A California attorney has pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago to a criminal contempt charge after failing to ensure that settlement funds were distributed to relatives of victims killed in the 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash.
Keith Griffin, 54, from Temple City, California, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt in the Northern District of Illinois. Sentencing is scheduled for August 6, 2026.
Griffin was employed by Girardi Keese, a personal injury law firm that represented families of those who died when Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea. The firm filed civil lawsuits against Boeing Co., the manufacturer of the plane, and reached settlements in 2020. According to court records, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin ordered that $7.5 million in settlement funds be distributed to each client as soon as possible.
Despite Boeing transferring the settlement money into Girardi Keese’s client trust account in March 2020, Griffin admitted he knew for eight months that the firm did not distribute the full amount to clients as required by Judge Durkin’s order and despite repeated requests from clients for their money.
Griffin acknowledged confronting another attorney at the firm, Thomas Girardi, several times about paying clients their share of the settlement funds. However, he also admitted knowing that Girardi was not distributing those funds during that period as required by court order. Eventually, another law firm’s insurer paid out the settlement amounts owed to victims’ families.
“Griffin stated in the plea agreement that on multiple occasions he confronted another attorney at the firm, THOMAS GIRARDI, about paying the money to the clients. Griffin knew, however, that Girardi was not distributing those funds as required by Judge Durkin’s order over that eight-month period,” according to documents filed with the court.
The announcement of Griffin’s guilty plea came from Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Hasten and Emily Vermylen are prosecuting the case.
Thomas Girardi, 86, was previously convicted by a federal jury in Los Angeles in 2024 for embezzling millions from other clients’ settlements and was sentenced last year to more than seven years in prison. During sentencing proceedings related to this case, prosecutors noted Girardi had also misappropriated funds intended for Lion Air victims.
Two other former employees of Girardi Keese were charged during this investigation: David Lira pleaded guilty last year to criminal contempt for failing to follow Judge Durkin’s payment order and received four months in prison plus home confinement and community service; Christopher Kamon pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud for assisting with embezzlement and was sentenced to more than five years—concurrent with a ten-year sentence from an unrelated scheme prosecuted in Los Angeles.
Further details can be found in u.s._v._griffin_-_plea_agreement.pdf.
