On the day he turned 86, Tom Girardi — once a king among trial lawyers — stood humbled in a California federal courtroom as Judge Josephine Staton sentenced him to 87 months in prison for wire fraud, capping the dramatic downfall of a man whose name once echoed through legal circles like a gavel strike.
It was a stunning moment that felt ripped from a legal thriller — the mighty brought low, the gavel falling like a guillotine. Girardi, whose fame was immortalized in high-stakes litigation and pop culture, now faces a prison term that will likely define his final chapter.
$15 Million Vanished: The Crime Behind the Curtain
Girardi’s conviction stems from his theft of $15 million in client settlement funds, part of a years-long scheme that betrayed those he was sworn to protect. Last year, a jury found him guilty on four counts of wire fraud, a verdict that punctured the polished veneer of the famed attorney who once boasted a Hollywood-adjacent lifestyle.
Prosecutors painted Girardi as a con man in legal robes, exploiting trust and siphoning life-altering settlements from clients who had suffered enough. Some never received a dime.
