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American singer and television personality Erika Jayne has emerged as a victor in the $5 million fraud lawsuit filed by her ex-husband Tom Girardi’s former co-workers.
As per Page Six, Girardi's former colleagues, Philip R. Sheldon and Robert P. Finn sued the 51-year-old star for being involved in her husband's alleged fraud and embezzlement case.
Now, Jayne's attorney Evan C. Borges told the outlet that Los Angeles Judge Richard Fruin found no evidence of "any wrongdoing" for which she was sued in 2020.
The judge concluded on August 29, as per court records obtained by Page Six, that the plaintiffs failed to establish that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star had any "actual knowledge" of Girardi's alleged misdeeds.
On August 31, Erika took to her Instagram handle to announce the news of her win.
"Thank you to my friends that have stood beside me. All I asked for was time and understanding."
The attorney duo had sued Jayne for “aiding and abetting” her 83-year-old now ex-husband in his alleged crime.
They said the reality star was aware that Girardi was using their share of the settlement money to finance her luxurious lifestyle.
The Judge declared evidence against Erika Jayne "irrelevant"
During the court verdict, Judge Fruin supported his verdict by citing Erika Jayne's deposition where she stated that she did not handle any invoices at Girardi & Keese and that her husband and his colleagues were in charge of all the ledgers.
“I just thought it would all be taken care of. I didn’t really ask. Like, it’s not like I was raking in millions of bucks … I didn’t know what they were doing down there.”
Judge Fruin then stated that the plaintiff's claims that Erika Jayne had “actual knowledge” of fund embezzlement were based on "inferences" about "circumstantial evidence" like her lavish lifestyle, rather than direct evidence.
“The evidence is irrelevant.”
The ruling stated that the reality star's “lavish and extravagant hobby funded by the spouses’ community property is not evidence of the 'actual knowledge' of any breach of fiduciary duty” between Tom Girardi and the plaintiffs.
Before announcing her win, Jayne posted a screenshot of a Los Angeles Times article on her account which talked about Tom Girardi's alleged romantic affair with a former judge. The piece detailed how the 83-year-old former lawyer reportedly bought her a condo and wired her $300,000 from his firm.
Captioning the screenshot, she wrote:
"Wow. I knew about jewelry, shopping sprees, and plastic surgery but this really threw me for a loop."
Erika Jayne lawsuits
The news of Erika's win comes after she was accused in a number of lawsuits alongside Tom Girardi, including a class-action lawsuit by Edelson PC for allegedly pocketing funds to aid the victims of Lion Air Flight 610. The duo were also initially accused of keeping $2 million from a settlement.
Throughout the case, Erika Jayne denied any knowledge of Tom's money mismanagement and wrongdoings.
Erika Jayne and Girardi filed for divorce in November 2020 after 21 years of togetherness.
