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‐Erika Jayne I have seen
on this show

and I also worked with her
on "Watch What Happens Live"

one...one or two times.

didn ́t get the best vibe
from her,

but I know a lot
of fake people

and it turns out
she ́s just one of them.

♫♫

‐We are back with
"The Real Housewives" star

accused with her husband of
staging a fake divorce

to hide money from the families
of plane crash victims.

‐Thomas Girardi is
accused of embezzlement.

A federal lawsuit says he took
money from a settlement fund to

maintain their wealthy
public image.

♫♫

‐It had all the elements,

Hollywood, L. A., huge cases,

along with a "Real Housewife"

‐It was like a movie.

‐Tom Girardi was L. A. law,
a superstar.

‐Legendary for winning millions
of dollars in settlements.

‐Tom was being accused
by his own clients,

that hired him, that trusted him
for stealing money.

‐That ́s the worst thing a lawyer
could do.

‐He had private jets.
He had a Pasadena mansion.

He was spending $40,000 a month
on Erika and her glam squad.

they were just blowing money
left and right, tons of money.

♫♫

‐He would make jokes like,
"Oh, nobody would be

more expensive than Erika."

And then out came her song,
"I ́m Expensive."

‐♫ Ching!
It ́s expensive to be me ♫

♫ Eh, eh, eh, eh‐eh‐eh ♫

♫ Eh, eh, eh ♫

♫ Looking this good
don ́t come for free ♫

‐Like, yeah, big surprise.
‐Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

‐She said,
"I have two personalities

like Mrs. Girardi
and I ́m Erika Jayne

it ́s built on
I am the third wife,

I have the money,
I spend the money.

This man is going to
give me the money

because I ́m that fantastic
and that ́s that."

♫♫

‐It bothered me a little bit,

seeing them live this
extravagant lifestyle.

It often that made me wonder,
like I wonder if some of that

money ́s mine.
‐Out of the $135,000 settlement

I haven ́t received anything.
Not a penny.

‐This is Tom Girardi, don ́t be
mad at me. It ́s not my fault.

♫♫

‐So, Tom Girardi
owed you $12 million?

‐Yes. Yes.

‐It ́s like, wow.
Like broke, like broke, broke?

You know, like but not the
client ́s money, right?

‐I think the biggest question
that everybody has is,

"Did she know?"
‐Any of the lawsuits

hike, did you have a heads up?
Is that why you got divorced?

‐No, I did not.

‐He was taking money
in some cases it ́s been alleged

and investing it
into Erika ́s business,

into her career.
And the allegations

are that that money
was coming from clients.

‐People love a good scandal.

♫♫

‐I had to be a double agent
for my friend.

I always try to tell people,

never underestimate
the love of a mother.

You want to find something out?
I mean, don ́t call the FBI,

call a mom.

‐Girardi said we were his
favorite clients.

And I definitely never wanted
to be his favorite client.

But I definitely want to be
the client he never forgets.

♫♫

‐I don ́t think he saw it, yeah.

‐Could you imagine

living your life
without this kind of wealth?

‐Yeah, I could.
I wouldn ́t want to, but I can.

Sure. I could do it.
Yeah.

‐Mm‐hmm.
What would that look like?

‐Smaller. I don ́t know. I don ́t
know, you know. Less clothes.

‐You would hate it.
‐I wouldn ́t.

I‐I‐I don ́t
look forward to that, no.

No, I do not.
‐You don ́t have to

look forward to it.
‐No, I would not look forward

to something like that, no.

‐Erika!
‐Erika, right here!

‐I reached out to her right at
the beginning, I was like,

"Would you please come on
my podcast?"

Made it clear
it was not being filmed,

but she arrived
with the hair guy,

a wardrobe person,
and I think a makeup person.

And I remember thinking that,
"Wow, that ́s a $2,000 day

to come do my
audio‐only podcast."

‐Jesus, Marco.
‐She wasn ́t afraid of her body,

her sensuality.
‐There ́s your girl.

‐There she is.
‐And I liked that,

even though she really
can ́t hold a tune, she sang.

‐♫ I ́m a temptress ♫
‐Wow!

‐♫ I ́m your mistress ♫

‐And she entertained,
she was entertaining.

‐♫ I ́m your weakness ♫

‐I think what intrigued people

on "The Real Housewives
of Beverly Hills" franchise

was that they seemed to be
this incredible power couple.

She ́s hot and beautiful
and confident.

And then Tom Girardi
is this rock star attorney

who fights for the little guy,

makes hundreds
of millions of dollars.

‐♫ Blame it on the money ♫

♫ Blame it on the money ♫

♫♫

‐Tom Girardi was L. A. law.

He is Mr. Lawyer.
‐A superstar.

‐An icon.
‐Bad‐ass trial lawyer.

‐We ́re just talking the money
that we ́re really going to get.

And that ́s $15 million.

‐♫ I ́m a man
without conviction ♫

‐If you had
a case that had the potential

to resolve itself

or be resolved for millions
and millions of dollars,

his was the kind of firm
that you wanted to go to.

He didn ́t just represent
LA ́s elite,

he represented
a lot of average folks, too.

♫ Karma, karma, karma, karma,
karma chameleon ♫

♫ You come and go,
you come and go ♫

‐When I became a lawyer
over 30 years ago,

I knew who Tom Girardi
was from day one.

‐♫ Red, gold, and green,
red, gold, and green ♫

‐And then, of course,
the case came along,

which a lot of people refer
to as the Brockovich case,

where he sued PG&E.

‐PG&E has requested that we
submit the binding arbitration.

‐What ́s that?

‐Tom Girardi was depicted in
the Erin Brockovich movie.

But in real life,
he ́s the actual attorney

who closed the deal
that at the time

was the largest settlement
of its kind.

‐Good evening
and welcome to "Prime Time."

This is a story
you have never heard before.

A story about family
and neighbors.

The country ́s largest public
utility and broken trust.

‐We ́ve represented people
against Exxon.

We ́ve represented people
against Dow.

This is a million times worse.

‐A million times worse?
‐That ́s right.

They let these innocent people
drink water,

which was laced with chromium,
day in and day out.

It ́s as bad as it gets.
‐He was famous for that.

And people knew that
he was famous for that.

But he was famous
before I became a lawyer.

He was famous before many people

who are lawyers today
were even born.

♫♫

‐Erika was born in 1971
to a music teacher in Georgia.

Her dad left when she was only
one years old

and she always wanted to be
in the entertainment industry.

♫♫

When she was 18,
she moved to New York

to try to get a career going.

She ended up working at a very
famous go‐go/strip club.

‐Was a go‐go dancer at Shakers,
a bar in New Jersey.

‐Erika and I worked
at the same strip club.

Shakers is in Lodi, New Jersey,
and it is one of the clubs

next to the Bada Bing Club,
which was on "The Sopranos."

‐Buonanima.
‐Buonanima.

‐A lot of girls have been
wheeled through there.

I was just one of them
and one of many.

‐She was someone who wanted
a different life for herself

and then eventually
made her way to L. A.

and was a waitress
and met a very wealthy,

much older man
that she connected with.

And I mean,
that ́s kind of the L. A. dream.

‐They got married very off the
cuff at a country club.

‐As the story goes,
Tom Girardi asked the judge

if a judge would officiate over
a marriage ceremony with Erika.

They pulled an attorney
from the bar as a witness.

They got married on the spot
and there was no prenup.

♫♫

‐Tom had a law firm,
Girardi Keese.

The pay was good,
but the perks were great.

‐It was just extra.

It was normal
to stay at the Ritz‐Carlton.

The Christmas party
was at The Jonathan Club.

Every year you have someone
like LeAnn Rimes

come and sing Christmas carols
to your 300 closest friends.

‐♫ Merry Christmas ♫

♫ On, on they send,
on without end ♫

♫ Their joyful tone,
to ev ́ry home ♫

♫ Ding, dong, ding, dong ♫

‐There ́s an annual conference
in Las Vegas.

He would host a dinner, and that
was the hottest ticket in town.

‐There was Jay Leno performing.

Erin Brockovich
was at the table.

‐I remember one time
I was with Tom

and he actually points
to a judge across the room

and actually goes like this.

And this judge ran up to him
like a puppy dog.

I saw the power that he could
wield right then and there.

‐He was the man that people went
to who wanted to get appointed

to the bench and become judges.

He was the person that people
who wanted to run

for public office
would go and meet and talk to.

‐You have some ties
to Erika Jayne.

‐That ́s right.
‐Right?

‐Well, I mean, indirect ties
in political ties.

‐Right.
‐Because her husband ́s

one of the major donors
in California politics.

‐Wow.
And does he give to you?

‐He has been
extraordinarily generous to me.

‐Nice!
‐So she is my favorite

"Real Housewife."

‐So Erika Girardi,
after being a Housewife

for years to Tom Girardi,
goes to Tom Girardi and says,

"I really want to have a music
career and be an entertainer."

‐♫ Rah, ruffle up my feathers ♫

♫ Strip it and shake it better ♫

♫ Take a dirty picture ♫

‐And she asked him,
more importantly, to finance it.

‐I think he kind of loved
that he had this very sexy,

young, burgeoning pop star wife.

He put a lot of money, you know,
into making her Erika Jayne.

‐I mean, the titles of her songs
and stuff are now

just like,
"It ́s Expensive to Be Me"

and "I Give Zero F ́s"
and everything.

‐♫ None, not one ♫

♫ Zero, zero, zero ♫

♫ Done ♫

‐Erica says there was no return
on investments.

So Tom Girardi was probably

going to have her throw
in the towel,

but then all of a sudden
she gets cast on

"The Real Housewives
of Beverly Hills."

‐I ́m an enigma wrapped in
a riddle and cash.

‐She was very good casting.

She was probably the best
since me.

‐Being broke sucks and being
rich is a lot better.

‐They wanted girls that could
get in there and entertain,

but yet hold their own.
‐The wealth that we get to see

Erika Girardi have on the show

is almost difficult
to wrap your brain around.

‐She leveled up
the whole "Housewife" game

when she got on "Beverly Hills."

♫♫

‐I ́m going to give
you a little tour of the house.

♫♫

‐I will take you down to the
fun part of the house,

which is my closet.
‐Oh, I love it.

‐It ́s expensive.
So, come in here.

‐Oh, my God.
‐It ́s kind of a mess.

But you can come in here.
‐Oh, my God.

Oh, yeah, It ́s a mess.
It ́s a mess.

‐It ́s a mess.
But it ́s a it ́s a good one.

‐It made me think that I
probably should ́ve

gone to law school.

I didn ́t know that you
could attain that much wealth

by being a trial attorney.

‐So this is supposed to be
reality, "reality" television,

but is it really a reality?

Are we really seeing
what ́s going on? Probably not.

‐Erika!
‐Erika!

‐And this facade starts
crumbling

when Erika Jayne files
for divorce in 2020.

We now start to learn
what is really going on there.

♫♫

♫♫

‐There is a huge amount
of pressure

to maintain the lifestyle

on the "Real Housewives
of Beverly Hills."

‐Uh, did, you know? $25,000.

‐If you don ́t want to look
like a loser with,

like a loser event,
for example, you know,

I might be
launching like a shoe line

and I was going to do
a $10,000 party.

But now that I know it ́s on TV,
I ́m like, "Uh‐oh,

I better make it $100,000 party

because I don ́t want to look
like my shoe isn ́t great."

So then the number goes up.

‐It ́s all about keeping up with
the Joneses or in this case,

the Leakes or the Candies
or the Kenyas or the Terrace ́s

or the Vickies
or the Tamras.

‐The ladies ladies,
ladies I use loosely.

They had a tendency to always
and still do

want well beyond their means.

‐There ́s a duality that will
take place on this show

because at one hand
it is aspirational,

or it feels to be aspirational,

but on the other hand,
you see that wealth does

not solve, really,
any of these women ́s problems.

There is a specific category
of housewives

that fall into this echelon of
"housewives with legal issues."

‐Real trouble.
‐The charges she ́s facing

are serious.
‐Appearing to serve a 15 month

sentence for fraud.

‐You ́ve got sort of
a patron saint of this category

is Teresa Giudice who famously,
you know, committed wire fraud

with her husband
and went to jail.

And the whole entire thing
was sort of filmed on this show.

‐Luann kicked a police officer,
and Jen Shah from Utah,

is accused of running
a telemarketing scheme.

‐Charged with conspiracy
to commit wire fraud and

money laundering,
pleading not guilty.

‐And what is so interesting
is every time one of these women

is caught up in some type
of legal situation,

the first thing that all of us
think is,

"My God, I hope the cameras
are rolling."

‐What ́s it like to have cameras
in your house all the time?

‐It ́s really bad.
‐Do you ever get used to it?

‐No.
‐No. Oh, my gosh.

‐But nobody gets used to it.

‐I ́m always asking
this one for advice.

I ́m always asking this one,
"What should I do?"

How do I handle it?
What what? What do I do?

And that ́s, you know, that ́s the
truth. This is my leader.

‐How do you like being on camera
for "Real Housewives"?

‐I prefer to be
in a courtroom someplace.

‐There you go.

‐I recall watching
a couple episodes

and I just shook my head

because there was talk in there
about Tom ́s age.

There was talk in there,
I believe,

about his sexual prowess
at his age.

‐And what ́s he like
in the sack?

‐My wife turned to it one day,
some months ago,

and and he was on the show
and she said,

"Don ́t you know him?"

‐I decided to give you something
to put on your eyes.

‐I was more than
a little bit surprised.

Surprise to see him there.

‐Here ́s a painting
by Marc Chagall.

‐Chagall is one
of Tom ́s favorite painters.

‐Is this it?

‐And his paintings can go for
over a million dollars easily.

‐Oh, wow.
Tom, this is Beautiful.

‐Probably most appalling
was the talk about the fact

that they had two airplanes.

‐We have two airplanes
in the family.

So, you know, the little one
is more regional

and the larger one
is cross country and Europe.

‐And that ́s, I think,
crossing the line in what we do.

We represent people who are
victimized by big corporations

and, and rich people.

And here you ́re putting that out
that you ́re super wealthy

and that you ́re basically
The Man.

We sue The Man.
You don ́t want to be The Man.

And he ́s showing people
that he ́s The Man.

♫♫

‐When your money comes from
people who had cancer and burns

and had great suffering,

you know, there ́s
a little bit amount of decorum

that you ́d think you ́d want
to have in the way

you display the world.

There ́s plenty of lawyers
that have private jets

and beautiful homes,
but there ́s one way to do it

and one way that ́s basically
like a middle finger to people.

♫♫

‐My name is Joe Ruigomez
and I ́m a survivor.

So the first time
I met Tom Girardi,

I had just woken up
out of my coma.

Be honest, there ́s not a lot
I remember about meeting him.

I have like a vague memory of
just like some guy in my room,

like, you know, "I ́m going to do
a good job for you, kiddo."

and he made you feel
like you can trust him

and that he ́s that guy.

♫♫

‐Good morning, America,
it ́s Thursday, September 9th.

‐We ́re going to start
with what ́s going on in

the western areas.

‐So...

September 9, 2010,
felt like the longest day

of my life.
‐Everything we did that day

like kind of was a matter
of life or death.

My son and his girlfriend,
Jessica Morales,

were going to sit on the couch
and watch the game.

‐Off we go at the goal line.

‐It was going to be opening day
of the NFL season that day.

And my living room
is probably right about here.

And then out of nowhere,

the ground
just starts rapidly shaking.

And it sounds like there ́s a jet
engine right out front.

That went on for about
3 seconds and then just boom.

‐Breaking news tonight
in San Bruno, California,

a towering fire
is just burning out of control.

‐Police say a gas line
erupted into a massive fireball.

‐Fire just came flowing
through the house.

I couldn ́t see anything.
I was surrounded by flame,

managed to find the door
to my backyard.

And I remember as I was opening
up the door for a split second,

I just remember having
my life flash in front of me

and just thinking like,
"Alright, this is it."

A hundred percent certainty.
I ́m dying.

‐A scene of total devastation
home after home leveled.

♫♫

‐I just remember them
putting like an oxygen mask

on my, on my face

and within five seconds
I was out.

‐I could remember that day
like it was yesterday.

I was watching
Thursday Night Football

and I received a phone call,
went to the hospital.

And that ́s where my interactions
with Joe began.

I had burns over 80,
90 percent of his body.

It was little bit more than,
"Oh, my God," I was more like

holy

‐They ́re like,
"You got to get out of here."

They look like they were
really working on him.

‐Joe was like inside an oven.

Not only was the external part
of the skin burned,

but the air he was inhaling
was burning the his lungs.

♫♫

‐After we end up
leaving the hospital,

me, my husband,
and his sister

went back over
to our old neighborhood.

You could just see, it was just,
devastated.

It was like wondering about, you
know, "Where ́s Jessica?"

And like went around, "People
need to look for her, find her."

And, uh, yeah,
they ended up finding her

a couple of days later,
I guess,

in our neighbor ́s shed.

She must have died in the shed.

So, yeah, that.
yeah, it was just devastating.

♫♫

‐One of the last words we said
to each other was,

"I love you," so just,
you know.

Uh, yeah. Yeah.

‐My first instinct was to get
my car and just go there.

And when I got there,
Kathy was literally,

you know, white as a ghost.

‐She came up
and thank God she did

and just handled so much

so I could just keep going
to the hospital.

‐So Kathy Ruigomez is
my childhood best friend,

and we met when we were
three years old.

♫♫

‐We were in the same preschool
and we lived on the same street.

♫♫

‐When we were around
11 years old,

there was this trend of doing
this blood sister like ritual.

Luckily, I still have my copy.

‐We just decided we were going
to be bonded forever.

‐We were pregnant at the same
time with Joseph and Paul.

It ́s been 48 years of
friendship,

and I can say
that we ́ve never said

an unkind word to each other.

♫♫

‐We were getting bombarded
with people at the hospital,

everybody was like
wanting to be our lawyer

and I knew we needed
to get a lawyer

because I knew
Joe was going to need

a lot of assistance
in the future.

‐Kathy and her husband
at the time

wanted to meet
with Tom Girardi.

And because I had worked
with Masry & Vititoe

I called them and asked them
if they would set up a meeting.

‐At the time of the explosion.

Kim was working
as a legal consultant.

And that was
so crucial for Kathy,

because the average person

doesn ́t know how to navigate
this kind of situation.

Who do you find?
What kind of lawyer do you need?

Where do you go?
Who do you call?

Kim had all of those answers.

♫♫

‐We went and met with him
in this big high‐rise office

on Montgomery Street
in downtown San Francisco,

and that was the first time
I had met Tom in person,

‐Thomas Girardi, you know,

let me know that everything
was going to be okay.

No one had said that to me yet,
and it just was comforting.

‐I called Tom
a chameleon of words,

meaning that he always knows
what to say to a person.

‐We walk in, he ́s calculating
by what we wear, what we say,

how we hold our posture.

‐We thought he could
win it for us.

We were confident about that.

We just didn ́t know
how much of a snake

he was going to be
along the way.

♫♫

♫♫

‐When Kathy and her family
picked Tom,

it felt like such a big relief
off of our shoulders,

you know,
like it ́s Girardi Keese,

like, they ́re going
to kick their ass.

Like, we don ́t have to worry

about any of the legal stuff anymore.

‐This is what he handed me
when when I met him,

he gave me a resumé
with all his credentials.

‐Wasn ́t there list of cases?

‐And then magazines with
post‐its on every page

that he ́s mentioned.

‐When you ́re going up against
PG&E they ́re a shark.

You ́re not going to bring
the guppy to the shark fight.

You know, the fact that Tom
had taken on PG&E twice

and beat them,

not only is his track record
with the defendant matter,

but also the fact that
when you ́re a mom on a mission,

you want your lawyer to hate
the bad guy as much as you do.

♫♫

Really, he took me
under his wing.

He ́d answer any question I had
about the legal profession.

And he was a master of it.

So I feel like
I got this informal internship.

How crazy is that,
knowing what I know now?

I mean.

‐So once I actually got to know
Tom a little bit,

he would take me out to dinner.

He was not
a very big guy physically.

It ́s probably like 5 ́5"
maybe at the tallest.

But he just exuded confidence
and charm.

He was always talking
about Erika.

"Oh, she ́s the sweetest thing."

"Look at you like this tie
I ́m wearing, Joe?

She picked it out. Yeah, she ́s
really good at style."

And, "Oh, look at this music
video that I did for her."

He ́s fought these
big battles before

and has gotten
large settlements.

So I ́m like, this seems like
the perfect guy for the job.

♫♫

‐They found out
it was a faulty pipe.

Basically was negligence
on their part.

He never really gave us details

about what he was doing
in the case,

but I still thought
he was really, really great.

It just seemed like he was
trying to be very friendly

and letting us know
that he was there for us,

gave us his cell phone,
home phone,

we had went to mediation
and he, you know,

made it sound like
we were going to go to trial.

And when we walked in,
he was like,

"I settled your case."

It was like,
"Oh, okay, you did?"

‐You know, I didn ́t feel like
they really had a grasp

on what happened that day.

And I knew part of it is you ́re
stunned in a situation like that

and you ́re just
not absorbing it.

‐They were just throwing numbers
out like, you know,

he could get this much a month.

He ́s going to, you know,

have payments
throughout his life.

‐A number of the settlement
that Tom got.

Yeah, I was okay with that
number. Yeah.

To put it simply, it was, it was
yeah. It was a good amount.

It was a good amount
and made me feel comfortable.

So it made me feel like

it would be able to cover any
issues in life and then some.

‐After a trial or it can be
just a settlement,

the money goes into
your trust account.

‐Those funds need to be held

in that trust account,
separate and apart

from the law firm.
Now, at that point in time,

you ́re entitled
to your legal fees,

but the rest of the money
belongs to the client.

You ́re not allowed to touch that
money, it ́s not your money.

‐To remove those funds
for any reason before it ́s clear

that there ́s a proper accounting
of what the client should get,

that is probably one of the most
serious offenses by attorneys,

certainly in California.
And I would think nationwide,

every single lawyer knows
that if you dip

into the client ́s account,
you will be disbarred.

♫♫

‐So he said it would take about
three months

to process getting the money
from PG&E and then asked

if we ́d like to keep my
daughter ́s money and our money

and then my son ́s big settlement

in something
that he ́d invested in.

‐He suggested that he would take
their millions of dollars

of settlement funds

and put that money
into some kind of an account

that would guarantee
six percent interest.

‐And he ́s supposedly
a millionaire.

I thought he knew
how to deal with money.

Obviously, he was, you know,
so he made it sound

like it was a great thing to do.

And then after everything
was paid,

he would send us,
you know, our balance.

So we were like, OK, you know,
that sounds good.

And so that ́s what we did.

‐So in the very beginning
and after it settled in 2013,

I mean, it didn ́t feel like
things made sense right away.

‐The amounts of the investment,
he claimed, were not accurate.

He never sent any statements
of any kind.

‐I mean, it was as simple as me
noticing, like, okay,

I ́m expected to get a payment
this day and I didn ́t get it.

So I would call him.

And, you know, if he was hard
to get a hold of, would be like,

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that.
́These things happen. ́

I ́ll get it to you next week."

And half the time the check
would come when he ́d say so

the second time
and other times it wouldn ́t.

‐That was the three months
after we settled.

That was the first time we were
supposed to meet with him,

where he was supposed
to bring our money.

That ́s when he met with us and

and then basically offered us
the investment deal.

‐When I hear the voicemails,
it makes me sick to my stomach

because I know
that it was just all a lie.

Me and Kathy were on the phone
every day for hours

trying to sort things out.

Viciously Googling things,
and she ́s asking me

my point of view
with my perspective,

you know, my experience
in the legal profession.

And we ́re trying
to figure it out.

‐You know, I would be coming
home from wherever

and my mom would be like buried
in paperwork or talking to Kim

on the phone and she had
connects on the inside.

‐There were times that we were
pretty scared

because we didn ́t know what
pushing this would really do.

♫♫

Um, Mrs. Hernandez,
this is Tom Girardi.

I want ‐‐ I know you ́re
so frustrated and mad

and everything.

And I don ́t blame you.
I am, too.

‐My name is Josie Hernandez.

And I am a former client
of Tom Girardi.

In 2010, I seeked out a doctor.
I have three kids,

and as most women do
when they have kids,

they have incontinence issues.

So I talked to
my doctor about it.

He said, "Oh, now we have this
sling. We ́re going to ‐‐

it ́s so super safe ‐‐
implant it you ́ll be good.

Did the procedure, didn ́t work.

Started feeling sick.
I went back to the doctor.

He says, "Okay,
let ́s put in another one.

And things just got worse.

♫♫

So a friend said, "You know
what, I know somebody

who can help you.
He ́s going to fight for you."

So I went to
the Girardi Keese firm,

I signed up with them in 2014.

During the time that I was
with that firm, my case

changed hands various times,
which I thought was strange.

I thought, "Okay, why are
these attorneys leaving?"

It was just a big turnover.

That was, that
was very stressful.

By 2019,
I was getting really like,

"Okay, no, I ́m done.
I ́m done waiting.

You guys have had more than
enough time. What is going on?"

And I said, "You know what,
I need you to tell Mr. Girardi

that I need to know
what ́s going on with my case."

‐I just can ́t imagine
being a victim.

And watching any episode
of "The Real Housewives"

and watching Erika Jayne

go through her
extensive shoe collection,

her closet, her home,
her private plane going on trips

and flaunting
all of this wealth.

Without wondering
where it came from.

♫♫

♫♫

‐Joe Ruigomez checking in.
10:30.

‐Come on in, bud.
‐What ́s up, man?

‐Have a seat.

In terms of how you feel today,
what what what ́s going on today?

‐I got restrictions underneath
my arm, like, when I lift up,

I still have
the range of motion,

but it ́s just super
restrictive and painful.

I ́ve had over 30 surgeries
just as of today,

I have like five or six
that are on the back burner

that I need to get done
and it ́s just going to be

a continued process for the rest
of my life, unfortunately.

‐A skin graft
on in a skin graft area

is probably not
your best answer.

‐Also, I ́m in
quite a lot of fear,

I ́m going to need a lot of money

for the medical life
that I have ahead.

♫♫

Whenever I would complain
to him about, you know,

"Hey, Tom, you said you were
going to pay me on this day

and it ́s been three weeks,
what ́s going on?"

He would call me back
and be like,

"Oh, are you mad at me?"
He would butter me up.

"You know what, Joe?
You ́re a bitchin ́ guy."

That ́s something
he would say a lot.

"You ́re a bitchin ́ guy, baby."

When I ́d ask him for money,

he would reference
this guy called Justice Panelli.

♫♫

‐Edward Panelli,
is a former

California Supreme Court
justice.

He retired
and became a private judge.

He was the mediator between
the Ruigomez family and PG&E.

‐And it was always
Justice Panelli said this

Justice Panelli said that,

that was like his,
like, scapegoat guy.

And I ́m like,
"Well, it ́s you know,

this is some of this stuff
is for surgeries, you know,

but he would always reference
him and make it sound like

I can ́t give you this money
or I can ́t give you this amount

because Justice Panelli
said I can ́t.

Definitely kind of treated me
like a child a little bit.

‐Yeah, he was already over 18
when it happened.

So, yeah,
there ́s no reason for for that.

And the way he makes it
sound like

Justice Panelli really cared.

Justice Panelli really wasn ́t
very interested in us at all.

You could tell.

♫♫

‐About a year
after the settlement,

the Ruigomez family realizes
that something is going on,

they haven ́t gotten
their settlement money

and they ́re starting to question
this more and more.

And then something
terrible happens.

♫♫

‐After Paul died,
Kathy came down the next day,

just like I went to her house

when something terrible
happened to her family.

No one could imagine
that amount of tragedy.

♫♫

‐That just kind of detoured us
from a lot of it.

And now we ́re just devastated
over her son

and dealing with that.

♫♫

‐It was that moment
basically where my son ́s death,

like, gave Tom a free pass
to start all over again,

with me and Kathy.

Because now my son ́s dead.

And...

we don ́t really want
to know the truth.

Because the truth is so ugly
at this point,

and now we ́re dealing

with a whole new set
of tragic circumstances.

♫♫

Kathy and I talked about,
you know, maybe it ́s a good idea

for me
to take it to another attorney

so that it doesn ́t add
any more complications,

because what if you know
that what we think is true

or what if we need to make
a demand for Joe ́s money?

So I went and met
with other lawyers,

but people didn ́t want
to do my son ́s case

because they didn ́t want to step
on Tom Girardi ́s toes.

My back ́s against the wall, too,

so we pulled
the trigger and file.

The lawsuit with Tom,
as you know, my attorney.

You know, what choice
do we really have?

January 2017 would have been
the last time

that Tom gave Joe money
from the money

that he was managing for him.

‐Got to a point where you just,
you know,

the checks
disappeared completely.

It was pretty conclusive
to me in my mind.

I ́m like, okay, something really
sinister is going on here

and it ́s making me
really nervous.

Like, you know,
I just bought a house like,

you know,
I might have to sell that now

because I can ́t keep up
with the mortgage.

‐Kathy and I would joke like,
because we are like,

who are we going to call?

Like, we can ́t call the D. A.
that ́s Tom ́s friends.

We can ́t go to
the chief of police.

That ́s Tom ́s friend.

You can ́t go to
the California Attorney General.

That ́s Tom ́s friend.

You can ́t go
to the California bar.

That ́s Tom ́s friends.
Like, who are we going to call?

Like, "Ghostbusters"?
Who ́s going to help us?

‐Twenty or more years ago,
you started hearing rumors

about him not paying
his co‐counselor,

his referring lawyers.

There were stories
about a lot of lawsuits

that were filed against him.
And of course,

I think a lot of people chalk
that up to big name, big cases,

enemies come out of
the woodwork,

and, and maybe
that ́s what was going on.

‐I plugged Tom Girardi ́s name
into our own archives.

You know, every once in awhile.
Something kind of slipped in

where there was a client
accusing him

of doing something wrong
or doing something unethical

or not giving them
all of their money.

‐There were lawsuits.

You know, and he knew there were
lawsuits referenced on

"Watch What Happens Live"
or on blogs or whatnot.

‐Vegan in Minnesota said,
"Ask Erika if she feels the need

to cut back on her glam squad

since her husband is being sued
for a huge amount of money?"

We got a lot of questions
about this.

Anything you want to say
about that?

‐Yeah, it ́s a lawsuit
and you can ́t comment on it.

‐I think when she brushed it off
and said, "I can ́t discuss it,"

I think people just were like,
"Okay."

They didn ́t, it
was too complicated

for anyone to really, like,

want to sink their teeth
into and expose it.

They took her word for it.

‐You ́d hear, like, "Oh, Girardi
doesn ́t have any more money,"

you just kind of hear things
talking to people,

people gossiping,
the rumor mill.

‐I remember at some point
in time a judge telling me,

"You know, Tom doesn ́t have
that much money left."

I thought,
"You got to be kidding me."

This is a guy that we believe

worth ́s a couple
hundred million dollars.

He ́s set for life.

‐I don ́t want you mad at me.

I ́m working like a dog to try
and get this thing resolved.

‐He sounds like he, he wouldn ́t
hurt a fly.

Like he ́s team, Josie,
like even though

he ́s an attorney
for all these important people,

he ́s team Josie,
you know?

‐I know it ́s very frustrating
to wait so long for a settlement

and then to be delayed further,
that ‐‐ I ́m in your corner.

Believe me, we ́d like our money
just like you ́d like yours.

‐Yeah. He ́s unbelievably
cruel doing that,

knowing he already had my money.

‐I ́m sorry. Don ́t be mad at me.
I ́m a good guy, by the way.

Goodbye.

‐I filed a complaint
with the bar.

I was also able
to get a confirmation

his firm received my money
May 2020.

The messages that he left me
was in August.

So he was lying, he was lying,
he had my money already.

‐You thought you were going to
get maybe as much as $100,000.

‐I haven ́t received anything.
‐Not a single thing?

‐Not a penny.

♫♫

‐Election Day, 2020.

‐I was at home and I was
just scrolling the Internet.

I think I was
getting ready for work.

‐The news alerts came in
so early.

♫♫

‐Erika Jayne and her divorce
from estranged husband

Tom Girardi amid
their ongoing legal troubles.

‐Erika Jayne from "The Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills"

filed for divorce
from her husband, Tom.

‐It was breaking news that Erika
had filed for divorce from Tom.

‐My phone was flooded
with texts from friends.

‐Everyone was like,
"Something crazy is brewing."

‐I was not surprised
when Erika Jayne announced

that she was divorcing
Tom Girardi

because there were rumors
swirling in Beverly Hills

that that was coming.

‐Can you elaborate at all
on the rumors?

‐I can ́t. but I can tell you
that it may or may not have had

to do with financial problems.

‐I definitely had heard
some rumblings that there were

some legal issues,
but I had no idea the magnitude.

‐To put it into
complete context,

you have to understand that
before Erika filed for divorce,

there were these lenders who
were suing Tom very publicly.

‐He had taken out tens
of millions of dollars in loans

and he wasn ́t
paying them back properly.

‐Why would Tom, who has won
hundreds of millions of dollars

in settlements and verdicts,
need to to borrow money?

‐The easiest way for people
to basically understand this

is that just like
any business might go out

and secure a loan

in order to run
or operate their business,

lawyers will do the same thing.

But sometimes people do it
because they ́re in trouble.

And apparently these were
the types of loans

that were coming due
for Girardi before the divorce.

‐So after a couple of the
lenders had filed lawsuits

against Tom,
I mean,

we knew that we had
to get out of there.

We couldn ́t wait for Paul ́s case
to be done anymore.

We had ‐‐ Paul is dead.
Joe is still alive.

So we had to pick Joe.
He had to be the priority again

because he ́s the one still here,
you know?

And so me and Kathy
scooped up our stuff and left.

And, you know,
luckily we found an attorney

who could help them and help me.

♫♫

‐He signed an agreement

that he would make
a million dollar payment

and then like
a couple months later,

it was like a two and
a half million dollar payment.

But he never got
to the second payment.

‐It ́s very disappointing
when you find out your lawyer

basically robbed you,

knowing that he knows everything
that I ́ve been through.

I just don ́t get it.

‐So they dragged him
back into court,

turned this settlement
into an actual judgment

that ́s enforceable
and then they deposed him.

‐You don ́t see
depositions this alarming.

‐It ́s like,
wow, like broke?

Like broke, broke?

Like but not
the client ́s money, right?

‐I was like, "Oh crap,
he admits it."

This is his own words.

He had $50 or $80 million,
he says.

And now, you know,
there ́s nothing left.

‐So the first question
that comes to my mind is

where did it go?

Where ́s the money?

And that admission that he
is broke, he has no money,

opens up the door
to Erika ́s finances.

♫♫

‐I think there was a period
of time

where the rumors
started to escalate,

it was a very slow, it ́s almost
like a slow car wreck

that you ́re watching occur.

‐Tom had a very substantial
legal history.

We saw one case and then another
and then another.

We saw this flurry of activity
that had been going on

very quietly
over the last several years.

That was really where we started
just trying to map out

what exactly was happening.

It was just very unusual to have
all of that happening at once.

‐In December, 2020,
a Chicago lawyer

files a lawsuit against Tom

because he hadn ́t been paid,

several of his clients
hadn ́t been paid.

And now this whole thing blows
up because now it ́s public.

‐The Chicago case was
groundbreaking in the sense

that it finally brought out
in the public eye

to all the media outlets

that Tom Girardi
potentially was a fraud.

‐This was the Lion Air crash the
737 MAX crashed in Indonesia.

In 2018, I was
involved in that litigation,

I represented families
as well,

who had lost
loved ones on that crash.

We were all in the process
of working with Boeing

to resolve our cases.

‐Tom Girardi and his firm
represented several

specifically widows and orphans
of these plane crash victims,

so on their behalf, he won
multimillion dollar settlements.

‐The attorney who filed
the Chicago case,

Jay Edelson,
what he said is

that actually I had been trying
for a long time

to get the settlement money
from my clients,

basically chasing Girardi and
his staff for money for months.

‐I think this was the emperor is
not wearing any clothes moment,

if you will.

One of the things that really
struck me in my interview

with Jay Edelson on my podcast

was the the thing
that made him realize

that he had to file a civil
litigation against Tom Girardi.

Was Erika Girardi
filing for divorce.

He believed that Tom had
stolen tens of millions

of dollars from creditors,
loan companies, and victims

so that he could fund
his lavish lifestyle

that he presented
to his colleagues.

And on the show, "Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills,"

for his wife, Erika Girardi,

‐That ́s the worst thing
a lawyer could ever do,

is steal money from clients.

And it ́s worse if it ́s from the
families of widows and orphans.

♫♫

‐My name is Bias Ramadhan.

My mom was one of the victim

in the Lion Air
crash in Indonesia.

Her name is Hasnawati.

‐This is a tragedy, right?

And then the lawsuit is also
emotionally draining.

And there ́s almost no one like
that, anybody like this

and is not crying.

♫♫

‐After the settlement,
Tom Girardi got the money

and it was kind of the
same thing

that you heard
about Kathy Ruigomez,

where "It ́ll be coming soon,
don ́t worry."

But of course,
it never showed up.

‐We wait and we wait
and we kept sending e‐mail

almost every week.

♫♫

‐I ́m getting chills,
just thinking about

what Tom allegedly did

and my sort of initial reaction
to that was, "No way."

I initially was like,
"No way, not Tom."

Tom is Erika ́s, you know,
steadfast, quiet,

81‐year‐old husband.

There ́s no way
he could possibly be doing this.

But then the more that I read,

especially about
the Lion Air victims.

I was profoundly
upset and disgusted.

‐Judge Thomas Durkin,
the former federal prosecutor,

was overseeing
all of these cases,

and Judge Durkin not only found
Tom Girardi in contempt,

he also froze
Tom ́s bank accounts

and he froze
all the bank accounts

that Girardi Keese oversaw.

That immediately
paralyzed the firm,

it paralyzed Tom financially.

Additionally, Judge Durkin
referred the case

to federal prosecutors.

Which means that Tom Girardi
could be facing

time behind bars.

‐I was a federal prosecutor.

The last thing you want
is a referral

to the U. S. Attorney ́s Office.

As an attorney,
it is doomsday for you.

It means that you are likely
going to be investigated.

‐The Chicago case right off
the bat, they name Erika Jayne,

in their lawsuit,
‐One of the lenders owed money

by Tom Girardi
claimed in a lawsuit

that Tom had given
his wife 20 million dollars

in loans from Girardi Keese.

And that money went to Erika
Jayne ́s Entertainment Company,

EJ Global, LLC.

‐He was taking money in some
cases, it ́s being alleged,

and investing it
into Erika ́s business,

into her career,
and the allegations

are that that money
was coming from clients.

‐But those documents
aren ́t public yet.

So while we ́ve heard about this

and it ́s been repeated
in several other lawsuits,

including Edelson ́s lawsuit,
we haven ́t seen the proof yet.

‐I think the biggest question
that everybody has is,

is she going to be in trouble?
Did she know?

I was pretty shocked
and pretty saddened by it.

And I felt really bad
for these victims

that thought they hit
the jackpot with Tom Girardi.

‐We are the victims here,
not him, not Tom, not his wife.

It ́s only me and three
of my siblings.

So four of us. And that ́s it.
We just want to know,

can we get our money
and when will we get it?

Whether a month or two months,
I don ́t even know it.

Will be next year? I don ́t
even ‐‐ We don ́t even know it.

♫♫

‐It ́s my understanding that
Tom Girardi is now

under a conservatorship
with his brother

taking over control of certain
aspects of Tom Girardi ́s life.

‐His defense attorney suggested

that he might have been
mentally incompetent.

And that kind of hints at the
defense we ́ve seen developing

over the course
of the last few months.

There is a psychiatrist
in Los Angeles

who has diagnosed him
with Alzheimer ́s.

And I think the whole
Alzheimer ́s diagnosis

will carry some weight

on whether he can be
criminally charged or not.

‐I can ́t comment
on whether or not

he ́s actually suffering
from dementia

or Alzheimer ́s or some form
of diminished capacity.

I just think that it ́s strange
that that months earlier

he was speaking at public events

and certainly before
the pandemic,

I would see him
frequently at events.

And I didn ́t have any sense
that he was suffering from any

kind of diminished capacity.

♫♫

‐At the time that Tom Girardi ́s
firm Girardi Keese shuts down,

they have approximately
9,000 clients, 900 cases.

What happens to those clients,
those cases?

‐The California State Bar filed
charges against Tom Girardi

in late March.
That is pretty serious.

That ́s the beginning
of the disciplinary process

that ́s visible to the public.

♫♫

‐Day late and a dollar short,
right?

A day late and a dollar short

when the bar comes
and take somebody ́s license away

after there
have been allegations for years

and maybe that kind of action
should have taken place sooner.

♫♫

‐If you were to ask me in 2019
who would come out

paying whom and this divorce,
I ́d probably say

that Erika would be getting
a lot of money from Tom.

But at this point,
she ́s earning more than Tom is

and she probably has
more assets than he does.

So I don ́t know
how she ́s going to fare

in the litigation
surrounding Tom,

that she could come out on top
or she could get dragged in

and end up
in a whole lot of debt.

♫♫

♫♫

‐What do I think, of Erika now?

Um, you know, the whole, like,

empowerment of having an alter ego...

I thought was cool
in the beginning.

But now realizing that not only
were they spending the money

that came from tragedy,

but Tom was taking money
that didn ́t belong to him

and they were parading it around
for everyone to see.

It ́s out ‐‐ it ́s outrageous.
Doesn ́t look good.

‐This season on "The Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills."

‐With any of the lawsuits, like,
did you have a heads up,

is that why you got divorced?
‐No, I did not.

‐I can ́t believe that Erika
puts herself in positions

to be asked those questions.

And I most certainly
can ́t believe

that she ́s actually
answering them.

‐No one knows
the answer but him.

‐Tom had a lot of companies,

Girardi Financial
is one of them.

He had Erika Girardi
on that company,

Erika ́s name being on
one of these businesses,

it would definitely raise
questions as to what she knew,

whether she benefited from this,

what she ́s received
in that capacity.

I think that the trustees

are going to be
looking really hard at this.

And they ́ve hired attorneys,
retired law firms,

to dig into Erika Girardi
specifically.

‐I ́m dying to know what she did
with all her clothes

and her jewelry.

On the show,
we see these possessions.

Oh, that handbag is worth $4,000
and this Cartier ring

is worth $170,000.

And oh, those, I know that
Chanel thing ́s a classic

and they could go now
"Where is all this stuff?"

♫♫

‐Erika Jayne ́s defense
is that many of these things

were gifts to her
and thus separate property.

I ́m not sure that that, as a
legal proposition, wins the day.

And I guess we ́ll see.

‐Tom and Erika,

they ́re stuck together
in these bankruptcy proceedings.

A lot of these debts that they
owe in bankruptcy proceedings,

they owe together,
possibly.

It ́s going to be hard
for her to say

that she didn ́t know
anything was going on.

‐It ́s complicated,
because under the law,

Erika has not been charged
with anything.

All of her legal issues are sort
of tied around to Tom Girardi.

‐Erika Jayne is still housewives

and he ́s still having cameras
follow her around.

If any lawyer
is now transcribing

every single episode
of "The Real Housewives,"

you know, documenting all of
the wealth, all of the property.

It just doesn ́t make
a lot of sense to me.

‐People like to see the demise.

They want to see
that less glammed‐up face.

They want to see her
defend herself.

They want to see her roll around
on a bed and cry.

‐Erika Jayne is a very
strong woman, I can tell.

And she ́s a warrior
and she ́s a bitch.

So am I.
It ́s fine to be a bitch.

She knows her mind.
She has a lot to say about it.

But my advice to her would be,
shut up, sit down, pay attention

to what ́s going on in your case.
And don ́t worry about TV.

♫♫

‐I ́m an enigma
wrapped in a riddle and cash.

‐I ́ve never seen
that first episode.

I don ́t think anyone ́s even
sent me a clip of it before.

‐Going from nothing
to everything is pretty amazing.

Being broke sucks and being rich
is a lot better.

‐Oh.
‐Well.

‐Fun days ahead, for Erika.
‐Yeah.

‐I need therapy now.
‐

‐I ́m serious.

♫♫

‐Girardi said, you know, like we
were his favorite clients

and I definitely never wanted
to be his favorite client,

you know, but I definitely
want to be the client

he never forgets because

he is not going to do this
to anybody else.

And he should have
never done it to me.

He shouldn ́t have
underestimated me.

‐Moms are just
unsung heroes of society.

I mean, we know
we ́re the ass‐kickers.

we just do it
because we love our kids.

I mean, there ́s nothing a mom
wouldn ́t do for their child.

♫♫

‐Scars tighten over time.

When I look
in the mirror, I see.

Someone has been through a lot
surgeries will have to go on

for the rest of my life.
I ́ve already accepted it.

I treat it like a challenge
at this point.

I trust that my will

could handle anything
that gets thrown my way.

So, when I look in the mirror,

I ́m actually not bothered
at all.

As far as all worried about the
scars, would I hide ́em?

I wear them with pride.

♫♫