In a surprising move, disgraced former attorney Tom Girardi took the witness stand Thursday to testify in his own defense, claiming that he never intentionally deceived clients and that “every client got every penny that every client was supposed to get.”
Girardi, 85, was the last witness called by his lawyers to testify in the ongoing criminal trial.
A grand jury indicted Girardi on four counts of wire fraud, and prosecutors accused him of defrauding his law firm’s clients of more than $15 million between 2010 and 2020. His lawyers have long sought to portray Girardi as mentally incompetent and in the midst of progressive cognitive decline, but a federal judge this year found him fit to stand trial.
Over the past two weeks, jurors in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom have heard emotional testimony from Girardi's former clients, who recounted the trust they placed in him and his efforts to collect thousands, and in some cases, millions of dollars from settlements he won for them.
Girardi, wearing a gray blazer, smiled as he made his way to the witness stand, his hands shaking. He answered questions for 45 minutes, first from Assistant Federal Public Defender Samuel Cross.
Girardi began by painting a rosy picture of the company he owned and ran for more than 40 years, Girardi Keese.
“The firm was doing so well because of the wonderful people who worked there and who still work there,” he said. Later, his attorney asked him if his firm, which closed at the end of 2020 and was forced to file for bankruptcy, was still open.
“Tom, is your law firm still open?” Cross asked.
“Yes,” said Tom.
—Tom, what's my name? —Cross asked.
“I don't know,” Tom replied. “Bad, cruel, terrible, he's one of them.”
Girardi said he worked more than 50 hours a week and took on high-profile cases such as the Pacific Gas & Electric lawsuit featured in “Erin Brockovich.” He noted that Julia Roberts starred in the award-winning film.
But when asked by Cross, his public defender, about specific cases in which he is accused of stealing funds from client settlements, Girardi downplayed his role and denied wrongdoing.
Asked about Joseph Ruigomez, who won a settlement of more than $50 million for burns he suffered in the San Bruno gas explosion, Girardi acknowledged working on the case but denied misappropriating funds.
For other victims who have testified during the ongoing trial, such as Judy Selberg, who never received the full settlement in connection with her husband's death in a boating accident, Girardi said she had no idea which attorneys at her firm handled each case.
Girardi said he entered the legal profession with the goal of “helping people who have been harmed.”
“It’s been wonderful. It’s a great job,” he said from the witness stand.
And he painted himself as a selfless boss who put his staff first, repeatedly telling jurors he never received a salary.
“I wanted more and more [of] “The money went to the wonderful people who worked there,” he said.
As for the allegations that Girardi stole from clients, he placed the blame on his former chief financial officer, Chris Kamon. (Kamon is also charged with wire fraud in connection with stealing client money, along with a separate case in which he is accused of embezzling company funds to finance home purchases and a $20,000-a-month payment to his girlfriend.)
Girardi said Kamon “was pretty smart in stealing millions of dollars.”
Cross asked what Girardi would have done if he had known about the alleged embezzlement earlier. “I would have gone crazy. I would have charged him. I had no idea,” Girardi said.
But the tone turned tense when Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Moghaddas began his questioning of Girardi.
Moghaddas asked Girardi how he felt.
“That’s up to you,” Girardi replied. “You have to be nice.”
The prosecutor asked Girardi why he told the Ruigomez family their settlement was for $5 million when it was actually ten times larger: $53 million.
“I wouldn't have said that,” Girardi insisted, adding that there was “no way” he would lie to a client.
“I have never intentionally said anything wrong to anyone,” he added.
Pressed by the prosecutor, Girardi claimed that Ruigomez and another client had drug problems and suggested he was acting in their best interest by withholding settlement funds from them.
Girardi said Ruigomez's mother told her: “You can't give him a lot of money. He's going to kill himself.”
“I remember that, I declare it under penalty of perjury,” Girardi continued.
When the prosecutor dismissed this as a “story” Girardi told, he was defiant: “It’s not a story, it’s the truth.”
Girardi was determined that his firm would deliver the money to the families the day the settlement funds arrived “because that money is important.”
“I've never been paid a salary as a lawyer. I wasn't going to say 'go steal money'. It wouldn't occur to me,” he said.
When Moghaddas asked about Girardi’s jewelry purchase for his now-estranged wife, “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Girardi, he insisted it did not come from client funds.
“Every single customer received every last penny that they were supposed to receive,” he testified. “Every single customer, I swear to you, received every last penny that they were supposed to receive.”
Near the end of his questioning, Moghaddas referred to how Girardi made a career — and a fortune — persuading people to accept his (or his clients') point of view.
“I don't know, we'll find out,” Girardi said as he looked at the jury. Moghaddas asked him what he meant by that.
“I was looking at the jury,” Girardi replied, before adding: “I don’t want to persuade them to believe me, I want them to believe me.”
Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.
