Los Angeles, CA – The former head of accounting at the now-defunct Girardi Keese law firm, Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 51, was sentenced on April 11 to more than 10 years in federal prison for his role in a sweeping embezzlement scheme that defrauded injured clients out of millions of dollars, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Kamon, who once lived in Encino and Palos Verdes, was arrested in The Bahamas in November 2022 and later pleaded guilty to participating in a decade-long fraud alongside disgraced attorney Thomas Vincent Girardi, 85. In addition to his prison sentence, Kamon was ordered to pay $8.9 million in restitution to victims.
Serving as the top accounting official at Girardi Keese from 2004 to 2020, Kamon had control over client trust accounts and firm operations. He worked in close coordination with Girardi—who was convicted in August on four counts of wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing. Girardi, who was disbarred in 2022, is also known for being the estranged husband of reality TV star Erika Jayne.
Federal prosecutors detailed how Kamon and Girardi misappropriated millions from client settlements to pay for law firm payroll, credit card bills, and other unrelated expenses. In one notable case, a client who suffered severe burns in the 2010 San Bruno gas explosion was misled about their settlement. Though Girardi had negotiated a $53 million deal, the client was falsely told it settled for only $7 million.
Of that $53 million, $28 million was funneled into a Girardi Keese trust account, and another $25 million into an annuity—none of which the client saw. The stolen funds were used to pay previous client settlements and firm debts in what authorities described as a Ponzi-like scheme.
To cover their tracks, Kamon and Girardi issued small payments falsely labeled as “interest,” and even sent a $2.5 million check in 2019 pretending it was from the original settlement. The money, however, came from other clients’ funds, as the victim’s actual settlement had long since been spent.
The case is part of a broader federal crackdown on legal professionals who exploit client trust, and it highlights one of the largest legal fraud scandals in California history.
