The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne may have to pay back money owed by her estranged husband Tom Girardi following a new ruling.
Several lawsuits are pending against the embattled attorney who’s been accused of embezzling millions of dollars from his former clients.
One particular family claim they are owed $11 million and a judge has now given them permission to try and recoup the money from Erika Jayne if she is found to have any of his former assets in her possession.
Judge grants victims permission to pursue Erika Jayne
Initially, the judge had placed a “stay on collections” over assets belonging to Tom and his law firm, Girardi Keese, amid an investigation by a bankruptcy trustee.
However, things have changed since then after the trustee’s special litigation counsel reported that Tom’s law firm had transferred $20 million to various businesses belonging to Erika.
A judge has now granted Tom’s former clients Joseph Ruigomez, Jaime Ruigomez, and Kathleen Ruigomez permission to investigate if any of Erika Jayne’s assets actually belong to Tom — in which case they could pursue her for what they claim they are owed.
However, a source close to the case told Page Six the decision was not a “judgment against Erika”, adding, “The purpose of this post-judgment discovery device is to determine whether the third party, in fact, has in his or her possession assets of the judgment debtor.”
Details of the decision state, “All assets identified by the Ruigomez family shall be subject to all rights of the Girardi bankruptcy estate and the [Girardi Keese] bankruptcy estate, which parties shall meet and confer in good faith to determine the character/ownership of the identified assets.”
It continues, “The Ruigomez Family, the Girardi Trustee, and the GK Trustee shall cooperate with each other with their collection efforts against Erika.”
Ruigomez family featured on The Housewife and the Hustler
The Ruigomez family was among the victims included the Hulu documentary The Housewife and the Hustler which featured eye-raising details about Tom and Erika.
Tom represented the Ruigomez family in a lawsuit back in 2013 after Joseph was badly injured in the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion.
Following their case, the lawyer reportedly suggested that the family put their multi-million dollar settlement into one of his investments which would then see him dispense the money to them monthly.
However, the family reportedly became suspicious after they stopped receiving some payments and claimed they could not get straight answers from Tom when asked about their money.
In other recent news, Erika and her legal team recently filed a motion to stop the transfer of Tom’s interests in a string of NFL cases to another law firm because she believes they could be worth an estimated $20 million.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.