Dismissed. Amid Tom Girardi’s ongoing fraud and embezzlement legal woes, complaints against estranged wife Erika Jayne have been dismissed in Illinois, Us Weekly can confirm.
“Pursuant to stipulation, plaintiff’s claims against defendants EJ Global LLC and Erika Girardi are dismissed without prejudice and without costs,” according to the Saturday, January 29, court docs filed in the Northern District of Illinois, which Us obtained.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 50, was previously named in a fraud and embezzlement lawsuit alongside the former attorney, 82. The estranged couple — Erika filed for divorce in November 2020 after 21 years of marriage — were accused of embezzling $2 million in settlement funds from the families of Lion Air Flight 610 crash victims, which was filed in December 2020. In the suit, Girardi was also allegedly accused of mishandling his several of his clients’ money.
The trustee had named the “Roller Coaster” songstress in the legal battle after claiming that she had prior knowledge that Girardi’s firm had covered her expenses for nearly 12 years. (The Bravo personality continually asserted that she did not know about her estranged spouse’s wrongdoings.)
Earlier this week, the Pretty Mess author made headlines after it was revealed that she may be forced to surrender a pair of earrings — worth $750,000 — that Girardi purchased in 2007 to replace another set, possibly using funds that did not belong to him.
“The evidence filed in court by the trustee shows a clear money trail to the purchase of these earrings,” Ronald Richards — the former attorney for the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy case — exclusively told Us in a statement on Wednesday, January 26. “Erika should return them immediately. They were purchased with estate funds. She will not be able to hide behind her attorney in her response. She will have to provide testimony under oath and be subject to a deposition if she persists.”
The Dancing With the Stars alum, for her part, denied the accusations.
“I am disturbed by everyone jumping to conclusions about Erika, who is innocent, and trying to blame her for the actions of others,” Erika’s attorney, Evan C. Borges, said in a statement on Wednesday. “If the law matters, the trustee’s motion is completely out of bounds. Even based on the incomplete hearsay evidence filed with the motion, the trustee has no claim based on Erika innocently receiving a gift of earrings 15 years ago from her now estranged and then-extraordinarily wealthy husband.”
Per the court docs from earlier this week, she had “agreed to hold and not transfer or sell the earrings” ahead of the trustee’s investigation and February 15 hearing.
With reporting by Diana Cooper