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Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Girardi law firm CFO gets 65-month sentence in client funds case
July 14 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Chicago on Monday sentenced the former chief financial officer of California lawyer Tom Girardi's law firm Girardi Keese to 65 months in prison for his role in the misappropriation of millions of dollars in client funds, which were owed to families of the victims of a 2018 plane crash in Indonesia, prosecutors said. Christopher Kamon, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland in Chicago. Kamon is already serving a 121-month sentence after pleading guilty in a California federal court to two counts of wire fraud on similar charges of bilking clients. A spokesperson for the Chicago U.S. Attorney's office said Kamon's Illinois and California sentences will run concurrently. A lawyer for Kamon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kamon has been incarcerated in federal jail since his arrest in November 2022. Federal prosecutors in Chicago charged Girardi, Kamon and David Lira, Girardi's son-in-law and a former lawyer at the firm, with misappropriating more than $3 million in client funds owed to families of the victims of the 2018 Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia. The crash killed all 189 onboard. A federal judge last month sentenced Girardi to more than seven years in prison in the related California prosecution, capping the once-prominent lawyer's rapid fall for enriching himself with settlement funds meant for his clients. Kamon had initially pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and criminal contempt in the Chicago case. He changed his plea on Wednesday. Lira pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal contempt last month. His sentencing is scheduled for October. Rowland in May dismissed the Chicago charges against Girardi after prosecutors sought their dismissal in light of his California sentencing.
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Reuters
Charges dropped against Tom Girardi in Chicago as California sentence awaits
May 16 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed, opens new tab pending criminal charges against disbarred attorney Tom Girardi, who is already facing possible prison time for stealing millions of dollars in client funds. Federal prosecutors in Illinois had indicated for months that they could drop their case against Girardi, 85, after he was convicted of wire fraud by a federal jury in Los Angeles in August 2024. On Wednesday, they formally sought, opens new tab dismissal of the Illinois charges, which stemmed from Girardi's alleged misappropriation of more than $3 million in client funds owed to families of the victims of the Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in 2018. U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland approved the motion Thursday night. A spokesperson for the Chicago U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment. Girardi's federal defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Federal prosecutors said they still plan to go to trial in Chicago against David Lira, Girardi's son-in-law, on July 14. Lira has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud, criminal contempt, and making false statements to a judge in connection with the Lion Air case. Chris Kamon, the former chief financial officer of Girardi's law firm, is set to plead guilty to parallel charges in Chicago federal court on July 9. He was sentenced in Los Angeles federal court last month to 121 months in prison for stealing millions of dollars in client funds. U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton in Los Angeles is weighing whether to sentence Girardi to a federal prison or a medical facility. Staton canceled a key hearing earlier this month after Girardi was admitted to the hospital due to liver dysfunction. Staton on Wednesday ordered, opens new tab Girardi's federal public defenders to give her an update when Girardi is released from the hospital or on Monday.
