Add another lawsuit to the growing list. Erika Jayne’s legal troubles are far from over. In fact, they seem to be intensifying. In 2020, the world discovered that her estranged husband Tom Girardi’s had allegedly been swindling his clients for years. Since then, Erika has also been on the legal hook to try and recover funds.
A high-profile celebrity ex is just the latest to file suit against the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star. As reported by Page Six, Christina Fulton, who is the ex-girlfriend of Nicholas Cage, has filed suit. Her $700K+ lawsuit accuses Erika and two former Girardi & Keese attorneys of alleged fraud and theft.
Court documents revealed that Tom and two colleagues misappropriated her settlement funds to support their own lifestyles. In 2016, Christina was in a car accident and sustained severe injuries. She hired representation from Girardi & Keese, which was highly regarded at the time. A confidential settlement agreement was filed in March of 2019. The amount was for $924,300, according to Christina’s suit.
In July of this year, Christina learned through “newly discovered financial documents” that her settlement funds were not where they were supposed to be. Documents allegedly show that in 2019, Christina’s settlement check had been deposited into a Girardi & Keese bank account. She argues that this was done without her consent. The suit claims, “This was a complete outright forgery as [Christina] never endorsed this check and certainly never agreed to have it deposited.”
The lawsuit goes on to say, “This negotiated check was in fact a forgery and a lie. The check was never held in trust but spent. It is beyond shocking and the pale that the firm would conceal the arrival of the check and not obtain Ms. Fulton’s endorsement as required by law.”
Between April 2019 and September 2020, Christina only received $190K of her settlement. Her lawyers claim this was part of Tom’s pattern “to dupe his clients into waiting for money by dribbling small payments.” The only other money Christina allegedly received was a $5K advance. This leaves a balance of $744,300, which is what she is seeking. Her attorneys maintain there is proof that the funds were dispersed to Girardi & Keese in three separate checks. All three happened in April of 2019, just a few days apart, and totaled a little over $1.5 million.
Erika ended up being named in the suit after Christina discovered her funds were allegedly being “diverted to” her through her company. Christina believes that Erika and Tom would use funds “as their own assets” to “pay for their lavish lifestyle.” Court documents claim “the funds were treated as community property.” The filing continues, “Erika used the money to pay off her expenses. For at least 12 years, all of her expenses were paid by Girardi Keese as she was generating them. No one withdrew money from the firm other than Erika Girardi.”
One of Christina’s attorneys places the blame squarely on Tom and Erika. Christina dated Nicholas for three years and shares a grown son with him. But she’s not immune to being taken advantage of. Her attorney said that Christina is like “many people in Hollywood trusted Tom and Erika in their legal matters.”
Erika’s attorney, Evan Borges, told Page Six that he hadn’t seen the full complaint yet. But he went on to add that two “fundamental undisputed facts” will emerge. He also noted that Erika is a “non-lawyer.” And she “thought she was married to an extremely wealthy attorney with a financially successful law firm.”
Evan continued, “It’s a distraction tactic and specious for lawyers representing former [Girardi & Keese] clients to use Erika’s lifestyle and persona on a Housewives show as an excuse to sue her. The focus should be on Tom Girardi and, where supported by evidence, the lawyers, accountants, and financiers who enabled his misconduct and wrongdoing.”
While Erika has long maintained her innocence, the lawsuits haven’t stopped. She’s most notably being sued fraud to the tune of $5 million. Even worse, she has a staggering $55 million racketeering suit filed against her.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK TOM’S CLIENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO NAME ERIKA IN THEIR LAWSUITS? HAVE YOU HEARD OF CHRISTINA FULTON? WHAT DO YOU THINK NICHOLAS CAGE THINKS ABOUT ALL THIS? IS ERIKA INNOCENT?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
