Erika Jayne and her estranged husband are facing a serious new legal battle.
Tom Girardi is facing a civil suit over allegations he and others embezzled money from a Boeing 737 airplane crash settlement fund made to Illinois-based plaintiffs who had family members die in an accident, E! News can confirm. The incident occurred in October 2018 when a domestic flight operated by the Indonesian airline Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board.
The complaint was filed against the famed lawyer and others by Edelson PC, a nationally recognized plaintiff's firm. Girardi is facing charges of fraud and embezzlement, according to the documents. The damages amount the firm is seeking is currently confidential. Jayne is also named in the complaint as Edelson alleges that Girardi embezzled the money "in order to continue funding his and Erika's lavish Beverly Hills lifestyles."
"By all accounts, Girardi keeps engaging in fraud and deception in order to support a never-ending spending spree by himself and Jayne," the lawsuit states.
E! News has reached out to Jayne and Girardi's teams for comment.
The docs also claim Jayne and Girardi's recently announced divorce is "simply a sham attempt to fraudulently protect Tom and Erika's money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom and his law firm GK."
The news comes just under a month after E! News exclusively broke the news that The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and Girardi are divorcing after 21 years of marriage. "After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi," the Bravolebrity told E! News on Nov. 3. "This is not a step taken lightly or easily. I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we built together."
"It is my absolute wish to proceed through this process with respect and with the privacy that both Tom and I deserved," Jayne added. "I request others give us that privacy as well."
Erika and Tom married in 1999 after meeting at Chasen's in West Hollywood, where Erika, 49, was serving cocktails and Tom, 81, was a frequent patron.
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