Erika Jayne from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was given an offer from lawyer Ronald Richards if she voluntarily pays back the $25 million her ex-husband, Tom Girardi, allegedly stole. In December 2020, Tom was accused of embezzling millions of dollars in settlement funds from the victims who lost loved ones in the 2018 Lion Air plane crash. Shortly after this news broke, an LA Times article exposed Tom of embezzling money from more than one client while dragging Erika along with him.
Before the resurfacing of Tom's criminal activity, Erika filed for divorce after more than 20 years of marriage. The divorce was quite shocking to many as Erika portrayed her marriage as nothing less than perfect. Despite their 30-plus year age difference, Erika and Tom seemed to be in a happy relationship. Clearly, their marriage wasn't what it seemed, and now they are both paying the price.
During an interview with Us Weekly, Ronald, the lawyer on Tom's legal case, revealed he gave the reality star a limited time offer to pay 10% if Erika "voluntarily" pays back the $25 million she owes. "Erika was falsely contending we were only interested in fees. We then offered to add 10% to any voluntary return of the $25,000,000 in expenses the firm paid for her in the next 10 days," Ronald, who plans to question Lisa Rinna, told the publication this week, confirming that she now has less than 10 days to complete the transaction. He continued, "If she was interested in helping the victims, she would simply pay back some of the expenses" that she was wrongly given by the Girardi Reese firm. Ronald and his team are offering to pay the percentage of her voluntary payment as this case is solely about helping the victims and not the fees.
If the singer chooses not to comply with the agreement, Ronald will be forced to follow through with the lawsuit as planned. In August, it was reported that the 50-year-old was being sued for $25 million by the person in charge of overseeing the bankruptcy case involving Tom's law firm. According to legal documents, Erika, who was blasted for revealing photos, was a part of the lawsuit because they fully believe she was aware the firm was paying for her expenses for at least 12 years. The trustee then decided to ask the court to order Erika to pay off the millions she spent plus interest. The expenses that were paid out were all approved by Erika herself. Therefore, she was fully aware of $25 million in her LLC.
Ronald is hoping this will bring Erika back down to earth and finally help the victims her husband swindled money out of. He also hopes this offer will give Erika the push she needs to finally pay off the former clients and creditors who lost so much because of Tom. However, it seems Erika, who has Meghan McCain on her side, isn't going to budge until the case is given a full investigation.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8pm on Bravo.
Source: Us Weekly