Erika Jayne & Tom Girardi Accused Of Embezzling From Plane Crash Victims

E M B E Z Z L E D?! *Blac Chyna voice*

Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty

In (very wealthy) white folks with very scandalous lawsuit news, Erika Jayne of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame is being sued alongside her estranged husband Tom Girardi for allegedly being part of an embezzlement scheme. The reality star and her high-powered attorney hubby have been accused of shadily stealing money from; get this; plane crash victims.

I’m sure that’s probably got you scratching your head, so allow us to explain.

According to a complaint filed in an Illinois federal court Wednesday, the two are being sued by law firm Edelson PC on behalf of several families who lost loved ones in Boeing plane crash, Lion Air Flight 610. Tom’s law firm Girardi & Keese (GK) is also named in the suit.

Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in October 2018 after departing from Jakarta, Indonesia, and the lawsuit says that Boeing reached individual settlements with clients represented by both Girardi Keese and Edelson PC—-but the funds were allegedly swiped by the couple.

The documents, obtained by PEOPLE Magazine, allege that instead of helping the families, the couple embezzled settlement funds from the “widows and orphans” Tom legally represented and used the money to “fund a lavish lifestyle”.

“At the heart of this deception is Defendant Girardi and his need to fund outrageous lifestyles for himself and his soon-to-be ex-wife, Erika Jayne. Tom and Erika have reached celebrity status in the glitz-and-glam world of Hollywood and Beverly Hills,” the complaint begins.

“Tom has resorted to embezzling the proceeds of settlements that should have been directed to his clients — including, as the basis for this Complaint, the widows and orphans who lost loved ones in the tragic crash of Lion Air Flight 610 — in order to continue funding his and Erika’s lavish Beverly Hills lifestyles,” the documents state.

Not only that, the lawsuit alleges that Erika’s recent divorce filing from Tom was a farce and instead a tactic to protect their finances.

The divorce is “to fraudulently protect Tom’s and Erika’s money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom and his law firm GK [Girardi Keese],” reads the suit.

Erika filed for divorce from Tom, her husband of 21 years, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

So far neither Tom Giardi nor Erika Jayne has spoken on the suit. Erika’s IG handle is @ThePrettyMess. 

A little fitting or nah?