The lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court said Erika Girardi, who also goes by Erika Jayne, falsely accused Christopher Psaila of fraudulently charging $800,000 to $900,000 for costumes at his business, Marcosquared LLC, formerly Marco Marco LLC.
The authorized charges on an American Express card that the law firm Girardi Keese issued to Erika Girardi, a “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” reality show star, only became an issue after November or December 2016, “at a time when her husband and his law firm were in dire financial straits,” when the “scheme to maliciously prosecute” Psaila was formed, the lawsuit said.
Girardi Keese and Thomas Girardi were forced into involuntary bankruptcy in December 2020. The Girardi Keese bankruptcy trustee sued Erika Girardi and American Express to recover allegedly fraudulent fund transfers from the firm to Girardi’s spouse and the card company.
Psaila’s suit claims Erika Girardi and AmEx falsely told the Secret Service the transactions were unauthorized despite her accepting costumes “designed, created, made, and provided for her performances” in 2015 and 2016 that appeared on the TV show, the filing said.
The lawsuit alleges AmEx failed to conduct a “fair or reasonable investigation” before refunding the Girardis $787,118. Girardi allegedly “weaponized the Secret Service to maliciously prosecute” Psaila, the lawsuit said, claiming Thomas Girardi knew the head of the Secret Service in Los Angeles, Robert Savage. Savage and two agents were also named in the suit. The suit also names an AmEx bank investigator, Erika Girardi’s assistant, and her creative director.
Claims Denied
AmEx in a statement said while “it is our policy to not comment on the specific activity on an individual Card Member’s accounts, we followed our regular processes and procedures throughout this investigation as we dealt with law enforcement.”
“We did not initiate the investigation, nor did we proactively contact law enforcement, and the information law enforcement requested from us was typical in fraud investigations. We did not play any role in the criminal investigation of Mr. Psaila or his business other than responding to inquiries from law enforcement.”
An attorney for Erika Girardi didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
“As a matter of longstanding policy, the Secret Service does not comment on pending or proposed litigation,” spokesperson Alexi Worley said in an emailed comment.
The filing seeks at least $18.2 million in general damages and unspecified punitive damages. A related Federal Tort Claims Act administrative claim against the Secret Service seeks $75 million, the lawyers said in a statement announcing the filing.
Thomas Girardi is defending federal fraud charges in Chicago and Los Angeles.
McLane, Bednarski & Litt, LLP, Stanley I. Greenberg of Los Angeles, and Bruce Bernard Bealke of Chicago represent Psalia.
The case is Psalia v. Girardi, C.D. Cal., No. 2:23-cv-07120, filed 8/29/23.
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