Former Girardi Keese Accounting Chief Sentenced to 121 Months for Defrauding Firm and Clients

Published Nov. 6, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

Large plaintiff firms depend on accounting staff to keep client settlement money segregated. On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced that Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 51, former longtime head of accounting at the now-defunct Girardi Keese firm, had been sentenced to 121 months in federal prison [1].

Status: Kamon pleaded guilty in October 2024 to two counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton also ordered $8,903,324 in restitution. He had been residing in The Bahamas when arrested in November 2022 [1].

What prosecutors described

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office [1], Kamon enabled the embezzlement of millions of dollars from the firm's injured clients and also embezzled money from the law firm itself, including for a multimillion-dollar home in the Bahamas. The judge described a "web of deceit and manipulation." Prosecutors said he played a key role in a long-running scheme led by Tom Girardi.

The person sentenced

Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 51. Former Girardi Keese accounting chief. Pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud; sentenced to 121 months; restitution $8,903,324 [1].

Related coverage

Tom Girardi was separately sentenced to 87 months for embezzling client settlements (see related Scammers.com article on Girardi).

Red flags inside a law firm's books

These are general warning signs.

• Client settlement money mixed with firm operating funds.
• Accounting staff who cannot produce client-trust reconciliations.

What to do

• Clients waiting on settlements should demand written trust accountings and contact the state bar.
• Report fraud at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Nov. 6, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 51	U.S. District Court, C.D. Cal. (Judge Josephine L. Staton)	Pleaded guilty Oct. 2024 (2 counts wire fraud); sentenced April 11, 2025 to 121 months; restitution $8,903,324	[1]

Statuses can change, including through appeal.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, "Former Accounting Chief at Now-Defunct Girardi Keese Law Firm Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison for Defrauding Firm and Clients," April 11, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/former-accounting-chief-now-defunct-girardi-keese-law-firm-sentenced-over-10-years