Erika Jayne is being accused of hindering an investigation into the $5 million fraud lawsuit filed against her in an alleged effort to “gain an unfair advantage in the litigation.”
According to court documents filed in California on Thursday, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member has failed to make any moves to overturn the suspension of her company, EJ Global, which has kept prosecutors from being able to move forward with their discovery process ahead of the case’s July 21 hearing.
As Page Six revealed on May 26, Erika has allegedly known about her company’s suspension since at least February. However, as attorney Ronald Richards, who represents the law firms of Philip R. Sheldon and Robert P. Finn, explained, “110 days later, EJ Global has done nothing to get the LLC out of suspended status.”
“Plaintiffs cannot wait any longer as now Erika Girardi is using the suspension to gain an unfair advantage in the litigation,” he continued.
In court documents, Ronald requested a 10-day deadline be set, requiring Erika to file her taxes and have her company reinstated with the California Franchise Tax Board.
In a statement to Page Six in regard to the new filing, Erika’s attorney, Evan C. Borges, said, “The EJ Global LLC suspension is part of the mess that Tom Girardi [TG], Girardi &Keese [GK], and their outside accountants dumped on Erika and left her to sort out – with no access to records.”
Girardi, Girardi & Keese, and their accountants have “always managed the finances of EJ Global LLC, not Erika,” he continued, noting that other accountants are in possession of the financial and tax records of the company.
Evan went on to reveal that Erika is the “interest holder” of EJ Global LLC, and she is trying to “figure out how to file tax returns without any financial records.”
“We have not given up trying, but without any of the records, it is an extremely difficult task,” the attorney explained. “The Sheldon plaintiffs and their Twitter attorneys have no case… Their entire case is based on unethical fee splitting agreements with GK, which are unenforceable.”
Earlier this month, Evan filed his own motion to keep his client’s financial records private, saying the “information in the Confidential Documents has no bearing on or relevance whatsoever to any of the claims or defenses in this action.”
But in response to Evan’s request, Ronald said the motion was “meritless” and that plaintiffs are “hamstrung from using the identity [of EJ Global’s funding source] to explain why Plaintiffs are investigating where their money went or why they are asking about certain individuals.”
“Regarding our pending motion to enforce the protective order, it speaks for itself,” Evan noted. “The Sheldon plaintiffs and their Twitter attorneys want to publicize how Erika obtained funds from another private citizen to help her pay her bills. The fact that Erika has needed assistance from others to pay her bills shows that there is no hidden treasure she ever took for herself that really belongs to the bankruptcy estates of Girardi or Girardi & Keese.”
Erika is being sued, along with estranged husband Thomas Girardi, for fraud and breach of contract by the law offices of Philip R. Sheldon and Robert P. Finn, who claim they never received their cut of lawsuit settlements they made alongside Girardi Keese and believe the money was transferred to EJ Global.
As previously reported, Erika allegedly received $25 million in 12 years, $5 million of which the attorneys believe is owed to them.
“The Sheldon plaintiffs have sued Erika on the preposterous and false theory that Erika, as a non-lawyer with a separate career an entertainer, somehow ran the finances of the law firm and somehow participated in the decisions made by TG and GK not to pay an illegal fee-split to the Sheldon plaintiffs,” Erika’s attorney said in response.
“They are not entitled to a penny,” he added. “Erika had nothing to do with any of it.”
Following the report, which also included Evan suggesting the attorneys had threatened his client, Erika reacted with a post on her Instagram page.
“Extortion. This is what I’m dealing with,” Erika wrote.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 12 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
