Upcoming sentencings: Tom Girardi’s codefendant, Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter and Pras Michel
Disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi’s codefendant and former chief financial officer is to be sentenced in January after pleading guilty to two wire fraud charges.
Christopher Kamon is facing up to 97 months based on the offense levels in his plea agreement.
Here’s how a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release describes his crimes:
According to his plea agreement, from 2004 until December 2020, Kamon was the head of the accounting department at Girardi Keese, a plaintiffs’ personal injury law firm based in downtown Los Angeles. In this position, Kamon worked closely with Thomas Vincent Girardi, 85, formerly a resident of Pasadena but who now resides in Seal Beach, as well as other senior lawyers at the law firm.
U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton scheduled Kamon’s sentencing for Jan. 31. His charges in the Chicago federal case over the Lion Air plane crash embezzlement still are unresolved, as are Girardi’s.
Girardi’s sentencing following his jury conviction on four wire fraud counts is scheduled for Dec. 6.
Two other sentencings I’m tracking: Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara’s and Fugees hip-hop star Pras Michel’s.
Mizuhara was scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25 after pleading guilty in June to two felonies for embezzling $16 million from Ohtani as part of his sports gambling debt, but U.S. District Judge John Holcomb rescheduled it to Dec. 20 under a stipulation from Mizhuara’s lawyer and prosecutors.
Michel, meanwhile, is to be sentenced in federal court in Washington D.C. for 10 felony convictions related to an international political conspiracy with a Malaysian billionaire involving money laundering, foreign lobbying and illegal campaign donations.
Senior U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected his motion for new trial on Aug. 30. His argument was based mostly on ineffective assistance of counsel claims against his lead trial counsel, David Kenner.
The judge concluded Kenner did not have a financial conflict through his use of an artificial intelligence program that assisted him in trial, and his contempt charges for leaking documents were not a problem, either.
“Of the 14 alleged errors, the judge found two, but she said they don't amount to reversible error. and thus don’t warrant a new trial. “In all, the evidence neutralized any prejudicial effect on the verdict in this case,” according to her 77-page order.
The judge scheduled Michel’s sentencing for Jan. 29, 2025. Sentencing recommendations are due on Dec. 20.
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