Erika Jayne holds her diamonds.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star filed an appeal in Los Angeles on Monday after a judge ordered her to return a pair of expensive diamond earrings donated to her by her estranged husband, disgraced attorney Tom Girardi.
Jayne, 51, also chose to have her appeal heard by the United States District Court rather than the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, according to court documents obtained by Vidak For Congress.
In his June 28 ruling, Judge Barry Russell ruled that Jayne’s earrings had been purchased with “settlement funds from the trust account created for a class action being handled by Thomas’ firm Girardi Keese.”
And while Russell said he didn’t believe the Bravolebrity knew the jewels had been bought with embezzled money, he still ordered her to hand them over to the trustee presiding over the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case involving the now-defunct Girardi Keese.
Girardi, 83, bought the earrings in March 2007 for $750,000, allegedly with money from a customer account. They are reportedly worth $1.4 million now.
“Once again, Erika is facing consequences for past actions by Tom Girardi and Girardi Keese. Erika has done nothing wrong,” Jayne’s attorney, Evan Borges, told Us Weekly last month.
“Legally, the judge’s decision raises an important question as to whether the law allows a reconsideration of transactions from 15 years ago to take away a gift received by an innocent spouse,” Borges added. “But that’s up to a higher court to decide.”
After Girardi Keese went bankrupt, court-appointed bankruptcy trustee Jayne sued for $25 million for the money that Girardi allegedly stole from the company and channeled it into her company, EJ Global.
The reality star insists she had no knowledge of her estranged husband’s alleged crimes and denies any wrongdoing.
Jayne, who filed for divorce in November 2020, is also facing a $50 million lawsuit for racketeering and a $2.1 million lawsuit for “complicity.”