When this whole Tom Girardi scandal first blew up and Erika Jayne filed to divorce him, she accused him of cheating.
She’s not alone. Among the wild claims out there, this one seems pretty solid.
Tom now stands accused of wiring $300,000 in misused funds to an alleged mistress … for her beach condo.
Even fresh off of a major courtroom victory, Erika feels stunned at the depths of Tom’s betrayal.
The Los Angeles Times got a hold of court documents regarding Tom Girardi’s alleged misuse of settlement money.
A tremendous amount of funds intended for Girardi Keese clients went “missing.”
Court filings accuse him of sending $300,000 of that money to Tricia A. Bigelow.
Bigelow’s attorney has noted that she, a former judge, had no idea that the money came from stolen funds.
The transfer “was NOT marked as coming from a [Girardi Keese] trust account.”
As with Erika, Bigelow’s attorney explained that Tom “never shared anything with her regarding the source of any gifts.”
That tracks.
When a famous attorney with his name on a law firm and a decades-spanning career buys you a present, you don’t question it.
Notably, Erika can also cite Bigelow’s lack of awareness as part of a pattern of Tom hiding this. If it comes to that.
Speaking of Erika, she had no idea about Bigelow’s beach house or how Tom made that happen.
Earlier in August, she learned about it while giving testimony.
“F–k me,” Erika blurted out, before her attorneys asked her to avoid cursing. “No way, no way.”
Incidentally, Bigelow was able to return the gifts from Tom, allowing her to avoid deposition.
One of the key differences between being a mistress and a wife is that your life and finances are generally easier to separate.
We are glad that Bigelow was able to do so, but of course sad that she had to. This whole thing has hurt so many people.
Meanwhile, Erika has released a public comment about Tom’s gifts to Bigelow.
“Wow. I knew about jewelry, shopping sprees, and plastic surgery,” she captioned on Instagram.
“But,” Erika admitted, “this really threw me for a loop.”
Erika was aware of Bigelow before this. She identified her as Tom’s alleged mistress as far back as 2020.
She had no idea about the beach house, however, or the $300k transfer.
Why? Because Tom handled the money, and because that money did not come from their household.
Meanwhile, Erika is also celebrating another small victory, as court found no evidence that she had done anything wrong in a massive fraud lawsuit.
We have emphasized for a couple of years that, though some of Erika’s behavior has been troubling, many viewers branded her a “criminal” without clear evidence.
Erika should show more empathy for Tom’s victims. But fans should recognize that Erika may be one herself. Maybe the biggest of all.
