Chicago’s Girardi & Keese CFO Enter Plea of Not Guilty in Embezzlement Case

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Former Chief Financial Officer of the defunct law firm Girardi & Keese, Christopher Kamon, appeared in Chicago federal court on Thursday to face charges of misappropriating over $3 million in client funds owed to the families of victims in a 2018 airline crash. The U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cummings denied bail for Kamon, and his lawyers declined to comment. Kamon is already in federal custody on wire fraud charges for allegedly embezzling $10 million from Girardi Keese, which now-disbarred attorney Tom Girardi ran before it collapsed in late 2020. Kamon has also pleaded not guilty in that case.

On Thursday, Kamon was arraigned on charges filed last week, accusing Girardi, and David Lira, Girardi’s son-in-law and former Girardi Keese employee, of eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of criminal contempt of court. Corey Rubenstein, a Chicago assistant U.S. attorney, stated that if Kamon is convicted on all wire fraud counts, he could face up to 20 years in prison. There are no maximum sentences for contempt of court charges.

According to the Chicago prosecutors, Girardi, Kamon, and Lira took client funds owed to the families of the victims of the 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia, resulting in the loss of all 189 lives onboard. David Lira is set to be arraigned on Friday, and Tom Girardi will be arraigned on March 3. Damon Cheronis, an attorney representing Lira, has stated that his client is innocent and will plead not guilty. No attorneys for Girardi have yet appeared in the Chicago case.

  

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On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Stevenson in Los Angeles entered a not-guilty plea for Girardi on separate federal charges for allegedly embezzling $15 million from his law firm’s clients over nine years. Kamon, who was also charged with five counts of embezzlement with Girardi in that case, also pleaded not guilty. Stevenson ordered his detention to continue as he is considered a flight risk, while Girardi’s bail was set at $250,000.

Girardi’s public defenders in Los Angeles stated on Wednesday that a California judge had determined two years ago that Girardi could not care for himself or his finances due to “a major neurocognitive disorder.” A psychiatrist stated that Girardi has Alzheimer’s disease.

In conclusion, the legal case against Christopher Kamon, Tom Girardi, and David Lira are complex, involving multiple charges of embezzlement, wire fraud, and criminal contempt of court. The case is ongoing, and the outcome is yet to be determined.

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Girardi Keese CFO pleads not guilty in Chicago embezzlement case