The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne Girardi is headed to court over $25 million that her estranged husband Tom Girardi’s law firm allegedly spent on her.
According to court docs obtained by Us Weekly, “a federal court judge set the trial date for February 10, 2026.”
How she got here:
Erika’s legal drama started months after her estranged husband filed for bankruptcy after being accused of owing millions to third parties, including victims of a plane crash.
Tom was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for an alleged years-long scheme where he embezzled millions from his clients in June 2025. He surrendered himself in mid-July.
As part of the bankruptcy, the court appointed a trustee to take over control of Girardi’s law firm’s finances and attempt to collect money to pay back Girardi’s victims. That’s when a trustee filed a lawsuit against the RHOBH personality.
Where did the money go?
The lawsuit claimed “Girardi’s law firm had used client money to pay personal bills, including over $25 million spent on Jayne’s company EJ Global, over a 12-year period.” The trustee believes Erika should pay the entire amount back.
The firm allegedly paid EJ Global’s credit card bills, glam costs, and various other expenses. The suit alleged, “Defendants received jewelry and other luxury items purchased using the Debtor’s funds.”
The lawsuit explained the trustee had “$25,592,261.26 in payments made by Tom’s law firm for charges made by [Erika and her company].”
The trustee said, “The expenses consist largely of expenses to promote Erika personally. Moreover, the over $14,000,000 in American Express charges were made by Erika on a card issued to her. The other $11,000,000 or so in vendor payments were made for Defendant Erika’s benefit only.”
This didn’t age well:
In 2018, Erika made an appearance on Dish Nation to promote her book. The host asked if she had ever been arrested. Erika answered, “No. But should I have been? Maybe. I’ve never been arrested … I’ve never been in custody, ever.”
The XXPEN$IVE warbler boasted, “Listen, you’re a bad crook if you get arrested. I’m a good crook. I’m not a bad crook.” Erika proclaimed, “I’m a smart one.”
She quipped that “Rich Crook,” would be the name of her next book.
