Girardi Firm CFO Arrested on Wire Fraud Charge – Accomplice to Malpractice?
The former Chief Financial Officer of a law firm plagued with corruption scandals got arrested earlier in November 2022. Let’s explore the news with Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys.
Christopher Kamon, Former CFO, Arrested over Suspicion of Wire Fraud at Girardi & Keese
On November 8, 2022, the FBI arrested the man responsible for managing the finances of Girardi & Keese, a downtown Los Angeles law firm, Christopher Kamon, over suspicion of wire fraud.
Affidavit Containing Details of the Arrests Remain Sealed
When Christopher Kamon returned from the Bahamas, federal agents arrested him at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport based on a criminal complaint signed by the federal magistrate judge.
There is not much information available on the charges of Kamon’s arrest as the affidavit remains sealed. Law360 initially reported the arrest, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about the allegations against him.
Disciplinary Charges Filed Against Legendary Attorney Tom Girardi in 2020
The alleged wire fraud, dated September 16, 2020, suggests something to do with Christopher Kamon and his time at Girardi & Keese. At the time, the California state bar had already filed disciplinary charges against the law firm’s founder Tom Girardi, accusing him of misappropriating millions in client funds as a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles.
The complaint stated that Girardi & Keese did not pay the millions of dollars owed to Indonesian widows and orphans whom Girardi represented following the lawsuit against Boeing for the crash.
In December 2020, the law firm filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, but none of the partners at the law firm nor its employees appeared in the first hearing under US Bankruptcy Judge Barry Russell.
Prior to Kamon’s arrest, none of the employees at Girardi & Keese faced any criminal charges or arrests. Tom Girardi, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, is in a court-ordered conservatorship and cannot answer questions under oath.
Federal Prosecutors Tasked with the Criminal Investigation Believe Kamon Knows about the Financial Transactions
The criminal investigation was handed to federal prosecutors who now believe that Kamon has immense knowledge about the firm’s financial transactions, which may be why the FBI arrested him.
Kamon started working at the firm in 2000 as an accounts payable clerk working his way to becoming the Chief Financial Officer at Tom Girardi’s law firm. Believed to be working directly with the legendary attorney, Tom Girardi, Kamon had access to funds, authority to carry out financial transactions whenever required and manage Girardi & Keese’s finances.
Once the house of cards came falling on Tom Girardi, Kamon immediately secured the services of high-powered criminal defense attorneys from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and refused to answer any questions in court proceedings. According to court records, he did hand over a laptop to the authorities that contained the firm’s financial transactions.
During a federal hearing in Illinois, Kamon invoked his right against self-incrimination. The federal judge froze the law firm’s assets in response to a lawsuit against Tom Girardi. According to District Judge Thomas Durkin, the attorney was running a Ponzi scheme, using the client’s money to support his celebrity lifestyle.
Kamon Is Set to Appear in Court in the Upcoming Hearing
Following Kamon’s arrest on November 14, 2022, he appeared in the Baltimore federal courtroom and is currently detained at Chesapeake Detention Center until his upcoming hearing.
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