Sept 12 (Askume) – Federal prosecutors in Chicago said on Thursday they were reconsidering the criminal case against Tom Girardi, a California lawyer who was convicted last month of obstructing his way to the bar in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors told US District Judge Mary Rowland they may drop the Chicago charges after Girardi’s December 6 conviction in the California case. A Los Angeles jury last month convicted Girardi, 85, of four counts of wire fraud after he was accused of stealing $15 million in client settlement funds.
“As we informed the court today, we are currently considering whether to pursue charges against Mr. Girardi based on his recent conviction in the Central District of California,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said in an email.
Girardi’s federal defense attorney, Seema Ahmed, confirmed that prosecutors were considering charges against her client but declined to comment further.
Federal prosecutors in Chicago accused Girardi, Christopher Carman and David Lira of misusing more than $3 million in client funds given to the families of victims of the 2018 crash of Boeing 737 Max Flight 610 in Indonesia.
Carmon was the chief financial officer of Girardi’s law firm, Girardi Keys, which collapsed in December 2020. The three men were charged with wire fraud and contempt of court but pleaded not guilty.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Chicago said the Chicago charges “would be presented as related conduct” pending Girardi’s sentencing in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles prosecutors said Girardi faces up to 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud.
Lawyers for Carmon and Lira did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Girardi was once a prominent figure in the U.S. plaintiffs bar, but in 2020 he was accused of defrauding clients, damaging his career and losing his law license. He is the estranged husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne Girardi.
