Keith Griffin, a former attorney at the now-defunct Los Angeles law firm Girardi Keese, was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation for criminal contempt related to his role in concealing fraud committed by the firm’s founder, Tom Girardi. The sentencing took place in a Chicago federal court before U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt.

Girardi Keese, once prominent for pursuing major corporations on behalf of disaster victims, became embroiled in scandal following the firm’s handling of a settlement from Boeing linked to the 2018 Lion Air crash in Indonesia, which killed all 189 people onboard. The firm had received millions from Boeing intended for the families of victims, but these funds were never distributed as promised beginning in March 2020.

Judge Hunt described Griffin’s actions as “disappointing and reprehensible,” emphasizing that vulnerable clients who had trusted their lawyers were misled by Griffin and others at the firm. While Griffin attempted to shield Girardi’s misconduct by relaying various false excuses—ranging from pandemic-related delays to fictitious tax complications—Hunt also noted that Griffin was “the least culpable” among those involved and ultimately “left holding the bag.”

During a 90-minute hearing, Griffin apologized for his involvement, expressing shame and remorse for failing to uphold his duty. He acknowledged that despite prior personal lessons about standing up to wrongdoing, he was “weak” when confronted with acting truthfully in this case.

Girardi’s downfall began publicly in 2020 when Chicago-based Edelson PC, serving as local counsel for the plaintiffs, raised concerns over the missing payments. Court records show that Girardi instructed Griffin and others, including his son-in-law David Lira, to provide misleading explanations to the clients about delays in distributing their settlements. As pressure mounted, Griffin warned Girardi in November 2020 that failure to pay the clients could lead to bar complaints and criminal charges.

Subsequent litigation led U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin to freeze Girardi’s assets and hold him in civil contempt. Judge Durkin also cautioned Erika Jayne, Girardi’s former wife and reality television personality, to cease selling designer clothing tied to Girardi’s business interests, though she was never implicated in the fraud.

Girardi, once a legal celebrity partly due to his firm’s role in the case that inspired the film “Erin Brockovich,” was indicted in multiple jurisdictions for stealing more than $18 million from clients worldwide. Despite a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, he was found fit to stand trial and was convicted of wire fraud in 2024 in Los Angeles. At 87, he is serving a sentence of over seven years in a federal medical prison facility in Minnesota.

Prosecutors in Chicago later dropped their charges against Girardi due to his age and prison term, but cases against Griffin, Lira, and the firm’s long-time chief financial officer, Christopher Kamon, proceeded with guilty pleas from all three.

At Thursday’s hearing, Griffin’s attorney argued that his client was a subordinate who repeatedly passed along false information provided by the firm’s “larger than life” leader. According to defense counsel Mark Werksman, Girardi frequently dismissed Griffin’s requests to rectify the payment issues as being “above your pay grade,” leaving Griffin to unknowingly communicate deceptive excuses to the victims’ counsel.

The case marks a significant coda to the collapse of a once-celebrated legal practice, highlighting the damaging effects of ethical breaches on vulnerable clients seeking justice.