'RHOBH': Major Update on Erika Jayne's Legal Scandal
Erika Jayne recently scored a win amid the legal scandal that she's been wrapped up in with her estranged husband Tom Girardi. Page Six reported on Saturday that Jayne was dismissed from the embezzlement and fraud lawsuit against Girardi in the state of Illinois. Interestingly enough, this decision came as the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is filming Season 12, meaning that fans will likely see how this update plays out on the Bravo series.
Jayne's dismissal from this lawsuit comes a day after both parties agreed that "dismissal is appropriate." Evan Borges, Jayne's attorney, released a statement to Page Six about this ruling. His statement serves as a message to Edelson PC, a class-action firm, and to everyone who issued "accusations" against his client. Borges said, "I'd like to see Edelson and everyone else take the high road going forward and not make accusations against Erika without evidence."
"We want Edelson to get the most complete picture of the evidence as possible, and have no issue with further investigation," Borges' statement continued. "But the truth matters. Here, the truth is that Erika had no role in the Lion Air dealings, actions, or inaction as between the attorneys and their clients, and she never received any of the Lion Air client settlement funds." While this is good news for Jayne, who also goes by Erika Girardi, she isn't out of the woods just yet. Borges noted that Edelson can re-file against Jayne in the state of California. However, the attorney added that her dismissal "from the federal lawsuit that triggered bankruptcies of Girardi Keese and Tom Girardi is extremely important."
This whole matter began in December 2020. At the time, both Jayne and her estranged husband were sued by Edelson PC and accused of embezzling millions in settlement funds from the families of the Lion Air 610 victims. The RHOBH star filed for divorce from Girardi a month prior to this lawsuit. It was alleged that it was a "sham" divorce "to fraudulently protect Tom's and Erika's money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom and his law firm GK."
Throughout Season 11 of RHOBH, Jayne spoke about the legal issues that she was facing. Not only did she deny that her divorce was a "sham," but she also maintained her innocent in this scandal. She said in a confessional during the season, "Divorce is very painful and then having it called a sham is even more painful. It took a lot of courage to leave and it took two seconds for some ass-- to say it was a sham and [for] everybody to believe it."