The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star's attorney responds to a lawsuit by Christopher Psaila who claims that the reality TV star teamed up with Secret Service agents and American Express to extort money from the designer.
- Aug 30, 2023
AceShowbiz - Erika Jayne, through her attorney, has responded to a new lawsuit filed against her. After being accused of extorting money from a designer, the star of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" denied that she's at fault as her lawyer deemed the allegations "fantasy."
The 52-year-old's attorney Evan C. Borges responded to the claims on Tuesday, August 29. Speaking to Page Six, Evan stated, "The notion that Erika controlled the U.S. government, or for that matter a Fortune 100 company such as American Express, is fantasy."
The lawyer went on to say, "It seems calculated that [Christopher] timed this lawsuit to coincide with the rave reviews of Erika's Las Vegas residency opening. [Christopher's] claims against Erika are entirely without merit. Independent federal prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office made the decision to charge [Christopher] with crimes, no one else."
Erika is accused of extorting money by fashion house Marco Marco's co-owner and designer Christopher Psaila. Christopher, in court documents obtained by TMZ, claimed that Erika and her estranged husband Tom Girardi "weaponized the Secret Service to maliciously prosecute" the designer back in 2017. The couple allegedly did so to earn a refund of nearly $800,000 from American Express.
Christopher alleged that Erika and her two assistants lied to federal agents and the credit card company that he and Marco Marco charged her credit card without purchasing costumes or receiving services from him and the brand. However, Christopher claimed that she gave him and the brand her consent to charge her credit card for the clothes she ordered.
In addition, Christopher accused the Secret Service of conducting a "reckless investigation" of Erika and her staff members as well as "deliberately [ignoring]" facts of the incident. He also alleged that the agents, including former head of Secret Service's Los Angeles office Robert Savage, were bribed by her and her husband to charge the designer with crimes.
In response to the allegations, Robert has issued a statement to TMZ. "I am restricted by a non-disclosure when I retired from the U.S. Secret Service to discuss casework during my tenure without their approval, so I would respectfully redirect your questions pertaining to the lawsuit to the USSS Office of Chief Counsel and U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California," he stated.
