31,260 looking at the system and changing the system to prevent this from happening to 582 00:42:31,260 --> 00:42:35,460 other people. There's going to be another Tom Girardi, and probably doing 583 00:42:35,460 --> 00:42:36,460 right now.