The audacity is rich, but the subject is not. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne has earned herself a bad reputation even Joan Jett would side-eye. She had a good start, a middle-aged pop star married to a rich, old lawyer. Unfortunately for Erika, the rich lawyer turned out to be a criminal and EJ may or may not have helped him secure the bag along the way.
Her estranged husband is allegedly no longer able to care for himself and Erika went from the Pasadena Palace to an apartment with her dog who is now wondering where his pool went. Erika has had a few rough seasons since her drama began, but she has no other storyline so a win is a win.
You’re gonna love this part. Recently Erika went to court to request payment of financial damages for the sale of her precious diamond earrings. You know, the ones she flaunted wore on the show? Oh yes, she did that. Radar Online has the details.
So Erika gathered herself and “demanded” to be paid for the diamond earrings being sold to Ronald Richards’ wife as part of Tom’s bankruptcy. Apparently, that did not go well for EJ, as the trustee in charge of Tom’s law firm basically laughed in her face.
Tom and his gang of crooks are accused of treating the firm of Girardi Keese like a Ponzi scheme. In February, Tom’s list of charges continued to go up when he was smacked with five counts of wire fraud. He was additionally accused of embezzling $15 million and faces prison time.
Erika must really think that villain edit is going to inspire a phone call from Disney. Even Danielle Staub is watching from afar with a bemused expression. In essence, Erika is on the hook by creditors who feel she’s enjoying a luxurious lifestyle on hot money. The trustee for Tom’s firm filed a suit against EJ seeking $25 million.
As in the MANY legal cases prior to this, Erika denies all knowledge of Tom’s activities. That said, court docs show the trustee claims Girardi Keese paid for Erika’s company, EJ Global. She requested the court to dismiss the case after alleging she thought Tom had the money to pay the bills. That’s when the trustee spied the fancy diamond earrings and demanded Erika turn them over. After first refusing to submit the $750k baubles, she finally parted ways with the jewelry.
The trustee advised financial documents prove the earrings were purchased with his client’s funds and the judge ruled them to be turned over to the trustee. Erika’s attorneys filed an appeal but the ice was nabbed by Ronald Richards for $250k before any decision could be reached. This is why EJ went back to court to request damages for the “legal error” that lead to the jewelry going to auction.
Her camp said, “Ms. Girardi has elected and is entitled to money damages based on the proceeds of the sale of a marital gift received by her in 2007 that was taken from her and sold by the Trustee based on the legally erroneous Turnover Order.” Meanwhile, widows and orphans are waiting for literally anything so they can go on with their lives. The trustee is having none of it and immediately requested the appeal be dismissed.
Allegedly EJ had plenty of time to request the court stay the sale but she neglected to do so. Erika continues to believe the earrings should not have been taken from her and sold in the first place.
A lawyer for Erika said, “the Bankruptcy Court erred as a matter of law when it determined that the Trustee’s claims based on an alleged fraudulent transfer of property over 15 years ago were not barred by the applicable statutes of limitations.”
The trustee feels Erika wants the court to rule on the “statute of limitations not because the issue is relevant to this now moot appeal but because she would like to use a reversal of the Bankruptcy Court’s Turnover Order for social media reasons.”
And here’s where we can all agree the trustee has no love for EJ and her antics. He wrote, “It is incredibly ironic that Mrs. Girardi, who since 2012 has exposed her and Thomas Girardi’s entire life to the world by starring on the reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills would have this Court ignore the law pertaining to this appeal in hopes a decision on the issues of the statute of limitations would somehow vindicate her conduct, so she can then use the court’s decision to publicly counteract social media comments.”
He added the higher court should issue a denial of Erika’s plea to receive financial compensation. There is also the pesky little matter of Erika owing the California Franchise Tax Board $2.2 million in back taxes. Whoopsie! At the time she said, “I do not have the ability to pay.”
This might be Erika trying to get every dollar she can now that her future on RHOBH is in question. Lisa Rinna is gone and no longer her enforcer, so we’ll have to see how Erika manages on her own. It might just turn out Rinna was the only thing supporting Erika’s lifeline to the show.
TELL US- ARE YOU SHOCKED ERIKA IS ASKING FOR THIS MONEY? DO YOU THINK THE COURT WILL RULE IN HER FAVOR? COULD THIS BE ERIKA’S LAST SEASON ON RHOBH?
[Photo Credit: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images]
