Erika Jayne’s collection of baubles and designer items will be a little bit lighter moving forward.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star is being forced to give up a pair of diamond earrings, valued at $1.4 million that were given to her by her estranged husband Tom Girardi.
On Tuesday, Judge Barry Russell ruled that the diamond earrings were purchased with stolen funds and as a result should be returned.
In the hearing, Judge Russell noted that the “settlement funds from the trust account created for a class action handled by Thomas’ firm Girardi Keese were used to pay for the diamond earrings.”
He added that he didn’t believe the reality TV star knew the earrings were purchased with stolen money however she is still required to turn the jewels over.
“The ruling was a major milestone in the quest to recover stolen assets by the Girardis,” attorney Ronald Richards tells Page Six. “It does not matter whether Erika knew they were stolen client funds or not. This ruling will be used in the future aspects of the case and is now the law of the case.”
The reality TV star’s attorney Evan Borges also released a statement following the hearing.
“Once again, Erika is facing consequences for past actions taken by Tom Girardi and Girardi Keese. Erika did nothing wrong,” Borges told Us Weekly. “In fact, the judge specifically found no fault or knowledge on the part of Erika regarding the actions by Tom Girardi and his partners at the law firm. Tom Girardi the lawyer did this.
“Legally, the judge’s decision raises an important issue of whether the law allows revisiting transactions of 15 years ago to take away a gift received by an innocent spouse. But that’s for a higher court to decide.”
The disgraced 82-year-old former attorney allegedly purchased the earrings in March 2007 for $750,000 with money from his clients’ trust accounts.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm on Bravo.