REAL Housewives of Beverly Hill's Erika Jayne has been slapped with a new tax bill of $2.2million she can't pay – but is refusing to give up her $40K-a-month glam squad.
The under-fire star is being asked to hand over a pair of $1.4million diamond earrings from her ex Tom Girardi in a bankruptcy lawsuit filed by a trustee for his law firm.
But Erika claims she's struggling financially and may have to hand them over to pay back taxes as she has been dealt yet another blow with her latest bill.
According to a letter from the Franchise Tax Board and viewed by The Sun, she already owes more than $2.5million for 2011 to 2013 for her company EJ Global, which is currently suspended.
Erika Jayne
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It is unclear if she owes tax for the years 2013 to 2019.
In a declaration filed on Tuesday night, she claimed in late May this year her business manager received yet another Income Tax Due Notice bill from the California Franchise Tax Board dated May 10, 2022, which states she owes $2,226,985.77 in taxes for 2019.
"I am in the midst of trying to figure out the basis of this tax bill with the assistance of my business manager, who is also an accountant," she wrote. "I do not have the ability to pay the FTB tax bill.
"I also do not know if the FTB is claiming any sort of lien on my assets, which include the diamond earrings."
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Attorney Ronald Richards, who formerly represented Chapter 7 trustee Elissa Miller and is a creditor in the estate, told The Sun: "She says she just received the FTB tax bill in May 2022.
"Of course, if EJ updates EJ Global and files returns, this will grow. EJ omits from her declaration she already personally participated in a tax audit for prior years."
He added that the full amount she owes is now more than $5.37million, which Richards described as a "staggering sum".
Despite her financial woes, Erika claimed in a recent episode of RHOBH that she will not let her $40-a-month glam team go, explaining there are "certain things you don't downsize on."
But in court documents, she alleges her only assets are her personal belongings, including jewelry, and her income from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reality TV show.
She wrote: "I also have miscellaneous sponsorship income related to appearances or endorsement of products. Also, in the past year, I have been trying to start a business related to hair extensions."
Court papers detail that Tom bought Erika, 50, the earrings in approximately 2004 or 2005 as a gift but they were stolen around a year later.
BATTLE FOR JEWELS
She alleges their family home was ransacked while they were out for dinner one evening, and she had left the earrings in a crystal container in her bathroom.
The earrings – which were purchased from M&M jewelers for a reported $750K – are now worth approximately $1.4million.
Erika claims the earrings were stolen and they had not been insured, so Tom replaced them with a replica pair, adding: "I had no reason to doubt or question the source of funds used to buy the earrings."
She explained in late 2021 or early this year, she heard for the first time from the Trustee in the bankruptcy case for Tom's law firm Girardi Keese, who alleged the earrings were bought with money from a client trust account.
"At all times, I have been willing to put the earrings in an escrow until a final court order is issued regarding who is entitled to the earrings," Erika goes on.
"In fact, based on an agreement with the Trustee, the earrings are currently held in a safe deposit box, to which the Trustee has access.
"I agree that the earrings may be held in the safe deposit box until such time as there is a final judicial determination as to ownership of the earrings."
A previous court filing alleged that Tom hid the theft from the client's trust by "describing the purpose of the check" as a "cost" item in relation to one of his previous lawsuits.
EX'S LEGAL DRAMA
The document read: "Erika has no legal or equitable right to the Diamond Earrings and the same are legally and equitably valuable assets of the GK Bankruptcy Estate that the Trustee can and should sell."
During an earlier episode of Real Housewives, Erika, who filed for divorce after more than 20 years with Tom, claimed she currently has "zero dollars" to her name.
While talking to Kyle Richards, she said: "I'm out here rebuilding my life, but girl, I have zero dollars.
"And by the time those trustees are done with him [Tom], there will be nothing.
"So I walk out of this with nothing."
Erika continued: “And I said that to my lawyers the other day.
"I said, ‘I expect nothing.’
"And one of my lawyers looked at me and said, 'That is the most courageous thing I've ever heard.'
"Every day brings a brand new disaster. It’s just full of f**king bulls**t."
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Tom and his law firm, Girardi Keese, were previously accused of embezzling funds from multiple families who lost loved ones in a 2018 Boeing plane crash.
The 83-year-old was later sued by his business partners, which resulted in a chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in December.
Despite claiming she was not aware of Tom’s wrongdoings, the Bravo star has found herself at the center of the legal drama.
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