According to federal prosecutors, Girardi, a co-founder of the Los Angeles Girardi & Keese law firm, misappropriate the money from trust accounts at his firm and failed to pay clients money they were owed from litigation.

The scheme lasted from about October 2010 to late 2020 and was perpetrated by Girardi lying to clients over failed payments, they said.

“Girardi sent lulling communications to the clients that, among other things, falsely denied that the settlement proceeds had been paid and falsely claimed that Girardi Keese could not pay the settlement proceeds to clients until certain purported requirements had been met,” the Justice Department said in a statement, adding that some of the “bogus requirements” included addressing supposed tax obligations, bankruptcy claims and other debts.

His law firm was forced into bankruptcy at the end of 2020, and Girardi was disbarred by the State Bar of California in July of 2022.

“Tom Girardi built celebrity status and lured in victims by falsely portraying himself as a ‘Champion of Justice,'” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “In reality, he was a Robin-Hood-in-reverse, stealing from the needy to support of a lavish, Hollywood lifestyle.”

Girardi is to be sentenced Dec. 6 and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each of the four counts he was found guilty of.

Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 50, is the former chief financial officer at Girardi Keese and is a co-defendant in the case and is awaiting trial, which is to begin early next year.

Both Girardi and Kamon, along with Girardi’s son-in-law, David Lira, also face federal fraud charges in Chicago, where that trial is set to begin in March.

According to IMDB, Girardi appeared in 30 episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills between 2015 and 202 due to his marriage with star of the snow, Erika Jayne.

Following 21 years of marriage, Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in November 2020.