New couple alert? Erika-Jayne, 51, linked to recently arrested lawyer Jim Wilkes, 72
Erika-Jayne appears to be moving away from disgraced estranged husband Tom Girardi when she was spotted on an apparent date night with recently arrested attorney Jim Wilkes II in Las Vegas on Sunday.
The RHOBH star, 51, whose former lawyer ex Girardi, 83, was recently charged with alleged theft of $18 million from clients, stepped into Caesar’s Palace with Wilkes, 72, facing criminal charges after firing two shots into his home during domestic violence. argument with an unknown woman last month.
Erika-Jayne, who is in Sin City ahead of a residency at the House of Blues, looked stylish in a graphic print jumper paired with red latex leggings and stiletto heels as she strolled with Wilkes – who was a longtime collaborator from her ex Girardi.
Wilkes, who specializes in suing nursing homes on behalf of battered residents, looked cool in a leather jacket, T-shirt and jeans as he walked alongside Erika in the photo obtained by Blonde Hair Black Heart podcaster Blake Adam Sunday.
The American sun reports that he helped Erika with her financial problems during the divorce and allegedly sent her nearly $500,000, according to court documents.
Date night? Erika-Jayne appears to be moving away from disgraced estranged husband Tom Girardi as she was spotted on an apparent date night with recently arrested attorney Jim Wilkes II in Las Vegas on Sunday
Gone: The RHOBH star’s former attorney, ex Tom Girardi, 83, was recently charged with alleged theft of $18 million from clients (2016 photo)
Court documents previously obtained by the outlet read: “Erika filed for summary judgment to get herself out of the case, and in response the law firm noted that Erika received hundreds of thousands of dollars for her legal fees from an attorney named James Lewis Wilkes , II, through Wilkes’ law firm.’
He describes himself on Instagram as: “US Army ’69-72 Vietnam Vet songwriter, music publisher, lawyer, elderly advocate, world champion boxing manager, political consultant, humanitarian.”
He filed for divorce from his wife Jessica Collins in March 2021, but posted a photo with her on Tuesday, showing the couple cozying up together and captioning it, “My wife and I. Have a nice moment.’
Wilkes faces criminal charges following the gun incident last month.
The Tampa Bay Times reports Wilkes claimed the unnamed woman hit him in the head, causing him to grab a gun for fear she might get it.
The woman is said to have been heard yelling in the background that Wilkes “pointed a gun at her and shot it into a wall.”
Wilkes said that as the argument continued, he fired one bullet from the gun into a bed and another into a bathroom wall to scare the woman and stop the argument, the report said. He claims not to have pointed the gun at the woman.
The woman claimed to police that she punched Wilkes and then he fired into the bed and wall, before putting the gun to her temple and then her torso and threatening to kill her, the report also says. Wilkes has denied the allegations.
Interesting: Hunky Wilkes was a long-running collaborator of her ex Girardi
Post: He filed for divorce from wife Jessica Collins in March 2021, but posted a photo with her on Tuesday, showing the pair cozying up together and captioning, “My wife and I. Have a nice moment
The woman told police she punched Wilkes and that after firing at the bed and wall, he placed the gun on her temple and then on her torso and threatened to kill her, the report said. Wilkes denied that.
Wilkes’ lawyer Ronald Kurpiers II told the publication: “He was attacked and he defended himself. That’s the size of it.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Erika Jayne’s representatives for comment.
Girardi was recently indicted for stealing $18 million from customers, including the grieving families of the victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash.
Girardi is already facing a mountain of civil lawsuits over claims he stole money from his law firm.
Earlier this month, he was indicted by grand juries in Chicago and LA on charges of stealing $3 million from the plane crash victims, and another $15 million from other clients. Prosecutors say he stole the money to pay exorbitant American Express bills and membership fees for two country clubs.
Mugshot: Wilkes faces criminal charges after firing two shots into his home last month during a domestic dispute with an unidentified woman
Girardi is being sued in Los Angeles federal court for wire fraud alleging theft of more than $18 million from customers, including an Arizona widow whose husband was killed in a boating accident, a Los Angeles couple injured in a car accident in which their son became paralyzed and a man who was severely burned during the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion in 2010. He had no guilty plea filed on his behalf by U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Stevenson on Monday.
He and Erika Jayne are estranged but have not yet finalized their divorce. In 2020, she filed for divorce.
Girardi’s alleged theft and fraud came to light in 2020, the same year Jayne filed for divorce from the disgraced lawyer. The divorce has yet to be officially finalized.