Tom Girardi Begins Serving Prison Sentence

The 86-year-old former lawyer has officially started his prison term. An exclusive source confirmed that he voluntarily surrendered himself to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the late afternoon on Thursday.

He is now in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles and has been registered as an inmate.

Girardi was sentenced in June to seven years and three months for his conviction related to bank fraud. His sentencing coincided with his 86th birthday.

Previously, Girardi was disbarred in March 2024 after being found guilty of embezzling over $15 million from clients at his former law firm, Girardi & Keese. In addition to his prison term, he was ordered to pay restitution of $2.3 million and a $35,000 fine.

His legal team had argued for him to serve his sentence in a long-term care facility, citing his late-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia diagnoses. A psychiatrist had described him as unfit for court proceedings, citing moderate impairments in memory and recognition, along with delusions.

Despite these claims, a judge deemed him competent to stand trial earlier this year. Girardi’s criminal accusations included embezzlement, with allegations of misusing client funds for personal gain and stealing settlement money from families, including victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash.