Erika Girardi/Erika Jayne: Let them eat cake

[hoodooznoodooz]

Contrast the love between Kim and Kathy to what Tom and Erika’s “hearts” hold. Kim is willing to prioritize Kathy’s son’s case over her own son’s because Kathy’s son is still alive. 
Joe’s attitude during his final scene. Still a positive, strong, brave individual. After everything he endured. Inspiring.
 

[Polliwollidoodle]

Wow. I haven't been watching much of RHOBH because I thought it had gotten too dull and obnoxious. Then I saw some of the previews while watching some other Bravo shows, and I am learning that in real life they (at least Erika) are not so boring.

Man oh man I had no idea any of this was going on. I even thought the preview suggesting Erika getting a divorce was a hoax. Shows you how out of it I am . I am reading through the last few pages on this thread and am just amazed at everything.

Now I will probably be tuning in at least to see what comes up on the show. 

(I am still trying to get used to Sutton). I did think Kyle's nose job looks amazing. That shows you where I am at here.:)  ****Superficial is my specialty****.

[bkathi]

19 hours ago, amarante said:

Watching the documentary made me realize how sociopathic Tom and Erika were.  I don’t have high expectations that people will be saints and altruistic but I genuinely can’t wrap my mind around being able to live with oneself after stealing from horribly injured people, widows and orphans. And for what - so one can have people dress and style you so that you are photographed. 

I agree - it was heartbreaking to know that one young man was struggling to pay medical bills while Tom and Erika wasted the money from his settlement.  I never warmed to Erika but she is worse than I thought.

[Happy Camper]

Erika needs to eat her own words. "Being broke sucks, and being rich is a lot better".

Smug bitch.

[lasu]

First, this was absolutely a tabloid show. I can't call it a news show when the first person on the screen is Danielle Staub.  You lose all credibility, IMO.  Then you double down with Dana Wakile?  C'mon now.  That said:

They put together a VERY compelling case against Tom.  I don't think there is any question he stole money from his clients, and he funneled some of it into Erika's companies.  I find it baffling he had such a good reputation for SO long, when the CA Bar said there were issues going back as 40 years.  It seems like there had been some shady business going on for years and years.

I did not see that they put together anything that was either damning or exonerating of Erika.  There have been no charges against her, and we don't even have her depositions yet.  There certainly may be more evidence beyond some people's opinion, that she HAD to know.  That's not going to hold up in a court of law or the court of lasu.  I'm not saying I'm convinced she knew nothing, but I can still conceive of it.  She was under 30 when she married a very famous, very wealthy, very powerful lawyer.  I think it's safe to say she wouldn't have known anything at that time, or have any reason to suspect anything.  And that probably held true, at the very least, for a very long time.  If she ever knew, I can't imagine it was anywhere near the whole time.  And if we can believe that Teresa trusted an idiot like Juicy, I don't see how we can't believe Erika wouldn't believe someone as respected as Tom was.

None of the footage showed that Tom was in anyway cowed to Erika.  When we saw him on Housewives, the appearance was that he was very much in charge and wore the pants in the family.  It seemed, to me anyway, that Tom wasn't someone who was living in fear of losing her.  He always seemed more like an indulgent father, tbh.  He did strike me as someone who was afraid to say no, so I find this all so bizarre.  I still don't understand how he went through 100s of millions of dollars, and Erika Jayne doesn't explain it all.  When you count up the money he had in cash, the money he had in stocks/investments, the money he took out in loans, the money he stole...where did it all go??  I need TLC to show up all Behind the Music and break this down for me.

I'd actually say Erika's over the top excess would be a small piece of evidence against her knowing.  Obviously she could just be a smug asshole who never thought they would get caught, but if I had to guess based on this ALONE, I would guess she didn't know - at least not when she started Erika Jayne or when she started RHoBH.  But that's just my guess, and I'm willing to revise when we hear more.

Now, even though I personally at this time don't think Erika knew or participated, there is NO question she profited.  How she behaved a year or two ago, when she just thought she was an insanely wealthy woman with a powerful wife? I'm not going to judge her based on what we know now.  The one lawyer was cracking me up - he was like, yeah, we all have jets, we just don't go on tv and brag about it.  Like, it's not a problem to make insane profits off of other people's suffering, but it's a problem to show it, lol.  And now Erika certainly knows where their money came from - I'm not currently seeing any reason for her to go to jail, she needs to stop fighting not to give her shit back.  That's an insanely bad look, and one I can't even remotely defend.  She was lucky she got to experience that kind of wealth, and she needs to take her Housewives money and live off of that and give everything else back.  She'll still be doing better than me.  She's not a victim.

And the victims I truly did feel badly for.  I was gutted when she second woman's son was killed.  I hope all of the people who were already suffering before Tom Girardi are able to get the money they deserve.

Also, I think it's probably high time to take another look at how money is disbursed in settlements.  It seems bizarre that your lawyer could withhold that from you.  Although, for at least Joe's case, it did seem like the real fraud was that he got them to invest their settlement with him, versus the just straight up stealing he did from Lion's Air and sling mesh victims.  Obviously Tom is a criminal, but it seems like trusts would be set up that would ensure the lawyer got his part and the victims got their part.  Tom should pay for what he did, but also they need to fix it so it can't happen again.

[Rahul]

8 hours ago, SerenityNow721 said:

I thought Tom looked like a shell of the Tom we saw on RHBH. He certainly looked like a man with dementia to me. It doesn’t excuse anything, but I’m thinking that, at least, is true.

Being held accountable and exposed to the world for four decades of absolutely vile behavior and circumventing the law to fatten your own coiffeurs with ill-gotten gains  from burn victims, widows and orphans might do that to you.
 

8 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

On WWHL, Casey Wilson said that she was doubtful they will show anything of substance on RHOBH with regard to this case. AC told her that they would surprise her.

Andy Cohen is full of shit.

[BloggerAloud]

7 minutes ago, Rahul said:

Andy Cohen is full of shit.

Truly. How many years has he promised amazing seasons of RHOBH and we've gotten a great trailer and then nothing.

[Normades]

14 minutes ago, lasu said:

And if we can believe that Teresa trusted an idiot like Juicy, I don't see how we can't believe Erika wouldn't believe someone as respected as Tom was.

I believe Teresa was raised to never question her husband.  I think it's a part of their culture for the wife to be submissive in that way.  So, I can  believe she would trust him and figure that whatever happened, even if she knew it was wrong, he would take care of it.  

Now Ericka had lived life before Tom.  She was married, lived on her own, went to college, and was trying to get famous.  She's a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them.  I can believe it in the beginning she would trust Tom and his reputation, but I do believe she knew as time went on.  I know 30 is not old, but I think she was old enough to know quite a bit and I think she was much more aware than Teresa.  YMMV

[lasu]

5 minutes ago, Normades said:

I believe Teresa was raised to never question her husband.  I think it's a part of their culture for the wife to be submissive in that way.  So, I can  believe she would trust him and figure that whatever happened, even if she knew it was wrong, he would take care of it.  

Now Ericka had lived life before Tom.  She was married, lived on her own, went to college, and was trying to get famous.  She's a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them.  I can believe it in the beginning she would trust Tom and his reputation, but I do believe she knew as time went on.  I know 30 is not old, but I think she was old enough to know quite a bit and I think she was much more aware than Teresa.  YMMV

I think the ratios are the same though.  Teresa is to Erika as Juicy is to Tom.  So yes, Erika is far smarter and savvy than Teresa, Tom also was far more respected, established, and seemingly on the up and up compared to Juicy.  I know for me, personally, I though Juicy was full of shit the moment he landed on my screen, and I was quite surprised to find out what a POS Tom is (and his sins are EPIC compared to Juicy's).

[Keywestclubkid]

19 minutes ago, lasu said:

I'd actually say Erika's over the top excess would be a small piece of evidence against her knowing.  Obviously she could just be a smug asshole who never thought they would get caught, but if I had to guess based on this ALONE, I would guess she didn't know - at least not when she started Erika Jayne or when she started RHoBH.  But that's just my guess, and I'm willing to revise when we hear more.

I think its more her being stupid and doing this show and talking about it.. you dont do that .. also her flaunting her wealth and what she has ... they can go after her assets because at the time she was and still is married to this man ... She is just beyond dumb doing this show still

[Feech]

Erika is not stupid. She is just supremely arrogant  and thinks nothing can touch her.

On Below Deck Med they edited out a deckhand for a few stupid tweets and Facebook posts. How can they justify showcasing a woman who profited off the suffering of burn victims and widows and orphans?

Have you no decency Andy Cohen?

Oh yeah. Wait a minute. Forget about it. What I am thinking.

[OdinO.]

1 hour ago, Feech said:

Erika is not stupid. She is just supremely arrogant  and thinks nothing can touch her.

On Below Deck Med they edited out a deckhand for a few stupid tweets and Facebook posts. How can they justify showcasing a woman who profited off the suffering of burn victims and widows and orphans?

Have you no decency Andy Cohen?

Oh yeah. Wait a minute. Forget about it. What I am thinking.

They stole from Indonesian orphans and Sutton is a problem? They stole money from marginalized groups. No tears from Erika. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by OdinO.

[chlban]

14 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

And sunny hostin makes an excellent point. Why would you still be doing this show? They are going to go through every frame and see what you own and go after that. What a stupid stupid thing to do. And she was on boards of his she would know what money was going where. What a horrid woman 

She probably desperately needs the money. I am not in any way defending the vile Witch, but really, what else does she do for money? Not a big demand for 50 year old strippers even if they are well preserved.

Edited June 15, 2021 by chlban

[Keywestclubkid]

3 minutes ago, chlban said:

She probably desperately needs the money. I am not in any way defending the vile Witch, but really, what else does she do for money? Not a big demand forv40 year old strippers even if they are well preserved.

But she has book deals and a shoe line and things like that .. IF she had a smart attorney or even a semi smart one they would have told her NOT to do this show right now to skip it because everything she does on it will be under a microscope and it wouldn't be a good look.. But Not Erika ... God I cant stand this woman anymore 

[SerenityNow721]

9 minutes ago, chlban said:

She probably desperately needs the money. I am not in any way defending the vile Witch, but really, what else does she do for money? Not a big demand forv40 year old strippers even if they are well preserved.

Erika isn’t going to hold up living the Sonja Morgan lifestyle.  Maybe she and Sonja could rent a place together and take their sorry ass shows on the road. 

[chlban]

2 hours ago, Normades said:

I believe Teresa was raised to never question her husband.  I think it's a part of their culture for the wife to be submissive in that way.  So, I can  believe she would trust him and figure that whatever happened, even if she knew it was wrong, he would take care of it.  

Now Ericka had lived life before Tom.  She was married, lived on her own, went to college, and was trying to get famous.  She's a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them.  I can believe it in the beginning she would trust Tom and his reputation, but I do believe she knew as time went on.  I know 30 is not old, but I think she was old enough to know quite a bit and I think she was much more aware than Teresa.  YMMV

This. I would add that Teresa is truly an idiot and lives in a state of denial. Her new boyfriend gives off the same creepy con man vibes Joe did and at least I would believe Joe married Teresa for love, whatever it later turned into. I would bet my 401K that this guy is there for the fame and money and she will never see it. Erika is smart and she is a Realist. A hard core realist. She married Tom for the money. She may have been clueless about where the money came from 20 years ago, but the last few years? Not buying it. 

[amarante]

14 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

On WWHL, Casey Wilson said that she was doubtful they will show anything of substance on RHOBH with regard to this case. AC told her that they would surprise her.

 

 

Andy's ideas of handling anything truthfully are far removed from what anyone on this board would recognize. I can't think of a single instance in which a housewife wasn't ultimately allowed to spew their own story. Even Tre was allowed to keep up the pretense even in the specials which were billed as being questions about everything. 

14 hours ago, Cosmocrush said:

Has Andy made any kind of statement or comment about this situation?  I mean officially, like a representative of Bravo. 

No. And I doubt he will. Perhaps something when the reunion has been taped and the powers that be make a decision or if Erika and her lawyers decide she needs to bow out. Brian Moylan's book explains that he actually doesn't have the final say in anything. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by amarante

[izabella]

4 hours ago, lasu said:

I still don't understand how he went through 100s of millions of dollars, and Erika Jayne doesn't explain it all.  When you count up the money he had in cash, the money he had in stocks/investments, the money he took out in loans, the money he stole...where did it all go??  I need TLC to show up all Behind the Music and break this down for me.

A lot of criminals hide their illegal money in foreign bank accounts in the Caymans and Switzerland.  Tom very well could be pretending he is broke but has just been squirreling away the cash where no one can find it.

[Normades]

20 minutes ago, izabella said:

A lot of criminals hide their illegal money in foreign bank accounts in the Caymans and Switzerland.  Tom very well could be pretending he is broke but has just been squirreling away the cash where no one can find it.

That's exactly what I think is happening.  Not sure if Ericka is in on it, but it wouldn't surprise me. 

[lasu]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

A lot of criminals hide their illegal money in foreign bank accounts in the Caymans and Switzerland.  Tom very well could be pretending he is broke but has just been squirreling away the cash where no one can find it.

But then why bother being such an obvious sleaze? I don't want it to come across like I'm defending any of this or saying I don't think it's true or anything, it's just baffling.  It seems like he made 100s of millions of dollars in a legal manner.  One could argue it was still sleazy AF and not a good luck, but he didn't just suddenly start making money off of people's tragedies when he stole money.  He was making bank off of legitimate settlements. I don't know how much of a percentage lawyers take at this level, but when I had a reason to seek out representation after an accident, it was a 50/50 split. The kind of money he should have earned legally should have been able to pay for Erika Jayne for years and years without batting an eyelash.  It's just bizarre to me.

[amarante]

48 minutes ago, lasu said:

But then why bother being such an obvious sleaze? I don't want it to come across like I'm defending any of this or saying I don't think it's true or anything, it's just baffling.  It seems like he made 100s of millions of dollars in a legal manner.  One could argue it was still sleazy AF and not a good luck, but he didn't just suddenly start making money off of people's tragedies when he stole money.  He was making bank off of legitimate settlements. I don't know how much of a percentage lawyers take at this level, but when I had a reason to seek out representation after an accident, it was a 50/50 split. The kind of money he should have earned legally should have been able to pay for Erika Jayne for years and years without batting an eyelash.  It's just bizarre to me.

I think he would have been quite wealthy even without the Ponzi scheme but I don't think he could have afforded the absolutely over the tip lifestyle that he had. He started funding Erika's vanity project in 2007 which meant he was pouring millions into it for at least ten yers - he "lent" her company $10 million and I would imagine that was the tip of the iceberg into what she spent - as I posted upthread, the cost of just her glam squad would have been half a million each year and that isn't counting the actual products, clothing, wigs, extensions, plastic surgery that she had. Presumably he was also buying her "real" jewelry and the clothing costs are probably unfathomable to anyone with a normal wardrobe - even if they are buying at pricier shops. 

The cost of maintaining the Pasadena mansion would also be expensive - I can't imagine what the water bill would be :-) But there is staff and you would need a full time gardener or outside maintenance person. 

The cost of two private planes would be astronomical - beyond the cost of using them would be the cost of maintenance.  A round trip from LA to NY private plane is about $50,000. 

Even the cost of the law firm would be a high overhead. Obviously at some point the merry go round stopped in terms of Tom's ability to generate new income which is when the whole thing fell apart as do all Ponzi schemes inevitably. 

I actually don't think that it is inconceivable that he blew through that money and the bulk of it isn't parked somewhere. Of course Erika could have created a stash of money that she kept hidden from Tom. The forensic accountants will have a field day tracking down disbursements. 

I think a few of the legal experts in the documentary alluded to the fact that even the highest compensated personal injury attorneys don't have the kind of lifestyle that Tom had. There are a few scattered around the country that are on Tom's level of "fame" and client base and they are certainly wealthy but their lifestyle is not anywhere near the level of Tom's.

[OdinO.]

He was living very large for his specialty.  What a scumbag. It's disgusting.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by OdinO.

[lasu]

16 minutes ago, amarante said:

I think a few of the legal experts in the documentary alluded to the fact that even the highest compensated personal injury attorneys don't have the kind of lifestyle that Tom had. There are a few scattered around the country that are on Tom's level of "fame" and client base and they are certainly wealthy but their lifestyle is not anywhere near the level of Tom's.

I'd have to go back and watch (which I'm not going to, lol!), but I think mostly the people who were astounded at how much money he made were the non-lawyers.  The LA Bar dude, he seemed to be saying having private jets wasn't unusual, but TALKING about having private jets was crass and rubbing it in your clients' faces.

And I will say I did forget about the expense of having not one but TWO private jets.  That's just f'ing stupid.  I've only had the opportunity for a PJ a few times in my life (for my actual job, not for blow jobs, lol), but A) if I had the money, it's the only way I would fly, B) everyone I ever talked to in that life "owned" private jets actually owned shares in private jets.  They had them at their disposal, but they just weren't sitting there costing money when they weren't in use.  It's not the same as chartering a private flight, but it's not as asshole expensive as the cost of being the sole owner.

Again, I don't want to seem like I'm doubting Tom stole this money - I think it's pretty clear he did.  I just will be very, very interested to see how the accounting works.

[notnowimbusy]

Erika's attorney,  Peter Mastan, has filed papers petitioning the court to allow him to be "removed" as her attorney.   He cited a "fundamental and material breakdown in the relationship".    The paperwork doesn't cite specifics, but he said in a written declaration that it caused "irreparable" damage and that the "relationship of trust and confidence necessary to the proper functioning of an attorney-client relationship has ceased to exist".    This is a major blow to her defense.   Wonder what he found out that he didn't know before.

[ButterQueen]

 

[amarante]

18 minutes ago, lasu said:

I'd have to go back and watch (which I'm not going to, lol!), but I think mostly the people who were astounded at how much money he made were the non-lawyers.  The LA Bar dude, he seemed to be saying having private jets wasn't unusual, but TALKING about having private jets was crass and rubbing it in your clients' faces.

 

The amount it cost to fund their lifestyle goes beyond being merely very very wealthy. I think the Bar attorney alluded to it being both excessive as well as not being good optics.

Obviously no one will know exactly where the money went and how much, if any, was hidden away but the expenditures seem out of line with someone who "only" has $50 million in assets. 

I have a close friend who married into a family with assets in the $50 to $100 million dollar range. And they lead a good life - a lavish home in Aspen and one in Boca but they don't spend with the kind of wild abandonment of Erika.

Some of the movie stars like DeNiro and Johnny Depp probably have fortunes well in excess of $50 million and seem to have blown through their money. De Niro says he still has to work to maintain his lifestyle. There have been a few others who have managed to spend inconceivable amounts on their lifestyle as well which for one reason or another have been revealed. 

And the bottom line is that Tom did not actually have enough money to support the lifestyle as he was stealing from clients to fund it. I think most of the Ponzi schemers are so arrogant and sociopathic that they don't really think the whole apparatus will come tumbling down. 

[Emmeline]

Following is an article about the attorney that Albert Finney portrayed in the Erin Brockovich movie.  His name was Ed Masry.  Girardi was played by Peter Coyote under the character name of Kurt Potter.  Girardi did try the case and negotiated the settlement with PG&E.  

I thought it was interesting because Tom’s firm had not been paying their bills for years and Ed Masry’s estate is still trying to collect.

“Many years after that case concluded, following Masry’s death in 2005, Masry’s firm filed for bankruptcy and transferred cases to Girardi Keese. In a July 9 court filing in the bankruptcy case of Masry’s law firm, Masry’s estate claimed that Girardi has yet to turn over settlement funds from nine of those cases.”

https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2021/01/21/the-estate-of-ed-masry-of-erin-brockovich-fame-says-tom-girardi-owes-them-money/

[emmawoodhouse]

42 minutes ago, notnowimbusy said:

Erika's attorney,  Peter Mastan, has filed papers petitioning the court to allow him to be "removed" as her attorney.   He cited a "fundamental and material breakdown in the relationship".    The paperwork doesn't cite specifics, but he said in a written declaration that it caused "irreparable" damage and that the "relationship of trust and confidence necessary to the proper functioning of an attorney-client relationship has ceased to exist".    This is a major blow to her defense.   Wonder what he found out that he didn't know before.

Erika has a court date coming up this Friday. Will she represent herself? 😂

[RealHousewife]

I can't wait to watch the documentary. I am going to watch it with a friend who has Hulu.

I find all the discussion super interesting anyway! It looks like almost everyone thinks Erika must have known. 

Brandi's always been the worst housewife. If all this is true about Erika, she'd now be the worst imo. At least Brandi's not a thief. If Erika didn't know, I hope she explains her side and clears everything up. I don't remember the last time there was a scandal this big on the show. 

 

[J80134]

Listening to the voice mails tom left his clients was interesting. He sounded like a total con artist with his pleas for them to not be mad at him, that he's a good guy and waiting for the money is a strain on him too, blaming the allocation of funds on the judge (who had nothing to do with it after the case closed). It all sounded like a well practiced bit of smoke and mirrors. I hope they put him in prison and make him drink tainted water that gives him explosive shits until his dying day.

 

[Keywestclubkid]

8 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

I can't wait to watch the documentary. I am going to watch it with a friend who has Hulu.

I find all the discussion super interesting anyway! It looks like almost everyone thinks Erika must have known. 

Brandi's always been the worst housewife. If all this is true about Erika, she'd now be the worst imo. At least Brandi's not a thief. If Erika didn't know, I hope she explains her side and clears everything up. I don't remember the last time there was a scandal this big on the show. 

 

I don’t think she knew 100%. I think there was some willful ignorance going on (like don’t ask don’t tell and don’t go asking questions you really don’t wanna know the answers to).She had to have had ideas ya know what I’m sayin. Just being on one of his boards she should have at least questioned things because she had access really to that information 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Keywestclubkid

[chlban]

19 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Erika has a court date coming up this Friday. Will she represent herself? 😂

She is arrogant enough, but doubt she is stupid enough. I wonder if this gets her a postponement?

16 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

I can't wait to watch the documentary. I am going to watch it with a friend who has Hulu.

I find all the discussion super interesting anyway! It looks like almost everyone thinks Erika must have known. 

Brandi's always been the worst housewife. If all this is true about Erika, she'd now be the worst imo. At least Brandi's not a thief. If Erika didn't know, I hope she explains her side and clears everything up. I don't remember the last time there was a scandal this big on the show. 

 

I think Leah stole the title from Brandi, so now Erika can take it from Leah, IMO  But, I still want to watch Erika, if only to see her fake world crumble. I don't want to watch Leah. Or Brandi.

[RealHousewife]

49 minutes ago, amarante said:

The amount it cost to fund their lifestyle goes beyond being merely very very wealthy. I think the Bar attorney alluded to it being both excessive as well as not being good optics.

Obviously no one will know exactly where the money went and how much, if any, was hidden away but the expenditures seem out of line with someone who "only" has $50 million in assets. 

I have a close friend who married into a family with assets in the $50 to $100 million dollar range. And they lead a good life - a lavish home in Aspen and one in Boca but they don't spend with the kind of wild abandonment of Erika.

Some of the movie stars like DeNiro and Johnny Depp probably have fortunes well in excess of $50 million and seem to have blown through their money. De Niro says he still has to work to maintain his lifestyle. There have been a few others who have managed to spend inconceivable amounts on their lifestyle as well which for one reason or another have been revealed. 

And the bottom line is that Tom did not actually have enough money to support the lifestyle as he was stealing from clients to fund it. I think most of the Ponzi schemers are so arrogant and sociopathic that they don't really think the whole apparatus will come tumbling down. 

None of the rich folks I know spend like Erika either. I have a friend who kind of has a similar situation as your friend. I don't know their exact assets, but it's a lot. His family regularly donate millions to charity. My friend spends tons of money on designer clothes, Louboutins, regularly travels, all that. People think she gets carried away with being superficial and showing off. Her lifestyle still looks humble in comparison to Erika's. 

While I 100% think you can be rich living an honest life, tbh I do question the integrity of those who are very wealthy. There are just way too many shady people out there who screw over clients, customers, employees, etc. I'd rather have less $ but a clear conscience. 

4 minutes ago, chlban said:

I think Leah stole the title from Brandi, so now Erika can take it from Leah, IMO  But, I still want to watch Erika, if only to see her fake world crumble. I don't want to watch Leah. Or Brandi.

Which Leah?

[chlban]

3 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

None of the rich folks I know spend like Erika either. I have a friend who kind of has a similar situation as your friend. I don't know their exact assets, but it's a lot. His family regularly donate millions to charity. My friend spends tons of money on designer clothes, Louboutins, regularly travels, all that. People think she gets carried away with being superficial and showing off. Her lifestyle still looks humble in comparison to Erika's. 

While I 100% think you can be rich living an honest life, tbh I do question the integrity of those who are very wealthy. There are just way too many shady people out there who screw over clients, customers, employees, etc. I'd rather have less $ but a clear conscience. 

Which Leah?

The one that ruined my former favorite franchise, New York. She has made the show unwatchable.

[chlban]

25 minutes ago, Keywestclubkid said:

I don’t think she knew 100%. I think there was some willful ignorance going on (like don’t ask don’t tell and don’t go asking questions you really don’t wanna know the answers to).She had to have had ideas ya know what I’m sayin. Just being on one of his boards she should have at least questioned things because she had access really to that information 

Didn't she file for Divorce about a month before the charges? I suppose that could be interpreted a few ways. She could have found out and been horrified-which I find hard to ascribe to her-or she got wind of the coming storm and hoped filing would make her look innocent. I tend to agree with your basic premise though. He may never have said, "by the way, I am stealing from widows and orphans", but it's very likely she willfully chose to ignore obvious evidence that something was off. Erika Jayne's version of "don't ask, don't tell".

[Happy Camper]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQJ5s_PMY1Z/

The 2nd and 3rd pages of this post are very telling.

Good luck to her new lawyers when she is able to find replacements.

She's been awfully quiet on twitter and instagram. Likely she will take a page from the book of Chrissy Teigen and lay low for some time.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Happy Camper

[Sweet-tea]

On 6/14/2021 at 9:00 PM, Keywestclubkid said:

And sunny hostin makes an excellent point. Why would you still be doing this show? They are going to go through every frame and see what you own and go after that. What a stupid stupid thing to do. And she was on boards of his she would know what money was going where. What a horrid woman 

I can't figure it out either. I just finished watching the documentary. 

I noticed they left out that Erika has a son. I wonder why. 

I'm glad they included interviews with so many victims including the families of the crash victims. 

I had no idea Tom was the Erin Brockovich lawyer! 

I really want to see Tom and Erika held accountable. I don't believe he has dementia. My father had it (and recently passed away), so I'm very familiar with the signs of even early dementia. Tom's lawyer is just trying this because it seems like the best way to reduce Tom's sentence. 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Sweet-tea

[Happy Camper]

8 minutes ago, Sweet-tea said:

I noticed the left out that Erika has a son. I wonder why. 

DON'T EVER TALK ABOUT MY KID!

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Happy Camper

[Julyolo]

17 hours ago, Cosmocrush said:

If it is true, then what does it say about a wife who leaves her sick husband the minute the money stops?  It almost makes me feel bad for Tom.  Almost but not quite - he knew the deal when they got together.  

Yes!  As heinous are the actions of him and his law firm, and the loans he made to her, what kind of look is it for any woman to leave a husband with dementia?

[princelina]

24 minutes ago, Julyolo said:

Yes!  As heinous are the actions of him and his law firm, and the loans he made to her, what kind of look is it for any woman to leave a husband with dementia?

To be honest - what I'm most curious about, as far as the show goes, is how she's going to explain that to the other ladies.

[emmawoodhouse]

Tom didn't immediately claim dementia, so it will look like a "normal" divorce until news of the financials leaks. I think that took a couple weeks after Erika initially filed for the divorce.

eta In show time, they had to shut down when Kyle got Covid. I think that was also in November, so they may all know when filming resumed?

Edited June 15, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[Pattycake2]

I wonder if Erika signed tax documents?

[emmawoodhouse]

1 minute ago, Pattycake2 said:

I wonder if Erika signed tax documents?

I'd bet my meager farm that they filed taxes separately. Not to mention, all this stuff flowed through their businesses.

[Carolina Girl]

On 6/12/2021 at 7:41 PM, Shannah Banana said:

Can anybody sue the CA State Bar for looking the other way so many times, so Tom could commit criminal acts? 

I imagine a good lawyer (and we DO have many in California) will be able to make a case against the State Bar for their failure to curb the conduct of Girardi.  Especially since there are articles about how he gave lots of "perks" to State Bar officials, who then looked the other way regarding the complaints filed against him.  Judging from the facts given on the show, the complaints for failure to pay client funds go back decades.    

There are going to be forensic accountants and forensic IT specialists pouring over the Girardi's accounts in the bankruptcy action  The firm will have records of judgments and settlements and the fees/costs awarded to the firm and exactly how much Girardi should have been able to draw over the years.  

What may end up being Erika's doom is the fact that she was a corporate officer.  If you recall the Bernie Madoff mess, Ruth Madoff was listed as an officer on Bernie's fund that ran the Ponzi scheme - hard to claim she didn't know.   Also there is that conveyance of funds....where did Tom get $20 million?  

I can see a future where Erika finds herself in a relatively cheap apartment as there is no money  to support her lavish lifestyle.   She was on notice NOT to dispose of her assets and if she did, she'll be in a world of hurt on that.  I'm going to put my Carnak hat on and predict that this will be her LAST season on Ho-Wives.  

And frankly, I think her singing career is probably dead in the water as well.  

[Maximona]

12 hours ago, lasu said:

I did not see that they put together anything that was either damning or exonerating of Erika. 

Her name was on the papers for what looked like one of Girardi's shell companies as "Secretary."

Though I'm not sure what the role of Secretary implies, how much knowledge a Secretary might be expected to have of financial transactions.

(Carolina Girl beat me to the observation!  😊 )

Edited June 16, 2021 by Maximona

[Showthyme]

5 hours ago, amarante said:

 

I have a close friend who married into a family with assets in the $50 to $100 million dollar range. And they lead a good life - a lavish home in Aspen and one in Boca but they don't spend with the kind of wild abandonment of Erika.

 

I know very wealthy individuals who have several homes and nice cars but still are mindful of where each dollar is spent. I heard one asking if he could use a coupon for his online purchase of a shirt. His assets are near fifty million dollars. The difference is that the Girardi’s did not earn all of their money so it is no big deal for them to piss it away on glam squads and two private jets. 

Tom Girardi reminds me a lot of Bernie Madoff. Living large while stealing. Both held lavish parties and were able to get over on their licensing boards. It is interesting to me that everything for Madoff and Girardi came crashing down during a huge financial crisis. For Madoff, it was the housing crisis; for Girardi, it was COVID. Tom Girardi was paying high interest on loans which explains where some of the money was spent.

Erika is like Ruth Madoff and Teresa Guidice. She didn’t ask because she did not want to know. Everything was fine as long as her black American Express card was went through. Tom’s misdeeds predate Erika. I think Tom offered her some explanation for what he needed her to sign and after a while, she didn’t question anything at all. Like Ruth and Teresa, Erika did not work in Tom’s office. Erika may have known that something wasn’t 100% right but I don’t think she knew that Tom stole all that money from these victims. I think that she had to know that the bank transfers and payments to her were done to avoid paying taxes or for some other illegal gain. She will go to jail for it. Erika thinks that she is entitled to keep some of those assets which is the same mindset of Ruth Madoff. People give Erika too much credit for being smart.

I think that Tom told Erika that he was broke and was going to jail and counseled her to file for divorce.

 

 

 

 

[politichick]

I agree that Erika had a "don't ask, don't tell" approach, but she had to suspect something. And there may be a sad little apartment in her future. The glam squad must be gutted. During their trip, she also frequently remarked about all of the time they were spending together, acting like everything was normal pandemic life. Wondering how she'll respond to all of the dementia stuff. It doesn't just suddenly happen. And also wondering if she'll show any vulnerability. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if there is not much hidden money as her spending was obscene. Would love to hear from the son, but he'll probably keep quiet.

 

[albarino]

Not a good look when your lawyers fire you.....

Over/under, more time than Teresa or Martha?

[Stats Queen]

8 minutes ago, albarino said:

Not a good look when your lawyers fire you.....

Over/under, more time than Teresa or Martha?

I’m say more time if it is indeed true that Tom gave her $20 M in loans from his law firm.

[amarante]

 

1 hour ago, Carolina Girl said:

 

What may end up being Erika's doom is the fact that she was a corporate officer.  If you recall the Bernie Madoff mess, Ruth Madoff was listed as an officer on Bernie's fund that ran the Ponzi scheme - hard to claim she didn't know.   Also there is that conveyance of funds....where did Tom get $20 million?  

I can see a future where Erika finds herself in a relatively cheap apartment as there is no money  to support her lavish lifestyle.   She was on notice NOT to dispose of her assets and if she did, she'll be in a world of hurt on that.  I'm going to put my Carnak hat on and predict that this will be her LAST season on Ho-Wives.  

And frankly, I think her singing career is probably dead in the water as well.  

I always thought her singing career must be a total loss but but back when I assumed that Tom had money, I assumed he was structuring it as a tax write off. And when Erica got cast into the show, they would have been saved by it no longer being classified as a "hobby" in terms of too many years of losses on the books. 

I mean how much could one possibly make from being a marginal performer in an obscure music festival. I remember the performance in Greece several seasons ago. As I recall she sang one song but flew her glam squad out there. Did she use the private jet - I don't remember.

Ruth Madoff escaped any kind of liability but she was only permitted to keep $1 million in assets and had to leave everything else behind. As I recall, she had a valid argument that she had inherited about that amount from her parents so it wasn't a product of the Ponzi scam. Of course one could argue that she should have left with nothing but in the scheme of things the $1 million was chicken feed. As karma more than paid her off - one son committed suicide on the second anniversary of Madoff turning himself in - the other son died of cancer a few years later. The sons refused to talk to her until she completely disowned Bernie.

I think Erika will lose all of the assets - of course the sad part is that although she won't be living as high off the hog as she was, she will still be able to earn more money than most people from promotional opportunities. I mean if Slade and Gretchen have managed to support themselves by monetizing social media, Erika can have the same kind of business.

I can almost guarantee that Erika is going to be liable for all of the money owed creditors to the extent it isn't discharged in bankruptcy. OJ was able to effectively avoid paying off the Goldman family because the money from his pension could not be touched and he didn't earn any money that could be reached. He did a lot of cash signatures as I recall. There might have been money but what an expense to try to track down sporadic cash payments. No one was giving him a 1099 slip. 

Erika is claiming that these were gifts and not part of the community property but in California there is a very limited gift exemption. Unless they are of nominal value, there has to be written evidence that they were intended to be gifts and this would be difficult to prove under the circumstances. It would be hard to believe that every single expensive item she acquired over the years was accompanied with a legal document regarding ownership.

I think she is beyond morally corrupt. Even if she wasn't aware of how Tom was scamming from the victims, she continued to flaunt THEIR MONEY after it became public. She even had an instagram shot of her crucified with earrings that said Widows and Orphans - I mean WTF - who would do that.

As you all know her bankruptcy attorneys moved to be excused from representing her. They can't reveal what the reason is without violating privilege but I have to imagine that some part of it was continuing to make a public spectacle and flaunting her caring zero f's about the victims. Not a good look in terms of optics and judges are only human and can take judicial notice of egregious behavior/

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by amarante